Kasai B733 near Kisangani on Nov 17th 2013, engine shut down in flight
Last Update: February 4, 2015 / 16:33:17 GMT/Zulu time
Incident Facts
Date of incident
Nov 17, 2013
Classification
Incident
Airline
Air Kasai
Flight number
751
Departure
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo
Destination
Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo
Aircraft Registration
9Q-CGD
Aircraft Type
Boeing 737-300
ICAO Type Designator
B733
The French BEA reported in their weekly bulletin that Authorities of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) rated the engine failure a serious incident and opened an investigation.
Passengers reported the left hand engine was emitting very loud strange noises about one hour into the two hour flight, the noise disappeared again and the crew calmed everybody down, however, about 30 minutes later the noises reappeared in about same intensity. The engine was shut down and the aircraft made a hard landing in Kisangani.
According to ATDB Air Kasai leased the Boeing 737-300 MSN 23788 in from Gomair in October 2013.
On Feb 4th 2015 DR Congo's Bureau Permanent d’Enquêtes d’Accidents et Incidents d’Aviation (BPEA) released their final report via the French BEA concluding the probable causes of the serious incident were:
According to the flight data recorder the left hand engine surged and recovered, evident by transient drop in N1 that stabilized again. However, the EGT and fuel flow of the engine gradually increased indicating a degraded performance of the engine. 30 minutes after the first surge the engine surged again and did not recover causing autothrottle to disconnect. The crew eventually shut the engine down. It is probable that loss of material contributed to the deteriorating airflow inside the engine, e.g. increased space between blade tips and the casing of the engine, mechanical degradation of the engine blades.
The investigation concluded the cause of the serious incident was a latent technical factor.
The BPEA reported that the aircraft was enroute at FL330 with autopilot and autothrottle engaged when at 08:35Z the left hand engine "pumped" for a first time but recovered, N1 temporarily dropped but stabilized again, autothrottle and autopilot remained connected. EGT and fuel flow were slightly increased and stabilized again.
At 09:05Z the engine surged again, this time the engine did not recover, as result autothrottle disconnected. The engine was reduced to idle, N1 and N2 stabilized, EGT and fuel flow gradually increased.
At 09:09Z, while descending through FL310, the crew established first radio contact with Kisangani, at 09:21Z the left hand engine was shut down as engine vibrations rapidly increased from 4 to 5. The aircraft continued for a safe landing on runway 31 of Kisangani at 09:52Z.
The BPEA analysed that the engine had sustained foreign object damage on Nov 10th 2013 at Kisangani, according to the crew an inspection of the engine had been done, however, the BPEA stated, no documents indicating that examination or the results thereof were available. On Nov 12th 2013 the left hand engine ingested a bird on departure from Kisangani, no inspection was carried out as all engine parameters remained normal.
The left hand engine had accumulated 41,868 flight hours in 28,237 cycles and was due for the next work shop at 42,118 flight hours/28,487 cycles.
The cockpit voice recorder was overwritten by the time it was shut down.
The BPEA complained that the airline's maintenance is "poorly run" stating that no technical documentation of the aircraft was available, no documents detailing the engine oil and fuel quantities were available, incomplete recording of engine parameters, no safety management, no reporting system, no daily maintenance released before first flight of the day, non-approved GPS in use, no subscriptions to Airworthiness Directives and Service Bulletins, no training or retraining of crews, no documented release of the aircraft to service following the foreign object damages.
Incident Facts
Date of incident
Nov 17, 2013
Classification
Incident
Airline
Air Kasai
Flight number
751
Departure
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo
Destination
Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo
Aircraft Registration
9Q-CGD
Aircraft Type
Boeing 737-300
ICAO Type Designator
B733
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
Fleet type match
Kasai AN26 at Lisala on Apr 11th 2023, runway excursion on landing
An Air Kasai Antonov AN-26, registration 9S-AFP performing a cargo flight from Kinshasa to Lisala (DR Congo) carrying medical supplies to fight…
Fleet type match
Kasai AN26 at Lodja on Jan 17th 2022, runway excursion on landing
An Air Kasai Antonov AN-26, registration 9S-AFP performing a flight from Kinshasa to Lodja (DR Congo) with 30 people on board, landed on Lodja's dirt…
Newest articles
Red Air MD82 at Miami on Jun 21st 2022, runway excursion causes gear collapse on landing
A Red Air Dominicana McDonnell Douglas MD-82, registration HI1064 performing flight L5-203 from Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) to Miami,FL (USA)…
Southwest B737 near Dallas on Apr 25th 2024, engine shut down in flight
A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700, registration N793SA performing flight WN-4195 from Denver,CO to San Antonio,TX (USA), was enroute at FL410 about…
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