Jim Stewart wrote:
Matt Whiting wrote:
Robert M. Gary wrote:
On Aug 31, 7:40 pm, Mike Granby wrote:
Another witness mentioned an engine sputter
Whatever the cause of a crash, there's always someone who hears the
engine splutter...

All aircraft engines sputter, that's just the nature of how they work.
They don't sound like BMV engines.


Bull. I can easily tell a well-running aircraft engine from one that
isn't running well.

I think he might have meant that a direct
drive unmuffled flat-four sounds rough
at idle compared to most cars. And I'd
agree.

My 182 idled quite nicely and sounded quite good at full-bore as well.
The operative definition here is number 3 under verb, and I have never
heard any decently tuned aircraft engine that makes "explosive popping
sounds." And to say that this is "just the nature of how they work" is
simply silly. And not all aircraft are unmuffled.

http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/sputter

Matt