A DA-42 Twinstar pilot diverted and landed safely when the right engine failed.

Date: 2009-09 · Aircraft: DA42 Twin Star · Phase: cruise

Anomalies: aircraft-equipment-problem-critical

Synopsis

A DA-42 Twinstar pilot diverted and landed safely when the right engine failed.

Narrative

I was receiving flight following from Approach at the time of the incident. The entire flight was conducted under VMC conditions. I did not find problems with the airplane during the pre-flight inspection. The run-up was completed without any warnings or anomalies.The climb out went smooth and I leveled off at 11;500ft. I was cruising for approximately 30 min; when the right engine failed. After the failure I attempted to troubleshoot; but the engine just windmilled for a few times. Therefore I feathered the dead engine. I advised Approach of the situation and they provided me guidance. The Approach controller was aware that I landed safely. This incident was very dangerous; due to the fact that I did not receive any warnings from my instruments. It failed all of a sudden; all the gauges were in the green. There are mechanics currently investigating what went wrong with the Diamond Twin Star. It is not the final report yet; but looks like that the gear box lost pressure; causing the shut down of the engine. Mechanics also believe that due to the new technologies of the DA-42; the airplane system might have had intentionally shut down the engine to prevent further damage to the engine. After I landed; I immediately reported the incident over the phone with the FSS.

Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.