Here's what I have to close out the month of April...
Congratulations to KGJT ARFF on their new 3000 gallon rig!
Be safe out there!
Tom
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Grand Junction Regional Airport adds new firetruck to its fleet
by: Jeff Hinkle
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KREX) — Grand Junction Regional Airport added a new Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting vehicle to its fleet on Wednesday, marking the facility’s first new unit since 2013. The specialized truck, known as an ARFF, was purchased for just under $1.3 million.
The acquisition received significant financial support, with $900,000 coming from the Colorado Division of Aeronautics.
The new ARFF vehicle is a crucial addition, effectively serving as a third unit that doubles the airport’s water capacity for emergency response. The airport previously operated two smaller, 1,500-gallon ARFF trucks.
Curtis Hainer, ARFF Fire Chief at Grand Junction Regional Airport, explained the substantial increase in resources. “We have two smaller trucks, currently 1,500 gallon ARF trucks out here at the airport. And this is a 3,000 gallon. So it doubles our capacity to have a bigger truck, give us more water supply, a better source of water supply because we have so much acreage and property out here. You never know where an accident or incident is going to occur,” Hainer said.
The decision to purchase the ARFF vehicle involved a strategic approach to cost management. Chief Hainer emphasized the balance between necessary features and budget. “There’s a lot of things you can add on, which obviously makes the price go up. And there’s a lot of things that you can leave out. So it’s practicality. It’s kind of a common sense approach of let’s make this truck for everything that we need it for, but we don’t need all the things that we don’t need just to have the price way more expensive,” Hainer said.
The airport received the vehicle significantly earlier than anticipated. Officials were initially told the buildout for the truck would take approximately two years, but it arrived in roughly half that time, within one year. Chief Hainer expressed satisfaction with the early delivery. “We shouldn’t even really have the truck right now. So we’re more than happy to have the truck and get it in service, get everybody trained and be able to support, you know, all the aviators out there that come and go from this airport,” Hainer stated.
The airport plans to immediately integrate the new ARFF vehicle into its operations. This includes getting it in service and ensuring all personnel are thoroughly trained on its use. The new truck will support aviators utilizing the airport.
https://www.westernslopenow.com/news/local-news/grand-junction-regional-airport-adds-new-firetruck-to-its-fleet/
NTSB Final Report: Schweizer Aircraft Corporation G164B
Pilot Was Conducting An Agricultural Flight In The Turbo-Propeller Equipped Airplane When The Engine Lost Partial Power
Location: Kaplan, Louisiana Accident Number: CEN24LA146
Date & Time: April 2, 2024, 13:10 Local Registration: N75099
Aircraft: Schweizer Aircraft Corporation G164B Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Defining Event: Unknown or undetermined Injuries: 1 None
Flight Conducted Under: Part 137: Agricultural
Analysis: The pilot was conducting an agricultural flight in the turbo-propeller equipped airplane when the engine lost partial power. The pilot was unable to maintain altitude and performed a forced landing in a nearby crawfish pond. The airplane came to rest inverted in the pond. The fuselage, upper wings, and empennage were substantially damaged during the forced landing. A postaccident engine examination revealed no evidence of preimpact engine failure that would have precluded normal operation. There were multiple indications that the engine was producing power at impact, including rotational rubbing marks in the compressor, compressor turbine (CT), and power turbine (PT); however, the engine’s power output at impact could not be determined.
One of the two fuel control unit (FCU) air inlet adapter fittings contained debris that covered the air passage. A blockage or leak to the air inlet adapter fitting that reduces pressure to the FCU would result in a reduction in engine power, but a materials laboratory analysis of the debris found on the fitting indicated it was a combination of environmental debris and esterbased compound (oil) that likely accumulated following the accident while the engine was partially submerged in the pond. Additionally, the air inlet metering orifices in the FCU air inlet adapter were both confirmed to be free of obstruction when examined. Had debris buildup been present during the accident flight, compressor discharge air would have dislodged the blockage. Accordingly, the accumulation of debris found in the air inlet adapter fitting occurred postaccident and did not contribute to the reported loss of engine power.
