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| Date: | Monday 25 June 2007 |
| Time: | |
| Type: |  Diamond DA40 Diamond Star |
| Owner/operator: | Aéroclub de l'Hérault |
| Registration: | F-GUVB |
| MSN: | D4.014 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2003 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 3 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | None |
| Category: | Incident |
| Location: | Montpellier-Méditerranée Airport, Hérault 34 -
 France
|
| Phase: | Unknown |
| Nature: | Unknown |
| Departure airport: | Montpellier-Méditerranée Airport (MPL/LFMT) |
| Château-Arnoux-Saint-Auban Airfield (LFMX) | |
| Investigating agency: | BEA |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information verified through data from accident investigation authorities |
The pilot took off at 06:53 to conduct a navigation with two passengers, both DA40 pilots. He explained that he was cruising at 800 feet, under a layer of clouds, and that he had set the engine power to 75% with 5.3 gph fuel consumption. At 07:13, he heard a thud and the propeller speed indicator went into the red. The engine "goes to safety": the propeller speed goes down to 2600 rpm and the power to 50% with a consumption of 4 gph. The pilot takes the "Emergency Procedures" checklist and executes the failure in cruise procedure twice (ECU SWAP on ECU B / ENGINE MASTER OFF then ON). The "propeller" and "consumption" parameters remain unchanged. The pilot then decided to return to Montpellier and announced himself urgently on the Montpellier Candillargues auto information frequency. He then executed the "High propeller speed" procedure (reduced engine power). He managed to maintain a landing at 800 feet with 45% power at a propeller speed of 2400 rpm. He contacted the Montpellier Mediterranean tower frequency and landed at 7:21 a.m. on runway 31 right without any other problem.
On the ground the solenoid valve which controls the propeller speed was found broken.
When the solenoid valve stopped working, the engine went into overdrive and the propeller into full low pitch. This malfunction is detected by the FADEC which reduced the fuel intake pressure to 50%. The propeller speed remained in the red range.
Sources:
https://bea.aero/en/investigation-reports/notified-events/detail/panne-de-regulation-helice-atterrissage-de-precaution/
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 12-Oct-2022 11:59 | harro | Added |
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