DHC8-300 captain experiences fluctuating oil pressure after reaching cruise and elects to shut the e...

Narrative:

Just after reaching cruising altitude; and before reducing condition levers to 900; the first officer asked me to look at the number 2 engine oil pressure. I observed it was fluctuating from 0-35 and elected to shut the engine down. An emergency was declared; all appropriate checklists completed; and we landed the aircraft. No real suggestions here- but I do suggest a change to the emergency checklist. The end of the single engine before landing checklist includes a bunch of notes; but just above the notes the last checklist item is 'configuration to go .... Aural'. It is muscle memory for pilots to read 'configuration to go' on our normal checklist; then stow the checklists. This occurred as well during our issue; and we did not brief the notes. The first officer and I caught the issue; but specifically one of the notes states that the ptu must be turned on if the number 2 engine is the inoperative engine. There is also a note about flap power caution lights. I believe those notes should be highlighted or turned into a checklist item. Maybe just before the 'configuration to go' we add something about 'configuration considerations'?

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: DHC8-300 Captain experiences fluctuating oil pressure after reaching cruise and elects to shut the engine down and return to the departure airport. Some notes on the Single Engine Before Landing Checklist are overlooked due to the way the checklist is designed.

Narrative: Just after reaching cruising altitude; and before reducing condition levers to 900; the First Officer asked me to look at the Number 2 Engine oil pressure. I observed it was fluctuating from 0-35 and elected to shut the engine down. An emergency was declared; all appropriate checklists completed; and we landed the aircraft. No real suggestions here- but I do suggest a change to the Emergency Checklist. The end of the Single Engine Before Landing Checklist includes a bunch of notes; but just above the notes the last checklist item is 'Configuration to go .... Aural'. It is muscle memory for pilots to read 'Configuration to go' on our normal checklist; then stow the checklists. This occurred as well during our issue; and we did not brief the notes. The First Officer and I caught the issue; but specifically one of the notes states that the PTU must be turned on if the Number 2 Engine is the inoperative engine. There is also a note about Flap Power caution lights. I believe those notes should be highlighted or turned into a checklist item. Maybe just before the 'configuration to go' we add something about 'configuration considerations'?

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.

Attributes
ACN	1188601
Time
Date	201407
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.ARTCC
State Reference	US
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Dash 8-300
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Cruise
Component
Aircraft Component	Powerplant Lubrication System
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy

DHC8-300 captain experiences fluctuating oil pressure after reaching cruise and elects to shut the engine down and return to the departure airport. Some notes on the single engine before landing checklist are overlooked due to the way the checklist is designed.