The airline transport pilot reported that he performed a preflight inspection of the airplane before departing on the repositioning flight. The takeoff roll was normal, however, just after the Swearingen SA226 lifted off, he heard a “pop” and felt a vibration.
He initially thought that one of the tires had blown, but as the vibration continued, he determined that he might have a problem with one of the propellers. He subsequently returned to the airport in Boise, Idaho, and landed without further incident.
When he shut down the left engine after landing, he noticed that the tip of one of the propeller blades was missing.
Further examination of the blade revealed that about 4″ of the blade tip had separated and penetrated the side of the fuselage.
Airport personnel later found additional pieces of propeller blade material on the runway, as well as what appeared to be the blade of a screwdriver and pieces of the handle.
Maintenance personnel reported that a mechanic had been working on the airplane just before the flight and had been called away from the task he was performing before it was completed. The airplane was subsequently returned to service.
The mechanic left a screwdriver on the nose of the airplane in the windshield wiper area, in a position that the pilot could not see. It is likely that, during the takeoff roll, the screwdriver became dislodged from the area of the windshield wiper and hit the left propeller.
Probable cause: Company maintenance personnel’s failure to remove a screwdriver that was left lodged in the windshield wiper area of the forward fuselage during maintenance and subsequently became dislodged on takeoff/initial climb and collided with a left propeller blade.
NTSB Identification: WPR17LA078
This March 2017 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
Very good ! You win a cookie!
After my 1/2″ ratchet incident, I made it a point to take a second look at everything before closing up an aircraft after an inspection. I never left a tool or a flashlight in an aircraft again.
In relation to this, at our Cessna dealership, I did initial inspections on new aircraft ferried from Wichita, before they were released for sale, flight school use, or air taxi flights. Many times I would find nice flashlights, wrenches, bucking bars, clecos and even coins inside wings and fuselage bellies.
You are describing what the airlines and Boeing call FOD, or Foreign Object Debris. . . .
I thought it was mandatory for aviation mechanics to SHADOW their tools after completing each job. I even know some good auto mechanics who practice this.
It isn’t a rule, but it’s the professional thing to do. But even pros slip up from time to time.
On my last annual the mechanic left a screwdriver on the head of the engine. It luckily remained in place on the check-out flight back to home field. The cowling was pulled to charge the battery and he screwdriver discovered, otherwise it no doubt would have found it’s way out the air intake and into the prop over time.
When I was a green A&P in 1972, I had completed a 100 hour inspection of a Cessna 150….N5278Q….I never forgot the “N” number. Uncowled, I pushed it out of the hangar at Bay Bridge Airport and sat it 90 degrees from the open hangar. Then I jumped in, fired it up, and once the oil temp hit the bottom of the green advanced to 1800 RPM to perform a mag check. Then I heard a huge BANG….the barely visible prop arc looked different. Shutting down, one blade was bent at 90 degrees about 5″ from the tip. Well, I had left my Craftsman 1/2″ ratchet on the engine. Big mistake. The second mistake was not going back to Sears for a free new one!
That prop cost me nearly two week’s pay….lesson learned the hard way!
I find many Screwdrivers Flashlights and occasional Cordless Drills while conducting inspections.
When work is done on plane, a smart Pilot will open cowlings and do a thorough preflight. I open my cowlings every third flight regardless.
Pilot/Mechanic