EASTERN REGION 10
JAYMI STEINBERG
WASHINGTON CENTER
RICHARD WALLACE
WASHINGTON CENTER
On March 27, 2016, Raleigh-Durham (RDU) approach handed off a Piper
PA-23-250 to the South Boston sector at Washington Center (ZDC). The
pilot encountered marginal weather after departing from Charleston
International Airport (CHS). Originally he was destined for Martin State
Airport (MTN) near Baltimore, but was looking for a closer airport that had
VFR (visual flight rules) conditions as the aircraft had lost its directional
gyro and altitude indicator.
ZDC controller Jaymi Steinberg coordinated the handoff and relayed
important information to fellow ZDC controller Richard Wallace, who
issued no-gyro vectors to the pilot and attempted to find the closest
airport with VFR conditions. As Wallace and Steinberg found information
on nearby airports, the pilot reported another serious issue: his right
engine had abruptly lost power. After switching fuel tanks, power briefly
was restored to the engine, until the pilot suffered an abrupt loss of
power in both engines.
N22AM: Mayday. Mayday. I just lost my engines.
Wallace: Alright. Is that 2AM?
N22AM: 2AM I lost 'em both.
Wallace responded immediately and began to navigate him to the closest
N22AM, Piper PA-23-250
