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."

FMI: http://aviation.motleyrice.com/