This instance of Stark Terror occurred in the winter of early 1964, shortly after I had completed my upgrade to command pilot in the C-123B Provider aircraft. It occurred during a routine formation training mission out of Pope AFB in North Carolina.
Pope AFB in located on the north side of the Fort Bragg Military Reservation in east central North Carolina. At the time, Pope AFB’s primary mission was providing jump training, qualification, and transportation for the 82nd Airborne Division and the newly established Army Special Forces, the Green Berets. Most of our missions consisted of providing qualification jumps for the 82nd and Special Forces. These missions sometime required dropping troops in the classic three-ship wingtip formation or in a 1000-foot trail formation. At the time, the C-123B and the C-124 were the only non-fighter aircraft in the Air Force that routinely flew in close formation. The C-123B was not the best looking aircraft in the air, but flying wingtip formation and throwing things out the back was hard to beat without a fire in your tail… Plus you can actually see what’s on the ground you’re flying over.
This incident took place on a clear, calm, cold, winter morning. The mission was a three-ship formation takeoff at 30 second intervals with join up at 1500 feet, followed by a 2-hour low-level navigation flight. Start up, taxi, and engine run up were normal. Due to the temperature being in the upper 30s, carburetor heat was used during the taxi out to prevent carburetor icing which can occur when the temperature is above freezing due to the cooling effect in the carburetor throat. Carburetor heating cannot be used during the engine run up check or during maximum takeoff power because high carburetor temperatures can cause pre ignition during high power settings.
Engine run up was completed with carburetor heat off and all checks were normal. Carburetor heat was reapplied during taxi out to line up on the runway. We were the last aircraft in the formation. Upon receiving takeoff clearance, carburetor heat was returned to cold and engine power was applied after the second aircraft started its takeoff roll. After a 30-second delay, full takeoff power was applied and a normal takeoff was accomplished. The after takeoff checklist was completed and a climb to 1500 feet was completed. At level off power was reduced and the cruise checklist started. At this time the aircraft was at about 1000 feet above ground level and heading south just west of the main base facilities of Fort Bragg. Before completing the cruise checklist, about 30-45 seconds after level off, the left engine abruptly quit.. A moment of Stark Terror!
The emergency engine failure checklist was immediately started. Mixture controls were placed in full rich position, engine boost pumps were placed in high mode, and power was advanced on the good right engine. The left engine did not respond and it’s propeller was feathered to reduce drag and improve control. The engine shutdown checklist was completed on the left engine and, as a precaution, full carburetor heat was applied to the right engine to keep the carburetor air temperature well within a safe range.
Fortunately the aircraft was empty except for a crew of four and an 8000-pound fuel load of high octane gasoline. At this weight, and in cold weather, the C-123B was easily able to maintain altitude on one engine. Also, we were very close to the airfield and only had to make a left turn to be on downwind leg for an emergency landing. The only problem was that this put the downwind flight path directly over the main base facilities of Fort Bragg, which left very few places to safely land if the right engine should have problems. There were several parade grounds among the barracks and a golf course available for about half the downwind leg. The right engine operated normally however; and an uneventful (!) single-engine landing, my first as pilot-in-command, was accomplished after a 15 minute flight that seemed much longer.
Maintenance thoroughly inspected the failed engine as soon as we returned to the ramp. No malfunctions were found and the engine completed a normal run up check with no discrepancies. The incident report concluded that the engine failed due to carburetor icing after the takeoff and climb to 1500 feet. Carburetor heat had not been applied quickly enough after power was reduced at level off. Pilots were instructed to more closely monitor carburetor air temperature during takeoffs in cold, humid conditions.
Louis Kirchdorfer
March 5, 2009
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