Diamond Aircraft said on Friday that its continuing its investigation into the dual engine failure of a diesel-powered DA42 Twin Star last month in Germany, and the fix might be a backup battery for the engines electronic control units (ECUs). In meantime, AVweb has learned that an Airworthiness Directive for the airplanes two Thielert 1.7 Centurion engines is pending. Diamond North American president Peter Maurer told AVweb on Friday that Thielert -- the engine supplier -- and Diamond arent working at cross purposes, since the problem obviously needs to be corrected. Maurer said that both of the Twin Stars engines quit immediately after the pilot retracted the landing gear. Activation of the gear retraction system caved the electrical system voltage and knocked both ECUs offline. When the engines quit, the props immediately feathered and the airplanes dual alternators, which are supposed to provide failsafe power to the ECUs, also died. The airplane landed with the gear partially retracted and was significantly damaged. Fortunately, the crew survived.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/news/diamond-da42-engine-fix-engine-ad-in-the-works