From Four Engines to Two By Lt. Michael Winters
fter three hours on-station off the coast of Nassau in the Bahamas, we finished our fourth attack of our TorpEx. We started a climb to 10,000 feet, with the 2P and I in the seat. It was a beautiful day, and we looked forward to a smooth 60-minute transit home to NAS Jacksonville. As we passed through 5,000 feet, the No. 4 firewarning horn sounded, and the light illuminated. We silenced the horn, pulled the emergency-shutdown handle, and completed the emergency-shutdown checklist through alternate high-rate-discharge (HRD) bottle. We then restarted the No. 1 engine, which had been loitered throughout the on-station period. After No. 1 was online, and the emergency-shutdown checklist was completed for No. 4, I directed the copilot to head home and to declare an emergency with ATC. Though I was aggravated with the current situation, I still felt comfortable landing with three engines. We started our one-hour transit to Jacksonville, and I was thinking about diverts and three-engine procedures
when the aft observer called the flight station to look at the No. 1 engine. It had been running for only five minutes, but we saw a pool of fluid sitting on the exhaust pipe. After much discussion, we determined it probably was not condensation but oil. I started to think about my upgrading days and vaguely remembered reading about an uncontrollable oil-fed tailpipe fire. I discussed the situation with the pilots and flight engineers. The No. 1 engine-oil quantity and temperature were within limits, and we had no other abnormal indications. I considered leaving the engine running but thought differently after more discussion of oil-fed tailpipe fires and catastrophic turbine failures. I was concerned that if we got a tailpipe fire, it would be impossible to extinguish with the HRD. With that in mind, I had the copilot call to shut down the No. 1 engine.
I could feel a lump in my throat when the flight engineer said, “Sir, we need to land this plane.”
Photo by PHA Jacqueline Hall. Modified.
September-October 2008
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