A Cessna 421C was 50 minutes into the first leg of a trans-Pacific ferry flight when the left engine failed with a “loud muffled bang”; the pilots observed oil streaming from the engine, noted a large bulge in the cowling, and turned back toward Sunshine Coast Airport in Queensland, Australia, according to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB).
The propeller, which could not be completely feathered because of the engine failure, windmilled, and the resulting drag was one factor that led the pilots to conclude that they would be unable to reach the airport. They told air traffic control that they planned to ditch the twin-engine piston-powered airplane, and controllers notified the national search and rescue service provider.
“The ditching … was inevitable due to the weight of the aircraft [which was carrying extra fuel] and the failed engine’s propeller not being able to be feathered,” the ATSB said in a document accompanying its final report on the…
