An SF340 first officer reported a right engine intake heat malfunction at 10000 feet. Crew elects to...

Narrative:

About thirty min after takeoff we experienced a failure of the right engine intake heat. We were approximately 10;000 feet and climbing with the captain as pilot flying. He transferred the controls to me and ran the emergency/non-normal checklist while the right intake continued to cycle on and off. After completing the checklist; the captain coordinated with dispatch while I assumed the duties of PF and also communication with ATC. We were in icing conditions and picking up ice but I could visibly see that there was no ice formation on the right engine intake. The captain informed me that we were returning so I said to ATC we are not declaring an emergency; but we need to return. I was given a clearance direct to the field and turned that way. We asked for a lower altitude and were given 6000 feet which was still IMC but we were no longer picking up any ice. The captain said that I would continue to fly while he monitored the situation and continued to coordinate with operations. We landed uneventfully and completed the flight with another aircraft. A mechanical failure caused the air return which was the safest course of action.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An SF340 First Officer reported a right engine intake heat malfunction at 10000 feet. Crew elects to return to departure airport and does so uneventfully.

Narrative: About thirty min after takeoff we experienced a failure of the right engine intake heat. We were approximately 10;000 feet and climbing with the Captain as pilot flying. He transferred the controls to me and ran the emergency/non-normal checklist while the right intake continued to cycle on and off. After completing the checklist; the Captain coordinated with dispatch while I assumed the duties of PF and also communication with ATC. We were in icing conditions and picking up ice but I could visibly see that there was no ice formation on the right engine intake. The Captain informed me that we were returning so I said to ATC we are NOT declaring an emergency; but we need to return. I was given a clearance direct to the field and turned that way. We asked for a lower altitude and were given 6000 feet which was still IMC but we were no longer picking up any ice. The Captain said that I would continue to fly while he monitored the situation and continued to coordinate with operations. We landed uneventfully and completed the flight with another aircraft. A mechanical failure caused the air return which was the safest course of action.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.

Attributes
ACN	863015
Time
Date	200912
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	IMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	SF 340B
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Climb
Component
Aircraft Component	Intake Ice System
Person 1
Function	First Officer Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Commercial
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 22 Flight Crew Total 1800 Flight Crew Type 1400
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence

An SF340 first officer reported a right engine intake heat malfunction at 10000 feet. Crew elects to return to departure airport and does so uneventfully.