The FCU-to-fuel pump coupling adapter remained intact. According to the engine manufacturer, the coupling will often experience a torsional failure when there is a sudden FCU flyweight stoppage at high power due to impact. However, it could not be determined if the coupling remained intact due to the accident sequence (forced landing, rollover in a pond) and/or reduced engine power at impact.
The PT6A-27 power section installed on the engine was not an approved configuration. The PT6A-27 and PT6A-15AG power sections are identical both mechanically and thermodynamically, but the PT6A-15AG power section has additional corrosion protection and hardware changes for agricultural operations. Although the PT6A-27 power section was not an approved configuration, it did not contribute to the reported loss of engine power.
The PT containment ring was missing three bolts, and the installed bolts were not safety wired in accordance with the engine maintenance manual. The missing bolts most likely backed out of the containment ring and migrated through the holes in the combustion chamber inner liner during engine operation. These three bolts showed varying degrees of oxidation and hardness changes that confirmed they were exposed to the gas temperatures of an operating engine.
However, there was no evidence of upstream impact damage to indicate these loose bolts were ingested through the compressor. As such, the improperly installed PT containment ring bolts did not contribute to the reported loss of engine power. The engine examination revealed damage to the 3rd stage CT rotor blades and CT vanes that was consistent with debris ingestion. It is unknown if the damage occurred during the accident sequence or if it was already present. If the damage was preexisting, it would have resulted in a slight decrease in engine performance; however, none of the findings of the engine examination could be definitively identified as the initiating event for the sudden partial loss of engine power described by the pilot.
Probable Cause and Findings: The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be -- A partial loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined.
FMI: www.ntsb.gov
Today in History
44 Years ago today: On 30 April 1982 An Okanagan Helicopters Sikorsky S-76 crashed in the Gulf of Thailand, killing all 13 occupants.
| Date: | Friday 30 April 1982 |
| Time: | |
| Type: | Sikorsky S-76A |
| Owner/operator: | Okanagan Helicopters |
| Registration: | C-GIMF |
| MSN: | 760038 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 2255 hours |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 13 / Occupants: 13 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | 105 km NNE off Songkhla, Gulf of Thailand - Thailand |
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Offshore |
| Departure airport: | Songkhla |
| Destination airport: | Erawan LQ |
| Confidence Rating: | Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Narrative:
An Okanagan Helicopters Sikorsky S-76 crashed in the Gulf of Thailand, killing all 13 occupants.
The helicopter departed 07:13 for a gas field in the sea. The flight was heading 020 degrees at 5000 ft and cruising at 130 kt. The pilot reported check point A at 07:30 and estimated check point B at 07:44. At 0744 the pilot transmitted a mayday and reported partial loss of tail rotor control. He entered autorotation and slowed to 90 kt, but was unable to stop the aircraft from rotating. His last transmission was at 1000 ft. Debris and an oil slick were found at lat. 08 deg 06 min n long. 100 deg 57 min e.
The wreckage was retrieved from the sea 6 days after the accident. The left tail rotor control cable was fractured due to a combination of wear, rapid fatigue and tensile overload, probably caused by improper rigging.
Crashed into sea following loss of tail rotor control. A tail rotor control cable had been routed over a stainless steel grommet in the area of pulleys (2) under the Main Gear Box. The bracket holding these pulleys did not allow for visual confirmation of the routing. With a broken tail rotor control cable at that time, the tail rotor went immediately to full pitch, a condition from which a recovery was not possible.
A self centering device like that of the H-60 was later added which, under the same circumstances, would result in the T/R centering allowing a run-on landing to be performed. In September 1983 a US-registered S-76 (N521AC) ditched in Lake Michigan following loss of tail rotor control.
