Pinnacle Accident Prompts GE Engine Recommendations

As the result of what some aviators have called hot-dogging by a Pinnacle Airlines flight crew, the National Transportation Safety Board urged the Federal Aviation Administration to require manufacturers to perform high-power, high-altitude sudden engine shutdowns, determine the minimum airspeed required to maintain sufficient core rotation and demonstrate that all methods of in-flight restart can be accomplished when this airspeed is maintained. It also wants airplane flight manuals for the General Electric CF34-1 or CF34-3 engines, that power the CRJ-100, -200, and -440, to clearly state the minimum airspeed required for engine core rotation and that, if this airspeed is not maintained after a high-power, high-altitude sudden engine shutdown, a loss of in-flight restart capability as a result of core lock may occur. The recommendations were prompted by the actions of a Pinnacle Airlines flight crew on a positioning flight. The crew took the aircraft to maximum operating altitude of 41,000 feet at less than its best rate of climb speed and slowed to its stall speed. An aerodynamic stall followed, which resulted in a loss of control of the airplane. The flight data recorder (FDR) and the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) indicated that the engines were operating normally before the upset. The crew died in the crash. More