Narrative:

About 10 minutes into our flight; I noticed some erratic torque indications on the left engine torque gauge +/- 600 pound fluctuations. I was concerned I might have a serious engine problem so I pulled the power back; leveled off and monitored the other engine gauges. Everything seemed normal. I decided to change course and proceed direct to cedar city where the runway is longer; surrounding terrain more favorable and where we could potentially get maintenance help. About 30 miles out I picked up the AWOS with clear conditions and light winds. We joined a right downwind for runway 20. I could clearly see the runway; which looked new -- freshly sealed and striped. There was only one other airplane in the area; a skyhawk; holding over the VOR. We landed runway 20 without any problems. When we turned to exit the runway; the taxiway (delta) was barricaded so we back taxied to the end where we exited the runway and taxied to the ramp. While we were taxiing; I radioed the skyhawk and asked if they were 'local' and what they were doing to the airport. He said they were from another airport and he thought the runways were still closed for maintenance but wasn't sure. He also said they had been landing and departing taxiway delta. I had not seen any yellow X on the runway when we arrived so I thought the runway must have reopened and they were now working on the taxiway. I performed several run-ups and auto-feather checks on the ramp to see if the torque indications on left engine were still acting strange. Everything seemed normal. I made a call to my partner to discuss what had happened. We decided it must be a gauge or sending unit going bad. When we taxied back out to depart; I saw the yellow X displaced off the north end of the runway. It was not elevated but lying flat with weeds surrounding it. I had obviously missed it when we landed. I had been distracted and too focused on the engine gauges and the potential engine problems. I am surprised; though; that the AWOS did not have any indication of runway closures and that the yellow X on both ends was not on the runway itself.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Light twin pilot experienced engine torque anomalies and elected to land at the nearest suitable airport. CDC was nearest suitable but turned out to be closed for runway resurfacing; which was discovered after the fact.

Narrative: About 10 minutes into our flight; I noticed some erratic torque indications on the left engine torque gauge +/- 600 LB fluctuations. I was concerned I might have a serious engine problem so I pulled the power back; leveled off and monitored the other engine gauges. Everything seemed normal. I decided to change course and proceed direct to Cedar City where the runway is longer; surrounding terrain more favorable and where we could potentially get maintenance help. About 30 miles out I picked up the AWOS with clear conditions and light winds. We joined a right downwind for Runway 20. I could clearly see the runway; which looked new -- freshly sealed and striped. There was only one other airplane in the area; a Skyhawk; holding over the VOR. We landed Runway 20 without any problems. When we turned to exit the runway; the taxiway (Delta) was barricaded so we back taxied to the end where we exited the runway and taxied to the ramp. While we were taxiing; I radioed the Skyhawk and asked if they were 'local' and what they were doing to the airport. He said they were from another airport and he thought the runways were still closed for maintenance but wasn't sure. He also said they had been landing and departing Taxiway Delta. I had not seen any yellow X on the runway when we arrived so I thought the runway must have reopened and they were now working on the taxiway. I performed several run-ups and auto-feather checks on the ramp to see if the torque indications on left engine were still acting strange. Everything seemed normal. I made a call to my partner to discuss what had happened. We decided it must be a gauge or sending unit going bad. When we taxied back out to depart; I saw the yellow X displaced off the north end of the runway. It was not elevated but lying flat with weeds surrounding it. I had obviously missed it when we landed. I had been distracted and too focused on the engine gauges and the potential engine problems. I am surprised; though; that the AWOS did not have any indication of runway closures and that the yellow X on both ends was not on the runway itself.

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.