This is an excerpt from a report made to the Aviation Safety Reporting System. The narrative is written by the pilot, rather than FAA or NTSB officials. To maintain anonymity, many details, such as aircraft model or airport, are often scrubbed from the reports.
While taxiing the Cirrus SR20 aircraft for a Discovery Flight with a participant onboard, the engine suddenly shut down.
I immediately reported the situation to Ground and followed their instructions.
Initially, I considered the possibility that the Discovery Flight participant might have inadvertently operated a control I hadn’t noticed during the experience.
Following the checklist procedures, I attempted to restart the engine. The restart was successful, and I resumed taxiing toward the runway.
However, upon reaching the runway and preparing for takeoff, the engine shut down again.
I promptly informed the ATC of the situation and notified them that I was unable to vacate the runway on my own.
I attempted to restart the engine again using the Hot Start procedure, as outlined in the checklist, but all three attempts were unsuccessful.
To ensure our safety, the airport manager arrived at the scene to check on us.
To clear the runway, the Discovery Flight participant, the airport manager, and I worked together to push the aircraft to Taxiway 1 successfully.
Afterward, the airport manager contacted a towing service to safely relocate the aircraft.
Shortly after, the towing service arrived at the scene, accompanied by the flight school’s owner.
The owner attempted to restart the engine, and this time the engine was successfully started. The aircraft was then taxied back to the ramp.
While returning to the ramp, the owner explained some unique characteristics of the Lycoming engine installed in the aircraft. While it was appropriate to follow the procedures outlined in the Pilot’s Operating Handbook (POH), he shared practical advice based on his experience to better operate this specific engine model.
This greatly enhanced my understanding of the engine and provided valuable insights for handling similar situations in the future.
Fortunately, there were no injuries or damage to the aircraft during this incident.
However, this event emphasized the importance of gaining a deeper understanding of the specific characteristics of this engine type and accumulating operational experience.
Primary Problem: Aircraft
ACN: 2191535
When you click on the link it will take you to the ASRS Online Database. Click on Report Number and put the ACN in the search box, then click Search. On that page, click on “view only the 1 most recent report.”
C’mon…there’re always Lessons Learned buried in these ASRS scenarios. Certainly, lots of details are missing here, but sometimes you just have to view the actual report, and/or read between the lines. Here’s my take…
First of all, according to Cirrus:
“Cirrus pilots should satisfactorily complete the Cirrus Transition Training Course, Advanced Transition Training Course, Avionics Differences, Airframe and Power Plant Differences, or the Cirrus Standardized Instructor Pilot (CSIP) course prior to acting as pilot in command of a Cirrus aircraft.”
Given the “uniqueness” of Cirrus airplanes, the manufacturer’s recommendations are understandable. I’ll bet the 1020-hour CFI was NOT an actual “Cirrus CFI” (CSIP), as indicated in the ASRS text. In fact, I wonder where the CFI learned how to fly a Cirrus in the first place…
Even though we don’t know why the engine quit initially, I’m going to place part of the blame for what followed, on improper application of “Hot Start” tactics, techniques, and procedures.
“SR20 Flight Instructor reported the aircraft engine shut down uncommanded two times during taxi.”
He then “attempted to restart the engine again using the Hot Start procedure, as outlined in the checklist, but all three attempts were unsuccessful”…Granted, for reasons unknown, but how “hot” was the engine after running for relatively short periods of time?
How cool was the OAT at Airport ZZZ, especially in the PM on a December day?
Older Cirrus SR20s came with a 200 HP Continental IO-360; newer SR20s come with a 215 HP Lycoming IO-390:
“While returning to the ramp, the Owner explained some unique characteristics of the Lycoming engine installed in the aircraft. While it was appropriate to follow the procedures outlined in the Pilot’s Operating Handbook (POH), he shared practical advice based on his experience to better operate this specific engine model. This greatly enhanced my understanding of the engine and provided valuable insights for handling similar situations in the future.”
Lycomings are a bit more notorious for Hot Start issues than Continentals. I wonder if those were the “unique characteristics” the Owner had to explain to the CFI?
I also wonder which “procedures outlined in the Pilot’s Operating Handbook (POH)” he followed, since Hot Start guidance in the SR20/22 POH, and the FOM…is pretty thin…
Bottom Line: Using Hot Start procedures (or the wrong procedures), when they’re not appropriate for the conditions, is going to be about as successful as NOT using them when they are…
Regardless,
“However, this event emphasized the importance of gaining a deeper understanding of the specific characteristics of this engine type and accumulating operational experience.”
So, a couple worthwhile “Lessons Learned”? Absolutely.
There are too many missing details in this report to be helpful. The account sounds like it was made by someone unfamiliar with the aircraft, or at least new to it. Should such a person be flying discovery?
Why did the engine stall? This to me is more critical than why it would not restart, although a deviation from the POH is certainly concerning, and surely an instructor performing a discovery flight ought to be aware of this.
There was nothing discussed about a different restart procedure or what was done to cause the engine stall, so the report is nothing more than a cancelled discovery flight. I wonder what the comfort level of the passenger was regarding another discovery flight? What a way to begin.
This Report did little good, not sure if anyone learned any lessons from it. If a running engine dies while taxing the last thing I would do is try to continue on with a discovery flight. Lucky for them it died again and wouldn’t restart before takeoff. And if a engine has too may problems to not operate per the POH that’s another issue.
Why was this artical even published. The editor is not on the ball. This should have ben a learning experiance.
That’s about as unhelpful a report as I can imagine. Why did the engine stop? What characteristics of the engine were disclosed that aren’t in the POH?