JAL MD90 at Sendai on Aug 15th 2010, engine shut down in flight

Last Update: July 1, 2012 / 15:20:08 GMT/Zulu time

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Incident Facts

Date of incident
Aug 15, 2010

Classification
Incident

Cause
Engine shut down in flight

Airline
JAL Japan Airlines

Aircraft Type
McDonnell Douglas MD-90

ICAO Type Designator
MD90

Japan's Transportation Safety Board (JTSB) released their final report in Japanese concluding the probable cause of the serious incident was:

During takeoff the right hand engine's #4 bearing scavenge system ruptured, the first diffuser tube of the #4 bearing scavenge system released engine oil through the opening. The released engine oil came in contact with the engine's hot section and ignited.

The fracture of the #4 bearing scavenge tube was the result of fatigue produced by stress created by vibrations by the operation of the engine.

The captain (52, ATPL, 14,720 hours total, 1,405 hours on type) was pilot monitoring, the first officer (41, CPL, 6,574 hours total, 3,949 hours on type) was pilot flying. The aircraft accelerated for takeoff on runway 27 and rotated at about 160 KIAS. Shortly after becoming airborne Sendai tower reported white smoke coming from the right hand engine, however received no reply. Sendai departure transmitted the tower's observation of white smoke near the right hand engine about 40 seconds after the tower reported the observation. The crew engaged the autopilot about 20 seconds after that transmission. 118 seconds after becoming airborne while climbing through 5500 feet the crew received a right hand engine fire indication, throttled both engine back and declared emergency. The aircraft stopped the climb at 6150 feet and began to gradually descend. 90 seconds after the fire alert the crew shut the right hand engine down and discharged the first fire bottle, 80 seconds later discharged the second fire bottle after which the fire indication ceased. The aircraft joined a left downwind and landed safely on Sendai's runway 27 about 15 minutes after becoming airborne.

The captain reported in post flight interviews that engine start and taxi towards the runway was normal with no anomaly observed. After steering the aircraft onto runway 27 the first officer assumed control and began takeoff, which felt smooth without any anomaly. After rotation and positive rate of the climb the captain selected the gear up and contacted departure and was told "radar contact". When the aircraft climbed through about 3000 feet departure informed the crew about white smoke from the right hand engine during takeoff. The captain checked the engine instruments and noticed an amber warning light indicating low oil pressure, the master caution had not been activated. The captain decided to activate the procedures for the low oil pressure indication and was about to order level off at 6000 feet when the right hand engine's fire warning activated. The captain sensed a slight yaw to the right and suspecting the right hand engine had been damaged assumed control of the aircraft with the first officer assuming the role of pilot monitoring, the fire memory checklists were actioned shutting the engine down and discharging the first fire bottle and starting the timer. After 80 seconds, when the fire indication had not ceased, the second fire bottle was discharged which resulting in the fire warning extinguishing. The aircraft subsequently joined a downwind to position for landing on runway 27 and stopped on the runway to have emergency services check the aircraft. Emergency services reported no smoke, the crew therefore taxied the aircraft to the apron.

The tower control said in post incident interviews that he had cleared the aircraft for takeoff from runway 27 and contact departure upon airborne. When the aircraft began to accelerate there was nothing unusual, by the time the aircraft began to rotate white smoke became visible from the right hand engine. He reported his observation, the crew however had already switched to departure. He then forwarded his observation to the departure controller who relayed the information, the aircraft subsequently stopped the climb at 6000 feet. The departure controller indicated that the crew had declared emergency due to an engine fire.

A post flight inspection of the aircraft revealed no damage to the aircraft, the right hand engine however showed decolouration to the cowling, the pressure relief door had opened with traces of heat loss extending backwards of the door. The diffuser case was broken and traces of oil leakage were found.
Incident Facts

Date of incident
Aug 15, 2010

Classification
Incident

Cause
Engine shut down in flight

Airline
JAL Japan Airlines

Aircraft Type
McDonnell Douglas MD-90

ICAO Type Designator
MD90

This article is published under license from Avherald.com. © of text by Avherald.com.
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