Cape Air Grounds Fleet

[CE402]

Good call by the company to play it safe...

http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=1006195

 

[Taildraggaah]

Hats off to them for being prudent and proactive with this safety issue. Do they have future plans to replace the 402s?

 

[Fred Rogers]

I couldn't get that link to open. What happened?

 

[flifo81]

Try this one:

http://ack.net/planegrounding061307.html

 

[zawillif]

From Dan Wolf's company message:

There seems to be an "abnormally fast wear problem with the counterweights on the crankshafts". They are replacing all the counterweights on all the engines. Starting Thursday they will be having 10 aircraft per day finished. Should be back to full capacity by early next week.

 

[Golden Falcon]

Yeah good on them...failure of one of those really makes a mess of things there was a bogus parts issue with some of those and associated hardware years back wonder if it resurfaced???

 

[Mesabi Miner]

I think Cape Air had a wing spar issue with the 402's a few years back as well. Required massive inspections as I recall. Great airline though. I spend alot of time on the Cape and not seeing the sky filled with the 402's would be disheartening. Jumpsat on them as well; they were very hospitable. I wish them the best of luck.

MM

 

[ackattacker]

"abnormal wear" is one way to put it. "Parts shooting holes through the cowling" is another. Things that make you go hmmm. Good job to the pilots involved.

 

[Way2Broke]

"abnormal wear" is one way to put it. "Parts shooting holes through the cowling" is another. Things that make you go hmmm. Good job to the pilots involved.

The rumor that I heard was that the the engineers from Lycoming inspected some of the engines and found that the power setting that Cape Air uses in their SOPs is causing a vibration that could be causing alot of the failures. Apparently the power setting of 27in/21rps/90pph (85 now I think) is not found anywhere in the P.O.H. for a cruise setting, nor is the high speed cruise of 29.5in/2450rps/120pph. Although these setting are "approved" by the manufacturer. Best of luck finding and solving the problem.

Is Island Air or Nantucket Shuttle doing any extra inspections? Obviously they all operate their 402s in a very similar way.

 

[Mesabi Miner]

The rumor that I heard was that the the engineers from Lycoming inspected some of the engines and found that the power setting that Cape Air uses in their SOPs is causing a vibration that could be causing alot of the failures. Apparently the power setting of 27in/21rps/90pph (85 now I think) is not found anywhere in the P.O.H. for a cruise setting, nor is the high speed cruise of 29.5in/2450rps/120pph. Although these setting are "approved" by the manufacturer. Best of luck finding and solving the problem.

Is Island Air or Nantucket Shuttle doing any extra inspections? Obviously they all operate their 402s in a very similar way.

My buddy runs his own aircraft maintenance shop at the Chatham Airport, right down the road from Hyannis. Your above statement is absolutely correct. He said he's talked with a few people over there and it's apparently not the engine's fault, but instead the power settings and practices of operating well outside of TBO.

MM