Accident Review Global Express Dual Engine Out 

I remember talking to my flight instructor about the British Midlands accident in the UK, in 1989, where they shut down the wrong engine and crashed short of the runway. He gave me a great bit of advice: "The first thing you should do in the event of an emergency...is nothing, because doing the wrong thing is worse than doing nothing". Thanks for doing these accident reports, Scott. You're saving lives.

The PIC was a personal family friend. I used to fly him around Florida when he was a young teenager, as well as attend as many airshow we could. Aviation was in his blood.

Competence incarnate. Incredibly calm voice, alien to any showmanship. I'm not a pilot, but would follow Scott Perdue to the end of the world!

I have never heard the "first wind your watch" bit. That should not be glossed over. I was an engineer on high pressure steam propulsion plants when during my first "emergency" an experienced guy came to assist. I was rattled and hurriedly yelling across the engine room to him what was happening. He just held his hand up and said "stop". In the middle of all the crap, he motioned me to him, calmly explained, people can get hurt down here, so just tell me what was going on in a clear understandable manner so we can get things under control. Absolutely the best advice of my career. Many times after, people asked me how I could be so calm under some pretty hairy situations. I was happy to pass it along.

Thanks Scott. I’m a current GLEX pilot. Not only the incredible vibration from engine, but also the noise from the RAT. I have done 6 intentional RAT drops for MX. All done at 180-200KTS. It deploys right beside FO’s Knee and makes an incredible racket of its own. IN the windmilling envelope it would be deafening

There is a fan blade failure profile to fly. Descend near MMO to keep the Fan loaded by ram air. Level at 10-15k ft and quickly slow down through the harmonic range. Then analyze and shut down.

I'm not a pilot but, I love videos like this. They've always interested me. Really well done!

I was flying from LAX to YYC in a DA200 at FL350 when a mid span dampener on the left fan let go. Just myself and the other pilot and engineer on board. The engineer was in the back lavatory when it happened. There was a great big bang and he came running up the aisle with eyes as big as an owl. In the cockpit, the only indication was a rise in temperature and N2. We waited to see if there were any other changes but not much changed and were ready if there was a fire. Knowing if we had to shut it down we would have little problem making YYC so we just carefully monitored it. After landing the engineers had a look in the left engine. When the first mid span dampener let go, due to gyroscopic precession, the corresponding ones on the blades at 90, 180 and 270 degrees also had let go. All those pieces went through that engine and made it look like a chewed corn cob. Those ATF-3s were some tough engine. Designed to take a 20lb bird strike.

In 2022 there is zero excuse to not have full audio and video of every single flight. I propose a REDUNDANT set of camera w/mic and a completely separate audio recorders IN THE COCKPIT. You can buy 4k action cams for $200. Of course, they would need to be fortified but to only have one set that often fails or gets lost is simply not acceptable anymore. Having video in the cockpit would provide so much valuable data.

I agree completely that in principle, it seems so eerily similar to the B-17 "Nine-Oh-Nine" crash even though the exact details are vastly different. Engine failure, AN APPARENT RUSH, and then the situation is worse. "Aviate, Navigate, Communicate" should almost be worded to "Aviate, Pause, Navigate, Communicate".

Sad, tough loss. I will remember the "wind your watch" statement for the rest of my life.

Gunny you do these reports with compassion and excellent advice. Thank you from a non-pilot who learns from you.

