On Tuesday the 17th of February around noon I was flying a Cirrus SR-20 from MYF to PSP. Along the way I thought I noticed a sudden increase in engine noise and some extra vibration but it was subtle. I checked all of my engine instruments and everything seemed ok. As I approached TRM at 9,500 I brought the power back a little for descent into PSP when I defintely heard some very odd noises and noticed unusual vibrations. We made it to PSP without incident and after landing I inspected the aircraft. I found that the rivets that hold the spinner to the backplate had come loose on one side allowing the spinner to become canted off-center. One of the prop blade cut-outs in the spinner put a deep gouge in the root of the prop blade and the now out-of-round back edge of the spinner ate away all of the cowling behind the spinner. The prop dome also had some scratches on it. So now we are looking at a new cowling, new spinner, and probably a new prop blade depending on what the prop shop says. Fortunately it is still under warranty. No idea what caused this failure. The airplane/prop/spinner had 686.3 hours on it at time of takeoff. I should have some digital pictures of the damage online sometime tomorrow and I’ll post links.
I’m not sure what would have happened had the spinner completely departed the airplane. I’m just glad I didn’t lose power or a prop blade!
I never push on the spinner but I’m not the only person who flies this airplane and that’s the only thing short of real manufacturing defect that I can thnk of that might contribute to this. Be careful with that spinner!
You know I remember reading about Mac / Flying magazine’s editor indicating that he had the same problem with his Baron in flight. Tugging on the spinner has been part of my preflight since reading that article. As well as tugging on the base of each prop blade to feel for motor mount looseness.
Of course since I have left a Towbar attached on my Bonanza while taziing to Rwy for an IFR training flight ( thanks to that Falcon 900 driver who very discreetly indicated that our front “tire” looked like it needed to be checked right away
And with the several door openings on the Bonanza, and one on the Cirrus ( Marty you didn’t know did you ? ) at the Migration…I think I have learned all my lessons :-----)))))
This has been an interesting thread, especially with the pics you posted… and all the OTHER stuff at your web site [;)].
You’d be a welcome addition to our membership – we’d enjoy your posts, and you’d get to see a whole lot more interesting dialog. Worth way more than the $50 it costs each year. That’s not my opinion (well, it IS, but I’m a tad biased); rather, it’s consistently voiced by those who discuss such things with me privately as well as on these forums.
So… what’dya say… you’re an eloquent Cirrus pilot, so why not join?
hmm…actually, you may be right. I just looked at the holes and busted pieces and not at the fasteners themselves too closely. I’ll take another look when I retrieve the repaired plane in a few days.
And with the several door openings on the Bonanza, and one on the Cirrus (Marty you didn’t know did you ? ) at the Migration
Scott: I’d really like to say that I kenw the whole time and I was just being the very gracious passenger that I was, but I could never get away with lying to you! [:O] Truth be it, I was pretty dazzled by your PFD and the myriad of improvements that Cirrus had quietly incorporated in your plane.
