N161AL
Registered owner: AGHAWK DYNAMICS INC, WA (owner ≠ operator)
Operators of this aircraft
Who operated this tail, and how firmly we know it.
No operator established for this aircraft.
Accident & incident history
No NTSB accidents or incidents on file for this aircraft.
Maintenance disclosures
Service Difficulty Reports filed with the FAA for this airframe. Filing is largely voluntary — the number of reports is not a measure of reliability. To verify a report, search its control number at the FAA SDRS site.
4 reports on file, 2012-09-08 – 2015-07-12.
Part: BLOWER — FAILED (AC BAY) · airframe 7,747 hrs · 3,765 cycles
IN THE APPROACH PHASE OF FLIGHT AT APPROX 18:44 LOCAL TIME, WHEN ON BASE TURN, SMELLED AT FIRST, THEN BEGAN TO SEE SMOKE ENTER THE CABIN FROM BEHIND AS WELL AS FROM THE OVERHEAD VENTS IN THE COCKPIT. BECAUSE OF THE LOW ALTITUDE & PROXIMITY TO THE AIRPORT, I TURNED OFF THE OVERHEAD VENT SWITCH & A FEW SECONDS LATER, THE AIR CYCLE MACHINE SWITCH. LANDED THE ACFT NORMALLY & EXITED THE RUNWAY. ACFT WAS SECURED ON THE RAMP. TROUBLESHOOTING REVEALED THAT THE GND BLOWER HAD FAILED & AS THIS IS ENGAGED WHEN THE AIRSPEED SLOWS DOWN, ON APPROACH, THE SMOKE FROM THE FAILED GND BLOWER MOTOR ENTERED THE CABIN THROUGH THE OVERHEAD VENTS. GND BLOWER UNIT WAS REPLACED.
Part: BLOWER — FAILED · airframe 7,046 hrs · 2,541 cycles
CREW THOUGHT PROBLEM WAS IN ECU. ENROUTE, PILOT FLYING HAD THE ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROLS SET TO THE AUTO MODE. ON LANDING NOTICED CABIN TEMPERATURE STARTED TO INCREASE. NOTICED ON CLIMB OUT, CABIN TEMPERATURE WAS GETTING QUITE WARM. LEVELED OFF AT CRUISE, CABIN TEMPERATURE WAS NORMAL. ON APPROACH, PILOT NOTICED CABIN TEMPERATURE WAS STARTING TO GET WARM AGAIN. ON LANDING, COPILOT STATED IT WAS STARTING TO GET FOGGY IN COCKPIT. SAW THICK SMOKE IN CABIN. PILOT TURNED OFF THE ENVIRONMENTAL SYS AND DEPRESSURIZED ACFT TO REMOVE SMOKE. SHUTDOWN ENGINES AND EVACUATED ACFT. MX TROUBLESHOT PROBLEM DOWN TO GROUND BLOWER FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SYS.
Part: ENGINE — POWER LOSS (LEFT) · airframe 6,932 hrs
DURING CLIMB, CREW WAS BEGINNING LEVEL OFF AT 3000 FT. ATC REQUESTED CLIMB TO 4000 FT. CREW ADVANCED POWER TO APPROX 600HP. EXPERIENCED A COMPLETE POWER LOSS FROM LT ENGINE JUST AFTER BEGINNING OF CLIMB. NO INDICATIONS FROM INSTRUMENTS PRIOR. CREW MAINTAINED CONTROL, AIRSPEED, AND LEVELED OFF. CREW SECURED LT ENGINE AND RETURNED TO AIRFIELD ON SINGLE ENGINE. TROUBLESHOOTING, ALL INDICATIONS ARE LEADING TO FUEL CONTROL.
Part: FUEL CONTROL — FLUCTUATES (LEFT ENGINE) · airframe 6,783 hrs · 2,023 cycles
LEFT ENGINE DID NOT RESPOND TO CONTROL INPUTS DURING DESCENT. HP WOULD NOT DROP BELOW 400HP. UTILIZED CONDITION LEVER TO PULL POWER BACK. SWAPPED INLET SENSORS BETWEEN LT AND RT ENGINE. GROUND RUNS COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM AFTER INLET SENSOR SWAP. PERFORMED CHECK FLIGHT ON ACFT. LEFT ENGINE HP WENT DIRECTLY TO 400 HP. ONCE POWER LEVER ADVANCED TO POINT WHERE ABOVE 400HP THEN HP WOULD NOT STAY STEADY BUT CONTINUED TO FLUCTUATE BY AS MUCH AS 150HP. ATTEMPTED TO REDUCE POWER BUT HP WOULD NOT COME DOWN BELOW 400. PERFORMED IN FLIGHT SHUTDOWN OF MOTOR AND LANDED BACK AT HOME STATION.