The right engine of a C441 failed in the descent but the pilot was unaware until near landing because of the lack of yaw due to low power demands in the descent. Landed without declaring an emergency.

Date: 2010-03 · Aircraft: Cessna 425/441 Conquest I/Conquest II · Phase: descent

Anomalies: aircraft-equipment-problem-critical

Synopsis

The right engine of a C441 failed in the descent but the pilot was unaware until near landing because of the lack of yaw due to low power demands in the descent. Landed without declaring an emergency.

Narrative

On initial descent; I reduced torque (on both engines). The right hand engine torque started to decay so I added more power to the right hand power lever to maintain the desired torque. All temperatures; pressures; fuel flow was matched on both engines. The torque showed low on the right hand engine. I was in a right turn and with the reduced power settings for descent and relatively high IAS and low angle of attack; I didn't notice adverse yaw. As I turned final; I noticed that I was having to add power (now right hand torque showing near zero) to maintain desired speed on final. I was crabbed to the right but that was expected as the winds were from the west and the Runway is 23 (southwest orientation). I eventually determined that I was in an emergency situation (total loss of power on the right hand engine) but I didn't 'Declare' the emergency because of the high work load and lack of time before touch down. I landed normally and used foot brakes to stop without the help of Beta. I turned into parking and shut down normally. On post flight check; the left hand prop was able to move freely as is typical and the right hand prop had great resistance when attempts were made to rotate it.

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