I’ve been flying for 30 years and never experienced a hiccup from an airplane engine while airborne. That changed a few minutes into a recent flight. This story can’t rival a sudden engine stoppage and forced landing—it’s a story of an engine that seemed on its way to quitting—but I hope it provides some useful lessons.
Detonation Grounds a Mooney
Key Takeaways:
- A pilot encountered severe engine roughness and a high cylinder temperature (Cylinder #3) mid-flight, leading to a Mayday declaration and immediate diversion to the nearest airport.
- The engine smoothed out after the mixture was pushed full rich, but a precautionary landing was still made, revealing a cracked spark plug insulator and suspected partial fuel injector obstruction as the root cause.
- Key takeaways include the importance of immediate action (enriching mixture), always making precautionary landings after an incident, and leveraging tools like engine monitors and moving-map displays for safety.
Key takeaways sponsored by Aviator Pro | Start Your Training ->
See a mistake? Contact us.
