The single engine failure incident involving a AirAsia X Airbus A330 aircraft on July 3, 2017 has been concluded to be the result of a ...
The single engine failure incident involving a AirAsia X Airbus A330 aircraft on July 3, 2017 has been concluded to be the result of a bird strike, according to a Australian Transport Safety Board investigation report.
During take-off from Gold Coast Airport in Queensland, Australia, the number 2 Rolls Royce Trent 700 engine was subjected to bird strike involving a masked lapwing, which resulted in the release of a small section of a fan blade.
Following an ECAM ENG 2 FAIL alert, the flight crew shut down number 2 engine, advised air traffic control of the situation and diverted to land as soon as possible at Brisbane Airport.
Although aircraft engines are designed to withstand most types of birdstrikes, including those involving medium-sized birds such as a masked lapwing, this event appeared to involve a rare scenario comprising a combination of aircraft and engine speeds, the height of the fan blade at which the birdstrike occurred, and its angle of incidence.
ATSB reports says it is extremely unlikely such a scenario would occur on multiple engines simultaneously.
The Kuala Lumpur bound flight D7207 carried two flight crew, 12 cabin crew and 345 passengers.
Following the incident, the engine manufacturer Rolls Royce said its Trent 700 project team will review the design of the fan rear seal and the low pressure roller bearing bolts to determine if there is a feasible solution to prevent the loss of a small section of fan blade leading imminently to an engine shutdown.
At 2249 Eastern Standard Time, the flight crew commenced the take-off roll. Flight data recorder data shows that Engine 2 vibrations increased as the aircraft approached its take-off rotation speed. After take-off, passing approximately 2,300 ft, the electronic centralised aircraft monitor (ECAM) displayed an ENG 2 STALL alert. At the same time, loud banging noises associated with an engine stall could be heard in the aircraft. The flight crew commenced the ECAM actions for the ENG 2 STALL procedure and made a PAN PAN call to air traffic control.
As the aircraft continued climb to 4,000 ft, the ECAM displayed an ENG 2 FAIL alert. About this time the flight crew received an interphone call from the cabin purser advising of a ‘starboard engine fire’, which was visible from the aircraft cabin and had been reported to the purser by a company pilot, who coincidentally was travelling as a passenger.
In response to the ECAM alert and report from the cabin purser, the flight crew carried out the ENG 2 FAIL procedure with damage actions, including discharging the fire suppression system.
The flight crew upgraded the distress phase to a MAYDAY with air traffic control and requested a diversion and approach to runway 01 at Brisbane Airport for an overweight, single engine landing. The aircraft landed safely at 2310.
After the aircraft vacated the runway, the captain held the aircraft on the taxiway to allow the airport emergency services to inspect the engine before they taxied the aircraft to the arrival gate.
After the aircraft departed, the Gold Coast Airport operator performed a visual inspection of runway 32. Bird remains and engine debris were recovered on runway 32 around the intersection of taxiway D. This included one complete carcass, as well as additional debris from another bird. Other than the evidence of birds, no foreign objects were found with the potential to have resulted in the damage to the engine.
After the occurrence, an engineering examination at Brisbane Airport found a single fan blade-tip section, approximately 140 mm x 125 mm, had fractured from one fan blade and the fan rear seal was found broken into pieces and scattered throughout the bypass areas of the engine. There was also evidence of fire within the engine.
Read the complete report here.
