Incident Overview
Description
The DC-4 struck trees past the end of runway 30 when the crew were attempting to return to the airport following engine trouble. PROBABLE CAUSE: “Material failure consisting in fatigue failure of a number of teeth of the pinion of the governor control unit, which was jammed against the rack in the ‘up’ position and therefore set for maximum rpm, thus causing the engine to overspeed. This would be in keeping with the fact that the dome ring was at maximum low pitch setting, i.e. high rpm and a runway propeller on take-off. Contributing factor: Faulty supervision by the Company. This consisted in briefing the pilot-in-command of the aircraft to make a night flight when he was not qualified for DC-4s, since he was still undergoing training for conversion to L-749.”
Primary Cause
Fatigue failure of the governor control unit pinion teeth.Fatigue failure of the governor control unit pinion teeth.Share on:
