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DHC8-200 experiences a loud bang followed by a pitch down vigorous enough to lift the pilots off their seats. Airspeed is adjusted to minimize the vibration being felt; followed by a near normal landing.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1160754 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201403 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | PCT.TRACON |
| State Reference | VA |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Dash 8-200 |
| Flight Phase | Descent |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Captain Pilot Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Deviation - Procedural Maintenance |
Narrative:
At just over 10;000 ft and descending into the terminal area we heard a loud bang with an abrupt change in attitude. The aircraft pitched down violently enough for us to come out of our seats. I immediately took a hold of the yoke and disengaged the autopilot to stabilize the aircraft. The airplane responded normally to flight inputs but had a harsh vibration. The vibration increased and decreased respectively to our airspeed. Once the aircraft was stable; I transferred the controls over to my first officer so that I could communicate with ATC and troubleshoot the problem. There were no abnormal annunciations in the flight deck. We concluded that the best airspeed was 140 knots due to the least amount of vibration. We remained at that airspeed until our final approach and landed without incident.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: DHC8-200 experiences a loud bang followed by a pitch down vigorous enough to lift the pilots off their seats. Airspeed is adjusted to minimize the vibration being felt; followed by a near normal landing.
Narrative: At just over 10;000 FT and descending into the terminal area we heard a loud bang with an abrupt change in attitude. The aircraft pitched down violently enough for us to come out of our seats. I immediately took a hold of the yoke and disengaged the autopilot to stabilize the aircraft. The airplane responded normally to flight inputs but had a harsh vibration. The vibration increased and decreased respectively to our airspeed. Once the aircraft was stable; I transferred the controls over to my First Officer so that I could communicate with ATC and troubleshoot the problem. There were no abnormal annunciations in the flight deck. We concluded that the best airspeed was 140 knots due to the least amount of vibration. We remained at that airspeed until our final approach and landed without incident.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site 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.