TIGHAR
Amelia Earhart Search Forum => General discussion => Topic started by: Randy Conrad on November 01, 2020, 04:04:37 AM
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Ric, and Andrew....
About two weeks ago I was going through some articles on the web about the Electra and stumbled upon something I do believe has never been discussed on the forum or with Tighar in general. After reading over this one particular article I was amazed how quick Lockheed was to get another plane off the ground before any real time investigation was done on Amelia's plane granted to this day the plane has never been found. After reading more, I started noticing that the Electra had a major issue with what's called "Whirl-Prop" Flutter. If my reading is right and please correct me..its caused from instability and structure of the plane and causes issues with the propellers and the motor and eventually causes one or both of the wings to shear off from violent shaking.
https://people.cs.clemson.edu/~steve/Spiro/electra1.html
https://people.cs.clemson.edu/~steve/Spiro/electra2.html
After reading this and seeing photos taken of a possible landing gear and wing it makes you wonder if Amelia experienced some sort of whirl prop flutter. Could this type of failure been caused by her crash landing in Hawaii or did it happen sometime after taking out the window in Miami! Also, help from the experts...but what kind of feeling as a pilot would you get from this? Is is possible that Amelia was experiencing this whirl prop flutter while at the same time believing she was low on gas? Anyway, sound off experts...love to hear your thoughts
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The Electra referenced in the article is the L-188 Electra, not the Model 10 Electra. Completely different airplane.
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Ahhh, yes, whirl mode. Outlined extensively in Robert Serling's "Loud and Clear" and "The Electra Story". Well-written contemporary books about the L-188 Electra and the grounding of that aircraft following four "mysterious" crashes and the research into why it happened. Good reading.
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A failure as an airliner, but once the problems were solved, the type went on to have a long and distinguished career as a maritime patrol aircraft, the P-3 Orion.
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America's 'Comet' you might say.
The analogy holds for the maritime development - the Comet became the Nimrod as the Electra II becme the P3.
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The L-188 gets some screen time on Ice Pilots, flying for Buffalo Airways.
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Lockheed Electra 1983 emergency landing. #4 engine lost propeller assembly, which cut through the belly of the plane, collapsing the floor, severing engine controls, and jamming control cables. Pilots were able to 'steer' the plane only using autopilot trim which had enough power to move the jammed cables. Landed safely without flaps at high speed. No throttle controls - had to kill the engines with the emergency fire button. A frequent story of many aircraft disaster shows. Actual film footage of landing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AUhpx_ucxc
In the clip the landing occurs around 3:30 in the video. Engine and fuselage damage can be seen around 10:00.
This particular plane was repaired and much later acquired by Buffalo Airways.
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Looks like partial flaps - visible during the walkround in the later part of the vid.