Hi. Like you, I have read in detail the 42 page USAF Accident Report. I did so during my annual Global Express recurrent last month at CAE Dubai. I'm a Training Captain on the Global with 12 years experience on type. I'm also ex-military, former British Army helicopter and fixed-wing instructor. Your briefing puts the report into visual context extremely well. Thank you. However, I do think we need to clarify a few areas. You mentioned the process of matching the power levers following an engine failure. There has to be a caveat to that. It can only be done once the failed engine has been correctly identified. Matching the levers can actually compound the confusion. I also have a concern about this not being in line with the QRH drills to secure the engine. Any engine failure or fire drill should always follow the following initial sequence: CONTROL IDENTIFY CONFIRM That sequence also forces a slowing down of the processes and helps with the analysis. Whilst in the sim last month we looked at an engine failure on final approach. With both engines initially on a low power setting for the approach, an engine failure is still noticeable. What is tricky is identifying the correct engine. It has to be a very systematic approach to identifying the failed engine, following the above 3 processes. As far as we can tell, in this particular accident the left engine failed in a climb. The crew probably leveled off and then appear to have done a very quick engine response check. The left engine N1 was indicating 80 to 90+ %. This would have been very misleading. There was only the Amber left FADEC Fail message. There were extreme levels of vibration and following the incorrect shutdown of the right engine, the RAT deployment would also produce high noise levels and further vibration. Any attempted windmill airstart would appear to have been on the failed left engine. It's not going to happen; that engine was dead. CAE and Bombardier advocate the use of the Quick reference checklist for immediate actions. There are no longer any "Memory Items". Again, had the crew used the quick reference card, they have been forced to slow down a little, which arguably might have helped control their obvious and understandable "Startle Response". The standard double-engine failure on the Global Express is to maintain height as speed is reduced to a target indicated speed of 200 knots; then drift down. APU on below 37,000 ft. If, for whatever reason the APU cannot be started then the nose has to lowered and aircraft accelerated to 250+ for a windmill start. That will increase the loss of height. AVIATE NAVIGATE COMMUNICATE An accident like this is very sobering. It is easy to pass judgement, but maybe we should all take stock and ask ourselves how would we have dealt with something so unexpected and disorientating? Operators should also consider what we train for in the Sim. EFATO at or above V1 is standard. What about the non-standard? Final approach, or in the cruise? It wasn't that long ago a BA 777 had a dual engine flameout on short finals to Heathrow. That was due to ice contamination of the fuel. Glide approach to a touchdown short of the threshold, but they got away with it. How do we brief our departures, cruise, arrivals and contingencies? Nearest en route diversions etc? Fly safe.

In 1974 I had an engine failure in a D55 Baron. The right crank case split as I began my decent into KJAX at night. I experienced severe vibration that precluding me from reading most instruments. Just prior to the failure I noticed an engine shutter and the right engine EGT went cold. When the severe vibration began I immediately shut down the right engine suspecting it as the culprit. My reaction was intuitive but in hind sight I think I was very lucky. Had I shut down the wrong engine without testing the available power on each the result could have been devastating. This accident reminds me somewhat of my experience.

Well explained Accident synopsis. I was an instructor on the Global (civilian), and your explanation of the Aircraft systems, indications and Human Factors was spot on. You’ve got my ‘Subscribe’.

I like your calm, steady and informative presentation. Others tend to get extremely agitated talking though incidents and blaming others (NTSB, usually). Subscribed!

Retired airline geek here. Fantastic vid, fantastic summation. I feel like I am back in the Sim! I think this is an excellent review for lower-time airmen who may not receive the type of training that airline guys generally receive. Lots of lessons to be learned, especially "wind your watch". At my first 135 job (American Eagle), we used to have a few of what we called "4-eye" switches. Namely, no one threw one of those switches without both guys taking a deep breath and deciding that was both; A) the correct switch and, B) the right plan of action at THAT TIME. It's not only a confirmation that you're throwing the correct switch (Left vs RIght fuel cut-off for example) but also to take the time to confirm the decision to throw it. Aside from a rapid decompression or Fire, almost nothing requires an instant decision. A V1 cut, yes. PUSH that rudder. But all the reconfigure stuff? Take the time to make a good decision. There are black craters all over the globe from guys who feathered the wrong engine. That concept served me well for the rest of my career. If I had to guess, I'd say the extreme vibration clouded their thinking. Thank you.

P- Problem I- Information O- Options S- Select E- Execute E- Evaluate Every pilot should have this acronym in the back of their minds. If the problem isn't fixed once you reach the last step, go back to the beginning and start over. There's no doubt in my mind that PIOSEE would have saved these pilots.

Back in my controller days there was an F16 that had a flameout in a MOA at FL400 NE of their home base of an international airport. As the emergency unfolded and I was talking to the pilot he advised me he was going to the USAF base only 4 mile north of his home base. I queried him about that and his answer was classic. I am not passing up a suitable runway. "Don't bet on what you don't have." Thanks Scott for a great video as usual.

In the medical field we say, in an emergency, take your own pulse first, then check the patient's pulse. That pause to clear your head is a difference maker.

