Caravan/Navajo Pilots

[transienttorque]

I know a guy that was flying a Baron and him and his passengers were killed by an inflatable door seal. The only way he could have possibly saved their lives, would have been to have shut the master off and kill both engines, landing off airport. Two engines don't always guarantee that you'll be safe.

What happened?

 

[SkyWestCRJPilot]

I flew the Navajo/Chieftain for about 800 hours in Part 135 and I loved it. I've never flown a C-208 but they seem like great airplanes. The Navajos/Chieftains are old, the youngest I flew was built around 1980 I think. I've seen a lot of new C-208s though. If you want a PA-31 go with the Chieftain (PA-31-350) with 350 hp a side and counter-rotating props. It has extra hp over the PA31-310 (310 hp) which doesn't have counter-rotating props. The Chieftain has a roomier cabin (2 feet longer) and they fixed a lot of little annoying things the straight Navajo had. (Whichever you get, get one with a crew door.) It's a good airplane and handles well on one engine if you're not too heavy or hot. They are old and hence require a lot of maintenance to keep them going (as does any older airplane) but I never had an engine quit or any major malfunction. They are faster than a C-208. We would routinely fly the same route as a FEDEX Feeder and pass them all the time. But on short legs that speed won't make much difference. You may be comparing apples and oranges though. If you want a twin I'd recommend a King Air 90 maybe. You'd have the reliability of turbine power plus two engines. Or a Pilatus PC-12 or TBM-700 for nice fast turbine singles (more costly though I imagine). Or a Baron or any twin cessna for other piston twin options. It all depends on what your stage lengths, altitudes, weather flying, and payload are. Oh, and also how big your pocketbook is.

 

[WrightAvia]

What happened?

A misinstalled electric door seal system. A magazine article I had read, said that the resistor kit was rigged for one voltage but wasn't the appropriate voltage for the aircraft. Also cited in the article was the fact that the wiring ran across the two fuel lines feeding the fuel pressure guages, with the hot wires burning through and causing a fuel fire.

The following NTSB report doesn't mention the fuel line thing, but I had even heard about that detail from our chief pilot, who knew the state pilot pretty well.

Here is that link....

http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20001211X11010&key=1