Narrative:

Checked-in for the last day of a three day trip. Once at the aircraft I noticed that the first officer had already removed the plugs and performed the preflight since he was already on the aircraft with the APU running. I performed all the originating checks before engine start with no abnormalities noted; as well as the after start originating checks; before repositioning the DHC8-100 to the ramp so we didn't have to do them with the passengers on; which is what I always do to save time and to increase passenger comfort. We arrived at the gate and proceeded to board passengers for flight. We left the gate and taxied for departure. First officer was the flying pilot for this leg when we commenced the takeoff roll. As the first officer applied takeoff torque we both immediately noticed the #1 torque would not go above 38% with a prop RPM of 866; so we rejected the takeoff; informed ATC and cleared the runway. We then contacted maintenance control just clear of the runway to troubleshoot. Maintenance control had us pull both engine ecu breakers for the #1 engine which did nothing to correct the problem. We taxied back to the gate to deplane all the passengers and called maintenance control again. This time they wanted us to run it up again and pull the ecu breakers one more time. This time we only got 20% torque and the interstage turbine temperature (itt) was approximately 750 degrees on the #1 engine. The third time we did a runup was after contract maintenance reset the beta lockout breakers and stayed onboard the aircraft for the runup. Each time we did the runup the engine kept getting hotter and kept producing less torque. Both mechanic and myself agreed we should stop the runups at this point. After talking to the flight crew who brought the aircraft in for the overnight and asking them if anything abnormal happened; they said no. We also asked if they put in two plugs or one; when they said two plugs that is when I was told by the first officer that he only found one on his preflight. I then called maintenance control and told them what I was just informed by my first officer. They told me they would look for a plug and that the contract maintenance guy already had (checked) with a ladder and saw nothing abnormal. I said I just wanted them to know because I had just found out about the one missing plug from my first officer. The spare aircraft showed up and we completed our original flight. Contacted by chief pilot on arrival. Cause: providing improper plugs for an aircraft when the majority of them do not fit properly and have no way to be restrained if the straps are missing. Poor communication between first officer and myself about one missing plug until after the fact when we spoke with previous flight crew. Apparently common for them to blow away in high wind situations because of poor fit.provided all pertinent information about the event so other crews do not have a similar experience. Stop the plug program except in extreme weather. Provide plugs that go around the intake not in it so they can fall inside. I am five foot seven inches and cannot even reach the inlet to install the plugs at all.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A Captain and First Officer report a rejected takeoff (RTO) from an inlet plug being left in the #1 engine inlet plenum. Issues involving communications; training; procedures; maintenance of the inlet plugs and straps and company policy were additional factors.

Narrative: Checked-in for the last day of a three day trip. Once at the aircraft I noticed that the First Officer had already removed the plugs and performed the preflight since he was already on the aircraft with the APU running. I performed all the originating checks before engine start with no abnormalities noted; as well as the After Start originating checks; before repositioning the DHC8-100 to the ramp so we didn't have to do them with the passengers on; which is what I always do to save time and to increase passenger comfort. We arrived at the gate and proceeded to board passengers for flight. We left the gate and taxied for departure. First Officer was the flying pilot for this leg when we commenced the takeoff roll. As the First Officer applied takeoff torque we both immediately noticed the #1 torque would not go above 38% with a prop RPM of 866; so we rejected the takeoff; informed ATC and cleared the runway. We then contacted Maintenance Control just clear of the runway to troubleshoot. Maintenance Control had us pull both engine ECU breakers for the #1 engine which did nothing to correct the problem. We taxied back to the gate to deplane all the passengers and called Maintenance Control again. This time they wanted us to run it up again and pull the ECU breakers one more time. This time we only got 20% torque and the Interstage Turbine Temperature (ITT) was approximately 750 degrees on the #1 engine. The third time we did a runup was after Contract Maintenance reset the Beta Lockout breakers and stayed onboard the aircraft for the runup. Each time we did the runup the engine kept getting hotter and kept producing less torque. Both Mechanic and myself agreed we should stop the runups at this point. After talking to the Flight Crew who brought the aircraft in for the overnight and asking them if anything abnormal happened; they said no. We also asked if they put in two plugs or one; when they said two plugs that is when I was told by the First Officer that he only found one on his preflight. I then called Maintenance Control and told them what I was just informed by my First Officer. They told me they would look for a plug and that the Contract Maintenance guy already had (checked) with a ladder and saw nothing abnormal. I said I just wanted them to know because I had just found out about the one missing plug from my First Officer. The spare aircraft showed up and we completed our original flight. Contacted by Chief Pilot on arrival. Cause: Providing improper plugs for an aircraft when the majority of them do not fit properly and have no way to be restrained if the straps are missing. Poor communication between First Officer and myself about one missing plug until after the fact when we spoke with previous flight crew. Apparently common for them to blow away in high wind situations because of poor fit.Provided all pertinent information about the event so other crews do not have a similar experience. STOP THE PLUG PROGRAM EXCEPT IN EXTREME WEATHER. PROVIDE PLUGS THAT GO AROUND THE INTAKE NOT IN IT SO THEY CAN FALL INSIDE. I AM five foot seven inches AND CANNOT EVEN REACH THE INLET TO INSTALL THE PLUGS AT ALL.

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.