Dash 8-200
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical
Flight Crew Inflight Shutdown; Flight Crew Landed in Emergency Condition; Flight Crew Returned To Departure Airport; General Declared Emergency
Aircraft; Procedure
Number 1 Engine torque and RPM surged and fluctuated immediately after takeoff resulting in an engine shutdown and emergency landing. The aircraft had the same problem the previous day and we were the first flight afterwards. No test flight was performed after the fix before adding passengers. A test flight should be standard procedure after an emergency resulting from powerplant failures.
On departure and initial climbout Number 1 Engine was surging and making a weird noise. The prop RPM on Number 1 went past the red line and so we identified it as Number 1 Engine as failed. The left power lever was brought back to idle and the prop was feathered. We declared an emergency and returned back to the field. The airplane landed safely without any damage or any injuries.
DHC8 flight crew reports the number one engine surging with the propeller exceeding the red line during initial climbout. The engine is shut down and the flight returns to the departure airport. The same anomaly had occurred the day prior and was addressed by Maintenance unsuccessfully.