Incident
at Kelowna
A Carson Air Fairchild SA227-AC (C-FAFR/CA8057) from Vancouver, BC (CYVR) to Kelowna, BC (CYLW) declared a hydraulic failure. Requested that the Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) unit be on standby. Aircraft landed safely.
Update TSB Report #A20P0057: C-FAFR, a Fairchild SA227-AC operated by Carson Air Ltd, was conducting a cargo flight from Vancouver Intl. (CYVR), BC, to Kelowna (CYLW), BC, with 2 flight crew members onboard. During descent into CYLW, the crew observed a hydraulic pressure annunciator light with a corresponding low pressure indication. The crew followed the emergency checklist, advised the CYLW tower of a hydraulic failure, and requested ARFF on standby. The crew lowered the landing gear manually and carried out a flapless landing without incident. There were no reported injuries and no damage to the aircraft. Maintenance found the right hand hydraulic pump return line was chaffed through at the hydraulic reservoir. The rigid return line was temporarily replaced with a flexible line as per the AMM and the hydraulic system was ground tested satisfactory.
UPDATE from Airworthiness: A Civil Aviation Safety Inspector (CASI) looked into this occurrence. On approach into CYLW, C-FAFR experienced fluctuating hydraulic pressure, accompanied by both hydraulic warning lights and subsequent hydraulic failure. The crew completed the hydraulic failure checklist and completed a manual landing gear drop and flapless landing. On the ground, maintenance found hydraulic fluid dripping from the right-hand (R/H) engine cowl and landing gear doors, further inspection revealed a pinhole leak in a chaffed hydraulic line at the R/H engine firewall. It appeared that the line had chaffed against a clamp on an adjacent line, causing the leak. The damaged line was replaced, the hydraulic system was tested for function and the aircraft was returned to service. A Safety Management System (SMS) investigation was carried out, as there had been no previous failures of this part number (P/N) line in the fleet and the area has a general visual inspection every 300hrs under the Phase Inspection Program. The operator has published a bulletin for company ACA holders and will monitor the fleet for further failures of this type.