A Method of Identification of a Failed Engine in Twin-Engine Turboprop Aircraft: A Survey

Previous research identified that wrong identification of a failed engine during a flight is not an uncommon event in an aircraft cockpit. A number of fatal accidents in the past, including the recent TransAsia Flight 235 accident, resulted from failed engine mis-identification. Most accidents of this type happened on takeoff when pilot workload was at its highest level. A short survey was created and distributed among airline pilots who operate twin-engine turboprop aircraft to gather their opinions regarding the issue. Forty-nine pilots responded to the survey. The average flight experience was more than 6,000 flight hours and almost nine years. Approximately 19 percent of respondents had to utilize the engine-out procedure in their experience. The majority of respondents felt comfortable with the current method of identification of a failed engine. Twenty-nine percent of respondents to the survey agreed with the statement that there could be a better method of identification of a failed engine. Thirty-four percent of respondents who provided suggestions for improvement of a current method recommended adding a visual indicator of some kind. The results of the survey provide greater insight into the problem of wrong identification of a failed engine in twin-engine propeller aircraft.