Question for crash investigators

Thanks for your inputs.

I know you can’t investigate a crash from a picture of a blade, but I just wanted to see if people with more knowledge of crash investigation had the same basic perception as i did.

It seems everyone agrees with Slipstream, when he writes:

“this blade was probably not turning when it hit the ground.”

The blade belong to Super Decathlon N240R, in which Steve Fossett flew and lost his life last september.

I was surprised to learn, that an aviator of that caliber, would be involved in a simple pleasure flight accident (although this is possible), so when i saw the prop blade, I already suspected he might have had engine problems.

Guess I will have to wait for NTSB for the full story.

I concur. Given the terrain if it was turning at any great speed i’d expect to see more bits. Possibly a lateral twist to it also. But seeing the other prop blade would help.

I was wondering if anyone with expirence in crash investigation could look at this picture. Its from a light aircraft high energy crash.

The prop is a Hartzell Constant Speed (2 blade).

To my untrained eye, it looks like the prop was NOT turning at the time of impact. Would anyone with some expirence in the field care to give an interpretation?

Sorry its not actually historical….but I like this forum and know there always is a high quality to the answers.

During my days as CSE ( Oxford ) I saw quite a few damaged prop’s of this type. generally, if the prop was turning at the time of impact, both blades scrolled around backwards at the tips. I would be inclined to say that if this had been turning at the moment of impact there would have been substantially more damage to the blade, most probably with the tips missing. The presence of large rocks would also suggest more damage would have been caused had it been turning.
From this picture, it’s really only possible to say that this blade was probably not turning when it hit the ground.

Hi Camlobe,

It sure is (although its actually in California).

One has to ask, is this blade from a propeller once installed on a Decathlon, presently residing approximately 9600 feet up in Nevada?

camlobe

I understand your reservation. unfortunatly I only have this picture of the prop.

Other information is, that the engine was found some 300′ from the main impact area.
I could upload a few engine pics, if that would make a difference.

I would like to see the other blade before giving any definite comment…