As someone who trained to be a pilot but later became medically unable, I watch these videos with great interest, but not necessarily the intent to apply any of the information. Or, do I? In fact, although the examples used are obviously related to good airmanship - especially for general aviation - I’ve found much of the material taught here to be highly applicable to other industries, including my own. Heck, even automobile “pilots” can up their game by consciously thinking through the ways that they can improve, using these lessons as a guide. Thanks.

Wow! Thanks for this surprising and detailed analysis of this tragic and needless accident. It's really a great reminder to slow down in a crisis and correctly assess the situation. I would like to think that I would have acted differently, but who knows. Scott, this accident and these details will stick in my mind and I am sure that if all the pilots who see this follow your advice, we will all be better prepared when trouble comes.

Scott, thank you again for an exceptional presentation and your thorough measured and accurate explination of this sad incident! You provide us with significant information providing a sound platform for our learnings. I fly single engine, and there were four strong learning realisations from this post. Hopefully some of your fellow youtubers just might learn something about accuracy of information presented with an order of magnitude less blustering sensationalism.

Back in the day, there was a flight engineer to help sort stuff out. Not a bad idea it seems.

Somebody stressed to that crew to get the plane back to base no matter what due to the equipment on board and they were focused on that. Nobody thought that duel engine failure was possible. I always remember the advise to fly the airplane. Great presentation Scott.

I had a dual flame out at FL390 Back in the eights Lear 24, N141PJ

Like what has been said below: 1) Never be in a hurry to shut down an engine. When you do, everyone in the cockpit make sure it’s the correct one. 2) Doing nothing is better than doing the wrong thing. 3) Sit on your hands till you breath and calm down and figure it out, then pull out the correct checklist. 40 years of flying. Air Force and airlines. 25,000 hrs in 15 jets (many dozens of prop planes). Includes Flight Engineer on 2 jet types.

When taking my multi-engine checkride I was a little flustered at times and when we got back he said "Remember that there are only procedures for emergencies...not emergencies for procedures". It seems these guys went full emergency for their procedures and came up short. And I'm surprised to hear they didn't pitch for best glide and divert to somewhere closer. It appears they kept making the situation worse at every step. Huge lessons here.

These are lessons that are just as useful in everyday life as they are in the air.

E-11/BACN instructor pilot here with several hundred hours in the mishap aircraft. This was a tough report to read. Great assessment overall. A thing to note, due to the nature of the classified information onboard, many of these FOBs and outlying fields were not secure and we were always spring loaded to come back to Kandahar/home base. Obviously, that was one of the things that came back to bite the mishap crew.

I was a passenger in a Challenger 350 that had this almost exact scenario. 20 mins after leaving an FBO in Northern VA, with 7 other people we felt a sharp vibration and heard the lav hatch rattling. We then felt it all smooth out and presumed it was turb. About 10 mins later we felt the plane make 2 left turns and heard it get very quiet and we could tell we were descending. The PIC told us that he had vibration alerts in the right engine and that as a precaution they attempted to restart the engine. It wouldn't restart. The other engine restarted and began to have issues as well. Then, we had an issue with the APU not wanting to start, or producing low power. So, we were under emergency conditions. They requested emergency clearance at Dulles which was at this point about 70 nm away. Thankfully we made it back, landed safely and the only challenge was getting a hotel room and a commercial flight. Oh, I forgot to mention, this all happened at 11pm Eastern time.

I learn from you every time Scott! Please continue doing your great work!

Thanks for the 909 analogy. It was on my mind as soon as they caged the wrong engine.

Mr.Purdue sir..so cool you have your dad's Stearman.

Scott I saw you flew the F 4 E. I was an inertial tech on F4Es then G model before going to college getting my engineering degree then working for the Navy at China Lake

Great video! When things go bad, Aviate, Navigate, communicate... words to live by!

With cameras the size of an old Ben Franklin 50 cent piece, I don't know why they aren't more used on all jet aircraft. Put one on each side of the rudder aimed down at the engines & usually you'll be able to see any damage that appears in either cowling. Usually!

nice work Scott. loved seeing you and blancolirio on the same screen awhile back, hope you guys do it again real soon.

Scott, excellent analysis of a bad situation. Lesson learned...don't rush.

