Engines Flamed Out After Pilots Flew Too High... But Who Was At
Fault?
Alleging poor maintenance procedures and defective parts,
self-described prominent aviation litigation firm Motley Rice LLC
announced Tuesday it has filed two lawsuits on in the case of the
October 14, 2004 Pinnacle Airways positioning flight in which
pilots Jesse Rhodes and Richard Peter Cesarz decided to "have a
little fun," as Rhodes told ATC, by flying their lightly loaded
Canadair CRJ-2 up to FL410.
As was reported in Aero-News,
the two men died for their "joyride," in which the men repeatedly
tested the limits of the aircraft by pitching the nose up several
times during the climb (at one point, according to the NTSB, they
were pulling 2.3 G's.)
Ultimately, the two climbed up to 41,000 feet, which is the
service ceiling for the CRJ-2. It was at this point things took a
serious turn. (A full summary of the NTSB's factual report,
including the CVR transcript, is available here.)
"During flight, the crew took the aircraft to the manufacturer's
authorized altitude ceiling of 41,000 feet. Flight at this altitude
offers significantly better fuel economy. Once at 41,000 feet, the
aircraft was unable to hold altitude," said the law firm.
FL410 is the maximum service ceiling for the CRJ-2, according to
Bombardier -- which means under specific conditions (including
operating within a CG envelope that assumes passengers are onboard)
the aircraft can climb to this altitude and maintain flight.
Normal operating altitudes are closer to 37,000 feet, however,
and it's unclear if the two relatively inexperienced pilots knew
how much difference those last 4,000 feet could make.
According to a Motley
Rice release, defendants in the suits include the plane's
manufacturer -- Bombardier -- as well as engine maker GE,
Honeywell, Northwest Airlines (Pinnacle flies for the carrier,
operating as Northwest Airlink), KGS Electronics, and Parker
Hannifin Corporation.
In its lawsuits, the firm cites airline records showing the
flight had been postponed earlier that morning due to maintenance
issues. When onsite technicians couldn't isolate the problem, two
Pinnacle mechanics flew in from Memphis to fix the aircraft. The
mechanics verified a fault in the right air duct sensing loop,
which was removed and replaced in the right engine.
After holding three days of hearings into the accident in June,
the NTSB still has not issued its probable cause report on the
accident -- evidently, there are many factors to consider --but
that hasn't stopped Motley Rice.
"The [CRJ-2] crew immediately asked air traffic control for
permission to descend," said the law firm. "While waiting for
permission, the plane experienced double engine failure. They
repeatedly tried to re-start the engines using the manufacturer's
instructions, but all attempts failed. The plane dropped at a rate
of 2500 to 5000 feet per minute and was headed directly for a
residential area. In the final seconds of their lives, the pilots
steered the plane clear of homes sparing lives on the ground, but
losing their own."
"A post crash investigation revealed that the Flight Data
Recorder (FDR) recovered from the scene recorded that the engine
core rotors (known as N2) did not begin to rotate with the opening
of pneumatic valves used for engine restarts," continues the firm's
release. "This phenomenon is known as "core-lock". The post crash
investigation also revealed the GE CF-34-3B engines' oil pump
malfunctioned and that other components of the engines suffered
from extensive heat damage consistent with exposure to extreme high
temperatures during operation, resulting in the rotor blades
failing to rotate and suffering from the aforementioned core-lock,
causing both engines to fail all restart efforts by the crew after
numerous attempts to do so."
Similar incidents have been reported before, according to the
law firm, citing a March 2003 article in the Boston Globe that
alleged GE knew of the issue but hid the problem from
Bombardier.
"Examining all the problems on this aircraft and these engines
is very important not only to regional carriers, but also to
operators of private jets. The engines and other parts and
equipment on the CRJ are identical to the Challenger CL 600, a very
popular corporate jet," said one of the firm's aviation attorneys,
Marlon Kimpson. "In recent years, several Challengers have been
involved in crashes."
Former Department of
Transportation IG Mary Schiavo (right), who is now an attorney for
Motley Rice, weighed in on the matter.
"Our clients, Mr. Rhodes and Mr. Cesarz, were operating under
approved guidelines at legal altitudes and did everything in their
power to restart the engines," stated Schiavo. "However, this
proved impossible because of core lock, oil pump malfunction,
faulty re-start instructions and other problems with the aircraft.
It is a horrible tragedy that they had to die because of these
known engine problems. With this litigation, we intend to further
the safety of our regional carriers, and safeguard pilots and crew
to enable the provision of safer flights for their passengers."
"We hope the manufacturers of both the plane and engines will be
forthcoming and responsive to the problems," added Motley Rice
attorney J.B. Harris, "so more fine pilots like Rhodes and Cesarz
do not have to die trying to do the impossible; start an engine in
corelock."