Jetstar A320 over Tasman Sea on Oct 28th 2017, spitting engine

Last Update: February 27, 2018 / 16:02:18 GMT/Zulu time

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Photo of Jetstar Airways VH-VGY, Airbus A320 — Jetstar Airways VH-VGY, Airbus A320 (Photo credit: Stilgherrian / Flickr / License: CC by)

Incident Facts

Date of incident
Oct 28, 2017

Classification
Incident

Airline
Jetstar Airways

Flight number
JQ-202

Departure
Auckland, New Zealand

Destination
Sydney, Australia

Aircraft Registration
VH-VGY

Aircraft Type
Airbus A320

ICAO Type Designator
A320

A Jetstar Airbus A320-200, registration VH-VGY performing flight JQ-202 from Auckland (New Zealand) to Sydney,NS (Australia), was enroute at FL340 over the Tasman Sea about 170nm west of Auckland when the aircraft was called back to Auckland. The aircraft landed safely back in Auckland about 35 minutes later.

The airline reported a ground handler had put a plastic clipboard onto the cowl of an engine and forgot about it. Later debris was seen being ejected from the engine's tailpipe. The crew was notified and called back to Auckland. An inspection of the engine found minor damage, the engine was repaired and the aircraft returned to service.

The aircraft returned to service about 7 hours after landing.

On Nov 16th 2017 Australia's TSB ATSB reported: "After take-off, air traffic control notified the crew that during taxi a visible paper trail was reportedly emanating from the number two engine. The crew returned the aircraft to Auckland where it was determined ground crew had left a clipboard on the engine inlet cowling, which was subsequently ingested into the engine." The ATSB rated the occurrence an incident and opened an investigation.

On Feb 27th 2018 the ATSB released their final report concluding the probable causes of the incident were:

While preparing the aircraft for departure, the leading hand placed a clipboard in the right engine, which was subsequently ingested during start-up.

During the walk-around, the dispatcher noticed the clipboard in the right engine, but believing it would be retrieved prior to the aircraft departing, the dispatcher did not notify the leading hand or supervisor of the foreign object debris as per company procedures.

The ATSB described the sequence of events:

At about 1909, the leading hand had finished loading the last container into the aircraft hold and was organising his paperwork. As it was raining, he decided to put the clipboard in the right engine (No. 2) cowling to stop his paperwork from becoming wet and blown by the wind, with the intention to retrieve it later. The leading hand went to the flight deck, gave some paperwork to the flight crew, and returned to the ground to organise the aircraft’s push back.

At about 1919, the dispatcher cleared the ground and servicing equipment from the aircraft and conducted the ‘duty of care’ walk-around. During the walk-around, she noticed the clipboard in the right engine and thought that the leading hand would return for it, so she continued with the walk-around. Soon after, the engines reportedly started normally.

At about 1925, when the aircraft was taxiing, the leading hand realised his clipboard with the paperwork was missing and thought the dispatcher had the paperwork. The leading hand asked the dispatcher about the clipboard and she mentioned she saw it in the right engine during the walk-around. The ground crew returned to where they were preparing the aircraft and noticed paper debris on the ground. The ground crew organised for their operations area to contact the flight crew.

At about 1937, the aircraft departed. Shortly after, when on climb through flight level3 150, the flight crew received a radio call from the Auckland Approach air traffic controller to contact the surface movement controller. The captain handed control of the aircraft to the first officer and contacted the surface movement controller who advised that the ground crew had lost their paperwork and it may have been placed on the engine. The captain requested further information about the paperwork, specifically whether the paper was on top of the engine or inside the inlet. The flight crew checked the engine instruments and there were no abnormal indications. The surface movement controller confirmed that the paperwork was placed within the inlet and paper debris was found on the tarmac (Figure 1). The captain then contacted the company engineer at the airport and asked whether it was just paperwork or a clipboard with a metal clip. The engineer advised that a piece of sheared metal had been found. The flight crew decided to return to Auckland.

After landing at about 2048, the engine was inspected by engineers and paper was found throughout the engine. They also found minor damage to an engine fan blade and attrition liner.

The ATSB released following safety message:

The presence of foreign object debris poses a significant threat to aircraft safety. It has the potential to cause aircraft damage during critical phases of flight, costing airlines and airports millions of dollars each year. This incident demonstrates the effect foreign object debris has on aircraft operations and emphasises the importance of not placing objects in aircraft engines. It further highlights that all staff operating near aircraft are responsible for reporting any non-normal events they encounter. It should not be assumed that others will perform a task where a hazard has been identified. Assuming other people will undertake a task, such as removing a hazard increases the risk of the task not being completed.