Things I'm learning from Scott: Don't futz with stuff in the air. Land first. When there's a significant problem, get safely on the ground ASAP, and mess with stuff there, not in the air. "Turn towards the nearest suitable landing spot and trim for the best glide speed." Conserve altitude and speed, then communicate and run checklists. One additional thought - they had a few minutes - is there a way prepare/practice something like "Stop, wait, this isn't working. How can we start over? How can we re-check what we've been assuming?" Checklists can get around that lock-in by doing/trying things that someone thought of calmly on the ground, but is there any way to take an opportunity to zero out and re-start from scratch?

This is the first time I have seen your channel and I love air crash investigations and follow them a lot. I also appreciate the unbiased information without putting down the servicemen who lost their lives. Everything you have said can help general aviators, like me as well as men and women that fly the commercial and military men and women. Keep it up!

I agree, slow down, wind your watch. Another example that "Speed Kills." JG

lessons we can all take in our daily live whether we're flying a plane or not, thanks!

Great analysis. Sad story. These pilots were doing their mission, and *unfortunately* made choices that assisted in their own demise. This reminds me a bit of the Pinnacle Airlines Flight 3701 CRJ-200 incident in 2004. in the Global Express situation the initial "domino" was the loss of a fan blade... The Pinnacle pilots instigated the beginnings of their own demise by hot-dogging the CRJ-200 (high G climbs at full throttle to hit FL410) which caused their "dual engine failure". The similarities: BOTH tried air-starts (losing precious energy.) BOTH either did not attempt to restart the APU or did it too late to make a difference. BOTH had plenty of altitude and energy at the beginning of the incident to have sufficient glide slope to reach MULTIPLE suitable runways. Fancy pretty digital screens are great - until they aren't. I'd imagine many pilots would "freak out" at that laundry list of errors displayed on that screen. Even after practicing failures in a Sim, I imagine it's quite different when presented with the "real world situation." I have some old pilot friends who reiterate this mantra often: "Aviate, navigate, communicate."

Had a friend lose a propeller blade on the left engine of an E2...the aircraft was shaking so bad he could not see the instrument panel ...he took a WAG and fortunately was correct when he T Handled...this was late 90s as I remember a composite prop...

I really enjoy your crystal clear commentary and thorough analysis. Thanks very much for your content.

Fascinating stuff. I am not a pilot but like aviation especially business jet aviation. Thanks for explaining things in a way that even us non-pilots can kind of understand. Love your channel.

Great info as always. Boy that brought back memories, "the 1st thing you do is wind your watch." Sad and unfortunate mistakes. Sounds like you were in their heads. Tragic mistakes, RIP.

Scott, thanks for putting these together and sharing. Always good learning on how we can fly more safe!

Oh yea, I read the SIB report for this mishap. So sad. Really important to slow down and analyze properly before taking actions that could make it worse.

I am a private pilot who has had a complete engine failure on departure. It was as taught. Upon first power change it suddenly got very quiet and the big fan out front was now a windmill. Long story shirt I made it back to the runway safe and sound. I can attest that the training kicked in and saved the day. But I had it easy. Only one engine. It makes it easy to figure out which one caged. This tells me technology is very cool and works great... until it doesn't. Aviate, navigate, communicate. It works. It seems these poor guys had to much information and it proved very difficult to follow this instruction. My condolences to their families and friends.

Thanks Scott. Great video. 🇺🇸🍀🇺🇸

Thanks. I used to fly Challengers, which are very similar. You are very talented when it comes to aircraft accident analysis - your technical knowledge is great, really enjoy your content

I wish all bloggers would wear a lapel microphone. Your sound is superb

You are the best aviation commentator/analyzer around,lów tone,no gimmick,facts rightfully used

Very Good review- Thank You - I spent a Year in Afghanistan - Tremendous flying, but always kept in mind the Terrain and Weather...Thank You Sir !

Need to get a spring-driven watch so I can wind it. Thanks, Scott!

Thank you Scott! Excellent video and summation of what likely occurred during the course of the pilots emergency situation! Anything that can be learned from the experiences of others to keep pilots thinking process and awareness is saving lives and I enjoy your channel!!! Keep up the great work Scott!!!

