Spirit A20N at Atlantic City on Oct 2nd 2021, rejected takeoff due to bird strike, engine fire
Last Update: July 5, 2022 / 19:00:39 GMT/Zulu time
Incident Facts
Date of incident
Oct 2, 2021
Classification
Accident
Airline
Spirit Airlines
Flight number
NK-3044
Departure
Atlantic City, United States
Destination
Fort Lauderdale, United States
Aircraft Registration
N922NK
Aircraft Type
Airbus A320-200N
ICAO Type Designator
A20N
The airline reported a large bird entered one of the engines, the crew braked safely and brought the aircraft to stop, received indication of engine damage and ordered an evacuation in line with standard operating procedures.
Videos show the aircraft was evacuated through the left hand forward and left hand aft main doors using slides.
On Oct 4th 2021 it emerged, that an entire fan blade had fractured at its root and separated.
On Oct 9th 2021 The Aviation Herald received further (detailed) photos of the engine damage by Bart Dieball.
On Oct 9th 2021 the NTSB reported the right hand engine received a bird strike followed by engine fire. The flight crew reported receiving an engine fire warning, discharged both fire bottles and rejected takeoff at about 90 KIAS and stopped on the runway. The passengers evacuated via slides, 3 passengers and one dead heading crew received minor injuries in the evacuation. The NTSB opened an investigation.
On Jul 5th 2022 the NTSB released their final report concluding the probable cause of the occurrence was:
The ingestion of a bird into the right engine during the takeoff roll caused a fan blade to fracture near the blade platform resulting in high fan blade off loads and engine vibrations sufficient to result in an eventual failure of a fuel tube in the right engine that sprayed fuel onto hot engine cases, igniting an undercowl engine fire and triggering a rejected takeoff.
The NTSB analysed:
Based on the bird remains and feathers collected and identified by Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Nature History Division of Birds - Feather Identification Laboratory, a male immature Blade Eagle was ingested into the right engine striking the fan and causing a single fan blade to fracture near the blade root; the fractured fan blade was contained by the fan case and the remaining fan blades exhibited a combination of leading and trailing edge, as well as blade tip, impact damage, tearing, missing material and bending in the direction opposite rotation. Upon further examination of the engine, it was discovered that two of the thermal management system (TMS) manifold lower aft mounting bracket securing bolts had fractured in shear overstress allowing the bracket to swivel/rotate radially outward. This is one of three mounting brackets that secure the TMS manifold to the engine and prevents excessive moment of the TMS manifold during operation. Along with the broken/sheared TMS lower aft bracket bolts, a crack was visible on the CP-09 fuel line that initiated in fatigue; the CP09 fuel line is attached to the TMS and contains high pressure fuel. The crack in the CP-09 fuel line was due to necking down of the material as the fuel tube bent and stretched (elongated) under the vibration/cyclic loads after the bird strike and not as a manufacturing issue.
The TMS manifold lower aft mounting bracket securing bolts fractured due to the high impact and vibration loads because of the fan blade release after the bird strike. Subsequently the TMS manifold was allowed to move radially back and forward from the engine in response to the engine vibrations that were recorded on the flight data recorder to be in excess of the 10 cockpit units which is the highest value that the flight data recorder will record. The CP-09 fuel line flexed, bent, and stretched under the cyclical radial motion of the TMS manifold until it cracked due to fatigue spraying high pressure fuel onto the hot engine cases igniting an undercowl fire.
An immature male Bald Eagle has a mean mass of about 4,130 grams (g) (9.1 lbs.). The Federal Aviation Administration large bird ingestion certification test bird weight requirement was 2.75 kilograms (6.05 pounds) for the size of the inlet throat area on the PW1127G-JM geared turbofan engine; thus, the incident ingested bird was larger than the certification basis for the engine.
Aircraft Registration Data
Incident Facts
Date of incident
Oct 2, 2021
Classification
Accident
Airline
Spirit Airlines
Flight number
NK-3044
Departure
Atlantic City, United States
Destination
Fort Lauderdale, United States
Aircraft Registration
N922NK
Aircraft Type
Airbus A320-200N
ICAO Type Designator
A20N
Videos
This article is published under license from Avherald.com. © of text by Avherald.com.
Article source
You can read 2 more free articles without a subscription.
Subscribe now and continue reading without any limits!
Read unlimited articles and receive our daily update briefing. Gain better insights into what is happening in commercial aviation safety.
Send tip
Support AeroInside by sending a small tip amount.
Related articles
Spirit A20N at Minneapolis on Nov 14th 2021, engine fire indication
A Spirit Airlines Airbus A320-200N, registration N922NK performing flight NK-135 from Minneapolis,MN to Orlando,FL (USA), was climbing out of…
Spirit A20N at Houston on Jan 13th 2021, coyote strike on departure
A Spirit Airlines Airbus A320-200N, registration N922NK performing flight NK-264 from Houston Intercontinental,TX to Fort Lauderdale,FL (USA),…
Spirit A321 at Chicago on Feb 23rd 2024, could not retract landing gear
A Spirit Airlines Airbus A321-200, registration N662NK performing flight NK-635 from Chicago O'Hare,IL to Atlanta,GA (USA) with 218 people on board,…
Spirit A20N at Milwaukee on Feb 8th 2024, lightning strike
A Spirit Airlines Airbus A320-200N, registration N957NK performing flight NK-509 from Las Vegas,NV to Milwaukee,WI (USA), was on approach to…
Spirit A321 at Nashville on Nov 9th 2023, bird strike
A Spirit Airlines Airbus A321-200, registration N668NK performing flight flight NK-2177 from Nashville,TN to Philadelphia,PA (USA), was climbing out…
Spirit A320 at Memphis on Sep 18th 2023, bird strike
A Spirit Airlines Airbus A320-200, registration N692NK performing flight NK-2866 (dep Sep 17th) from Orlando,FL to Memphis,TN (USA), was on final…
Spirit A20N at Boston on Aug 14th 2023, runway incursion
A Spirit Airlines Airbus A320-200N, registration N923NK performing flight NK-1444 from Atlanta,GA to Boston,MA (USA), had landed on Boston's runway…
Newest articles
THY B773 at Tokyo on Apr 20th 2024, approached wrong runway
A THY Turkish Airlines Boeing 777-300, registration TC-JJT performing flight TK-198 from Istanbul (Turkey) to Tokyo Haneda (Japan), was cleared to…
PSA CRJ9 at Charlotte on Apr 22nd 2024, odour in cabin
A PSA Airlines Canadair CRJ-900 on behalf of American Airlines, registration N633NN performing flight AA-5304 from Charlotte,NC to Chattanooga,TN…
Subscribe today
Are you researching aviation incidents? Get access to AeroInside Insights, unlimited read access and receive the daily newsletter.
Pick your plan and subscribePartner
A new way to document and demonstrate airworthiness compliance and aircraft value. Find out more.
ELITE Simulation Solutions is a leading global provider of Flight Simulation Training Devices, IFR training software as well as flight controls and related services. Find out more.
Your regulation partner, specialists in aviation safety and compliance; providing training, auditing, and consultancy services. Find out more.
AeroInside Blog
Popular aircraft
Airbus A320Boeing 737-800
Boeing 737-800 MAX
Popular airlines
American AirlinesUnited
Delta
Air Canada
Lufthansa
British Airways