Fairchild SA227 AC N2691W

Summary

On 17 April 2015 at about 04:45 local time, a Fairchild SA227 AC registered N2691W, operated by Key Lime Air Corporation, was involved in an accident near Rifle, Colorado, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

17 April 2015 at 04:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Rifle, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Garfield County Rgnl (RIL)

Coordinates

39.5258, -107.7281

Aircraft

Fairchild SA227 AC

Registration

N2691W

Category

Airplane

Year built

1986

Engines

2

Operator

Key Lime Air Corporation

Operating rule

Part 135: Air Taxi & Commuter

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Rifle → Denver

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Night/Dark

NTSB number

CEN15LA202

Nobody was injured.

The uncontained engine failure due to the fatigue failure of the second-stage turbine rotor disk.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The commercial pilot departed in the twin-engine airplane for a scheduled, domestic cargo flight. He reported that, during the climb, he heard a "bang," which was followed by a loss of engine power and fire indications from the right engine. The pilot declared an emergency and diverted to another airport for an instrument approach and landed uneventfully.   Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the right engine's second-stage turbine rotor had separated. One portion of the rotor exited through the left side of the engine and nacelle structure, penetrated the right side of the fuselage, and came to rest inside the fuselage wall. Other portions of the separated rotor exited through the right side of the engine. The engine and the inside of the nacelle structure exhibited fire damage, but no evidence of a sustained fire was found in that area. The examination of the turbine engine revealed fatigue cracks on the second-stage rotor disk, which indicates that the rotor disk likely failed due to fatigue, and this likely resulted in the uncontained engine failure.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.