Navajo Down in Ankeny, IA

The accounts that I've read do not mention any roll or "Vmc" roll, they all
seem to indicate that the airplane was upright and controlled until impact.
Successful single engine operation in twins requires both control and
performance. Usually a configuration that increases control decreases
performance and vise versa. I did not read anything about of loss of
control, only lack of performance. Whether their airplane was configured
properly to obtain the performance required and whether it was capable of
obtaining the required performance, I think, are the questions.

The Navajo, configured properly, "should" be controllable and capable of a
climb of around 250 fpm with full power on the good engine, sea level,
standard conditions, at full gross weight. Ankeny is about 900 feet, temps
were in the 50's, accounts say only two people on board, no mention of
weight or baggage.

If it was an engine out situation would be interesting to know if the bad
engine's prop had been feathered, if the gear and flaps were up or down, and
if the operating engine was making full power. For those in the group that
are not familiar with single engine operations in twins, excess drag created
by a windmilling prop, extended flaps, and extended landing gear can, and
probably will, create more drag than a single engine can overcome. The
airplane may be longitudinally controllable if kept above the Vmc speed for
the conditions and configuration, but the airplane may be so "draggy" that a
climb is not only impossible but it is descending at a abnormally high rate.

Jim

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
oups.com...
2 guys killed in an attempt to return to the airport on a single
engine.

http://www.kcci.com/news/5281008/detail.html#

My condolences to the families.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"