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Following the onset of a loud clacking sound from the engine; a rise in exhaust and cylinder head temperatures; and the smell of smoke in the cabin; the pilot of a PA25 is distressed that the tower had declared an emergency and rolled the equipment for him after he transmitted a 'pan-pan' message.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 840523 |
| Time | |
| Date | 200906 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | PA-25 Pawnee |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 91 |
| Flight Phase | Cruise |
| Route In Use | None |
| Flight Plan | None |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Engine Exhaust System |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Single Pilot Pilot Flying |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Commercial |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 300 Flight Crew Total 1600 Flight Crew Type 100 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor |
Narrative:
While towing a banner around the city the engine suddenly developed a loud clacking sound. I immediately turned to the airport and notified the control tower that I was returning. The tower cleared me to report a right base for runway 21R; and moved communications to a flight of A-10's in the pattern. At this point the cylinder head temperature was starting to rise and I also had a 20 degree rise in the oil temp. I transmitted a 'pan-pan' message at this point; as I wanted to communicate to tower that I was having a problem in flight and wanted to drop the banner on the airport and to land quickly without flying the typical pattern. By this time I had picked up a smell of smoke in the cockpit and reported that to the tower and asked them if they could see any smoke coming from the aircraft. The tower asked me if they understood correctly that I was declaring an emergency. My reply was 'negative' that I just wanted to know if the request for a non-typical pattern could be granted. At this point the tower cleared the traffic pattern and let me drop the banner and quickly land on a perpendicular runway. On the downwind leg tower mentioned that there was an emergency and that the fire rescue crew would be out. I repeated that I had not declared an emergency and I had no need for the trucks. Tower replied that they had declared one and the trucks would follow me after landing. I landed and taxied to parking without incident. The cause of the loud noise and increase in temperatures was a broken exhaust pipe. This allowed exhaust fumes to enter the cockpit causing the smoke smell. The person in the tower during a phone call said the 'pan-pan' call was a declaration of emergency. I thought that 'pan-pan' was stating an 'urgent' not a 'distress' call.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: Following the onset of a loud clacking sound from the engine; a rise in exhaust and cylinder head temperatures; and the smell of smoke in the cabin; the pilot of a PA25 is distressed that the tower had declared an emergency and rolled the equipment for him after he transmitted a 'pan-pan' message.
Narrative: While towing a banner around the city the engine suddenly developed a loud clacking sound. I immediately turned to the airport and notified the control tower that I was returning. The tower cleared me to report a right base for Runway 21R; and moved communications to a flight of A-10's in the pattern. At this point the cylinder head temperature was starting to rise and I also had a 20 degree rise in the oil temp. I transmitted a 'pan-pan' message at this point; as I wanted to communicate to tower that I was having a problem in flight and wanted to drop the banner on the airport and to land quickly without flying the typical pattern. By this time I had picked up a smell of smoke in the cockpit and reported that to the tower and asked them if they could see any smoke coming from the aircraft. The tower asked me if they understood correctly that I was declaring an emergency. My reply was 'negative' that I just wanted to know if the request for a non-typical pattern could be granted. At this point the tower cleared the traffic pattern and let me drop the banner and quickly land on a perpendicular runway. On the downwind leg tower mentioned that there was an emergency and that the fire rescue crew would be out. I repeated that I had not declared an emergency and I had no need for the trucks. Tower replied that they had declared one and the trucks would follow me after landing. I landed and taxied to parking without incident. The cause of the loud noise and increase in temperatures was a broken exhaust pipe. This allowed exhaust fumes to enter the cockpit causing the smoke smell. The person in the tower during a phone call said the 'pan-pan' call was a declaration of emergency. I thought that 'pan-pan' was stating an 'urgent' not a 'distress' call.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.