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An EC135 transmission chip light illuminated so the pilot declared an emergency and diverted to a nearby military airfield where it was later determined that a failed air conditioning shaft caused metal in the oil.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1033059 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201208 |
| Local Time Of Day | 1801-2400 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Night |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | EC135 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 135 |
| Flight Phase | Cruise |
| Flight Plan | VFR |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Air Conditioning Compressor |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Captain Pilot Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Commercial |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical |
Narrative:
During return trip to home base; after dropping off patient; transmission chip light came on. Power was immediately reduced and a landing area was selected. The only suitable landing area was a military airfield. I informed approach I had a mechanical problem and requested to divert into the military airfield. I was told to change over to the tower. I informed them I had a mechanical problem; and was told I could not land without a prior permission request (ppr); or declaring an emergency. I choose to declare an emergency. During the descent into the airfield I monitored the transmission temperatures and pressures; both seemed to hold steady during the descent. After landing aircraft was shutdown and mechanic was notified. No further incident occurred. After further inspection of the aircraft the mechanic noticed that the compressor shaft on the air conditioning unit had sheared off. The oil sample taken showed that the metal on the chip detector was consistent with the metal on the sheared shaft; and not the transmission gears.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: An EC135 transmission chip light illuminated so the pilot declared an emergency and diverted to a nearby military airfield where it was later determined that a failed air conditioning shaft caused metal in the oil.
Narrative: During return trip to home base; after dropping off patient; transmission chip light came on. Power was immediately reduced and a landing area was selected. The only suitable landing area was a military airfield. I informed Approach I had a mechanical problem and requested to divert into the military airfield. I was told to change over to the Tower. I informed them I had a mechanical problem; and was told I could not land without a Prior Permission Request (PPR); or declaring an emergency. I choose to declare an emergency. During the descent into the airfield I monitored the transmission temperatures and pressures; both seemed to hold steady during the descent. After landing aircraft was shutdown and Mechanic was notified. No further incident occurred. After further inspection of the aircraft the Mechanic noticed that the compressor shaft on the air conditioning unit had sheared off. The oil sample taken showed that the metal on the chip detector was consistent with the metal on the sheared shaft; and not the transmission gears.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.