Exceptional accident breakdown, Scott. It’s been 11 years for me, but as a Strike Eagle WSO I remember routinely briefing that I would guard the “good” throttle during an engine fire / failure until we both agreed to move it. That, as you know, was to offer a backup (second set of eyes and brain cells) to prevent just such a mistake. I wonder if 2-pilot airplanes have a similar practice, civil or military?

My dad flew fighters then went on to nasa during the shuttle era. When he taught me to fly he beat into my head. Know as hoots law around nasa “There is no problem so bad, that you can NOT make it worse” meaning don’t start throwing switches because it may be a death switch.

As a glider pilot I find this accident to be particularly dismaying. At 43,000 the crew had more than enough energy to affect a safe landing at an appropriate airport. Perhaps the air force should consider mandatory glider training .

Great video and analysis, Scott. Add this to the list of many accidents - mainly non-aviation - that could have been avoided if the crew had literally done nothing.

Scott, you make the best videos. You explain it in such a way that even a non pilot such as myself can understand and enjoy, Thanks sir.

Great video Scott. The audio was greatly improved! I always hate to see situations like these. I can't imagine what the crew was feeling as every warning message on earth seemed to be popping up at the same time..

I'm not a pilot but have been manufacturing, testing and supporting business jet engines for 35 years. This is a very sad story but as Scott pointed out, the pilots need to keep calm and don't panic. When you have one engine operational, you need to be absolutely sure you are shutting down the correct engine before taking action. This is a case where, unfortunately, that did not happen.

The assessment on what happened seems dead on accurate!! I have to admit, I have so many questions because the military seems to have cornered the market on training and redundancy and it seems like this accident leaves the door wide open to the question why?? You have done a great job of trying to explain this to us, but we have hours to sit here and study the facts, where they had mere minutes to study what was happening without fully understanding what was actually happening.. I can’t hardly imagine what it would be like trying to read a screen full of messages while having numerous things going wrong and having to fly in a hostile arena in the world and find a place to land.. Thank you for your dedication to posting these videos.. Hopefully we can all learn something valuable from your insight..

This has shades of British Midland 92 at Kegworth in 1989.

I hope that I can develop the level of comprehensive structured analytic processes and skills you exhibit as go to you carefully and methodically pick through and unwrap these incredibly complex scenarios. You do so with an uncanny level of tact and compassion, outlining what the pilot's mistakes were likely caused by, and what they in turn caused to exacerbate the issues they face. I was an active flight instructor for about 3 years, then an aircraft sales manager for the 3 that followed (same job, just can't criticize the deficiencies in basic stick and rudder skill and lack of awareness of stored energy in the airframe. I was never as effective a teacher then as you are in your videos, but I was also 24-26 years old, so maybe I'd do better nowadays. Anyway, thanks for sharing your knowledge and maybe you'll see this question and be able to answer it's: During your various military tours and air carrier employment stints, were you ever trained as a squadron/ wing safety officer, or anything equivalent on the 121 side which provided you with the opportunity to take any of the USG/ DoD Service Branch Safety Officer & Aircraft Accident Investigation Courses? If not, and your analysis is all based on your the body of your life's work and experience, that would be incredible.

Great review of this sad event. Multiple important lessons here. When a Sully happens, pilots look like geniuses. When something like this happens, pilots look human.

You explained this in layman's terms. When my father was learning to fly he was taught to always be looking for a suitable place to land, because....

Great documentary and illustration. Looking forward to your next video upload Sir.

I was taught to stop flying into the problem declare a Mayday as soon as possible and get the plane to the closest airport no matter how little the problem.

PIC remiss by not shadowing (to some extent) those inspecting and reporting wing & control-surface conditions. since the aircraft was outside for hours and it was near irresolvable to estimate adverse effects from precip/temp/time calculations …so by all means, someone needs to get up there and look carefully with 2 eyeballs, a good flashlight and perhaps an extendable brush. no excuses there i’m afraid. high-wing and T-tail aircraft bite GA pilots like a hungry viper just about every winter not from any fault if their own. (but perhaps all due in part to fatigued/inert-cold/lazy/rushed/ill-prepared-equipped pilot syndromes). nice vid! 👍🏻

Excellent presentation! Shutting down the wrong engine in a situation like this has happened in a number of other past accidents. My instructors always advised me to count to 10 before taking action, furthermore both pilots should agree on which engine to shut down with the pilot flying guarding the good engine start lever.

reminds of the swissair crash years ago cabin fire and they spent forever trying to figure it out

I could never fly a plane but love to hear about it. Sounds fun and complicated. Got a Flywire shirt the other day!

