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A pilot flying an aviat A-1C-husky aircraft hears a rattling noise and notices the piano hinge on the engine's right cowling migrating forward and cutting into the trailing edge of the composite propeller. Gaps had also developed at the aft hinge section as the hinge pin continued migrating forward; raising further concerns the cowling might start to tear from the aircraft.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1111868 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201307 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | A-1 Husky |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Initial Climb |
| Route In Use | Direct |
| Flight Plan | VFR |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Cowling |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Pilot Flying Single Pilot |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Commercial Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Multiengine |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 30 Flight Crew Total 1100 Flight Crew Type 542 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Inflight Event / Encounter Object |
Narrative:
During initial climbout; I heard a rattling noise and as I looked around to find the source of the noise; I found that the piano hinge rod on the right side of the cowling had slid its way forward; toward the rear of the propeller. I immediately reduced power and turned back towards the field at about 1;500 ft AGL. The other two aircraft in my flight continued on with their flight plan. The husky I was flying was equipped with an mt composite two blade; 80 inch propeller. I reduced power and turned back towards the airport. As I started my descent the propeller automatically started to increase the blade angle to try to keep the prop below redline; bringing the trailing edge of the prop into contact with the protruding rod. The rod oscillated violently a few times as it struck the trailing edge of the propeller. At the time I thought the rod was simply being affected by the vibrations in the cowling. I landed and shut down and assessed the damage. The affected area was about 3.5 to 4 inches wide and about .75 to 1 inch deep on each trailing edge of each blade. The rod wasn't bent but had chewed its way past the fiberglass and into the wooden layers of the propeller. There was no sign of the hinge pin protruding during the pre-flight inspection. This could easily have been avoided by simply adding two 90-degree bends on the fore and aft ends of each hinge pin.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A pilot flying an Aviat A-1C-Husky aircraft hears a rattling noise and notices the piano hinge on the engine's right cowling migrating forward and cutting into the trailing edge of the composite propeller. Gaps had also developed at the aft hinge section as the hinge pin continued migrating forward; raising further concerns the cowling might start to tear from the aircraft.
Narrative: During initial climbout; I heard a rattling noise and as I looked around to find the source of the noise; I found that the piano hinge rod on the right side of the cowling had slid its way forward; toward the rear of the propeller. I immediately reduced power and turned back towards the field at about 1;500 FT AGL. The other two aircraft in my flight continued on with their flight plan. The Husky I was flying was equipped with an MT composite two blade; 80 inch propeller. I reduced power and turned back towards the airport. As I started my descent the propeller automatically started to increase the blade angle to try to keep the prop below redline; bringing the trailing edge of the prop into contact with the protruding rod. The rod oscillated violently a few times as it struck the trailing edge of the propeller. At the time I thought the rod was simply being affected by the vibrations in the cowling. I landed and shut down and assessed the damage. The affected area was about 3.5 to 4 inches wide and about .75 to 1 inch deep on each trailing edge of each blade. The rod wasn't bent but had chewed its way past the fiberglass and into the wooden layers of the propeller. There was no sign of the hinge pin protruding during the pre-flight inspection. This could easily have been avoided by simply adding two 90-degree bends on the fore and aft ends of each hinge pin.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.