An ATR 72-600 was scheduled to operate a passenger flight from Tenerife to Las Palmas (Canary Islands, Spain) on this day in aviation history in 2019. Shortly after 09:38 lt (local time) the aircraft with 46 occupants was cleared for take-off from runway 12 at Tenerife North Airport.
The 2nd stage Power Turbine (Source & ©CIAIAC)
As the aircraft accelerated down the runway, the pilots heard a strange noise from the right-hand side, followed by a strong vibration. A scan of the engine instruments showed abnormal indications for the right-hand engine, The take-off was aborted at just over 98 knots, which was below the take-off decision speed (V1)
After slowing the aircraft down the right-hand engine was shut down and ATC was informed of the situation, which cleared to taxi to stand 18. After arriving at the stand the aircraft was shut down and passengers disembarked normally. There were no injuries. Once the passengers had disembarked the pilots performed an external inspection of the aircraft which revealed scratches on the aft part of the (right-hand) fuselage. A runway inspection was performed after the aborted take-off, and several metal fragments were removed from the runway. An initial inspection of the right-hand engine (Pratt & Whitney Canadá PW127M) revealed extensive damage to the turbine section. The engine was removed and shipped to the manufacturer for a strip-down and detailed analysis
The 2nd stage Power Turbine Rotor Blades (Source & ©CIAIAC)
The following observations were made during the strip-down;
The second stage power turbine rotor and stator (PT2) had extensive damage to all the turbine blades, with fractures and missing material.
The engine exhaust cover was fractured.
The turbine case contained the detached turbine blade parts
The debris found on the runway had originated from the PT2
The chip detector for the engine contained some fine metallic particles
There was secondary damage to the first-stage power turbine and the low-pressure turbine
Metalurgic and spectroscopic analysis revealed that one PT2 blade had failed as a result of fatigue. Possibly caused by the saline and/or dusty operating environment of the engine. This is a known problem for these types of engines. The OEM had previously issued five service bulletins and a service letter to give recommendations to operators.
Preventive actions were taken by the OEM, EASA and the operator.
The FDR data of the incident flight take-off (Source & ©CIAIAC) (Fallo del motor = engine failure // Salida de pista - Runway exit)
The CIAIAC (Comisión de Investigación de Accidentes e Incidentes de Aviación Civil - Spanish Civil Aviation Accident Investigation Committee) published a report on this incident. This report served as the source for this blog and is available by clicking on the .pdf file below;
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