Your analysis gives hope that they didn't die in vain. Lots of confidence even with ZERO ENGINES RUNNING! Regardless of engine out procedural details for the type, basic strategy for any type doesn't change -- "fly the plane - best glide" head toward a field (Kabul), then work the problem. You can orbit the field until problem resolved or land. In this case, the basic strategy would have saved the situation and overcome the opportunities that were missed. Shame to loose two good men in a flyable plane...

Good explanation.

Excellent analysis. Appreciate your sharing. Sorry for this loss. You make your choices in this life, and then you have to live with them.

THANK YOU AGAIN ! 😀

I have had engine out but also have had gliding experience so, there was no need to panic because you were trained in the 1st place to get it down safely. I never had another engine to rely on so just like The Miracle on the Hudson, I firmly believe so many hours controlled engine-less would benefit a lot of pilots!

Great review Scott! Your last few comments sounds just like, Mr. Probable Cause,(Dan G). As you said GA, or BigJet, physics still rules. Sad for the loss, seems the crew became too good, too fast. Work the problem and double check your work if time permits.

Excellent, easy to follow analysis as always

Interesting discussion. Most airline QRH's do not call for the immediate starting of the APU with the loss of an engine. This item occurs later on in the checklist. At my outfit it became fairly common practice to get the APU up and running early in the engine failure process. It was just a matter of reaching up and selecting the APU start switch to start/on. This was generally done while the NFP was pulling out the QRH and thumbing through the pages. Early on we used to be able to shut down an engine on T/O once we were climbing out of 400'. Later this was amended to 1000'. We learned there was never a hurry as even with a fire we wanted the thrust from that engine to get us to a safe altitude and the aircraft on a safe heading. The Concord was lost in part when the Flight Engineer shut down an engine at a very low altitude shortly after take/off. Each step of shutting down an engine had to be confirmed by both Pilots before any lever could be moved..

Scott, nice analysis. One piece of info you got wrong was Sharana (OASA) does in fact have a runway, albeit not a very long one for such a plane.

I was in recurrent training for the Global 6000 and this crash came up in class, someone in the class had relevant info on how these aircraft were operated and maintained and neither were normal.

Thanks Scott, appreciate your time knowledge and work on this. There's lessons for all pilots here, if you're a rotor pilot you may have to act a bit quicker ...but thats another story with its own poor outcomes at times.

Great video. I am very familiar with a Liberty type King Air 350ER accident where the wrong engine was shut down after the computer filled up with smoke. Never once did they attempt a restart even though the PF commented on "what's the chance of having two bad engines at the same time"?. Fortunately they survived an off airport gear up landing 6 miles from the airport. Lots of lessons learned, but could have turned out so much better if they'd wound their watches. I've used this accident in training other pilots and discuss it often. Thanks for your perspective.

Great job with the accident recap. Definitely a good vignette to use and learn from.

really good commentary, "marrying" the throttles - yes that would have saved that Dover C-5 crash. Thank you Scott !

Excellent analysis and great time to remember the basics during an emergency!

Great video!

Thanks for the video, It was originally thought that it was bad fuel - good video.

Doubt you'll see this Scott, but I'm feeling eerie similarities between this, and the Hop-a-Jet flight that was just lost. Not exact, of course- Maybe this 2024 accident had a fuel issue, or something was not switched properly? But they claim to have lost BOTH engines, as well. VERY rare thing to happen. Bookmarked this one when you created it. I'll be interested to see how close they really are.

Such an excellent presentation and analysis, thanks!

Sounds like the crew was on "tilt" right away after the fan blade sep. They lost all Sitness and went straight to "condition black". Unfortunately it DOES happen in flying and rarely ends well.

top marks brother

Excellent video and the breakout of events in addition to the fail-down sequences you explained were above and beyond. You’ve got a new subscriber! Thanks again. Great video.

Airframe is standard... Just loaded with military radio systems. Actually a good choice for getting the job done without excess costs.

So it’s the B-17 909 (and that C5 crash at Dover) all over again. A good engine is shut down by mistake and the airplane can’t stay in the air