Swiss flight aborted take-off in Delhi after engine failure, 6 injured: AAIB

The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau AAIB on Sunday released its preliminary report into the serious incident involving a Swiss International Air Lines flight that suffered an engine failure during takeoff at Delhirsquos Indira Gandhi International Airport on April 26According to the report SWISS flight LX147 from New Delhi to Zurich was forced to abort takeoff at around 127 am after the aircraftrsquos lefthand engine failed during the takeoff rollThe AAIB has classified the occurrence as a ldquoserious incidentrdquo that resulted in injuries to six peopleThe Airbus A330343 was carrying 245 people including 232 passengers and 13 crew membersInvestigators said the flight crew rejected takeoff after the failure of Engine No 1 at a speed of around 106 knotsThe pilots immediately informed air traffic control and sought emergency assistanceThe crew later reported hearing a ldquoloud bangrdquo and observed a large flame coming from the lefthand engineThe aircraft also veered to the left before the pilots managed to bring it to a safe stop on the runwayFollowing the incident a full emergency was declared at Delhi Airport and all seven emergency gates were opened to facilitate rescue and response operations Four passengers reportedly sustained injuries during the incidentAs part of the ongoing investigation the AAIB carried out a visual inspection of the aircraft and found small metal particles and debris in the exhaust section of the damaged engineThe Solid State Flight Data Recorder SSFDR and the Solid State Cockpit Voice Recorder SSCVR have been removed for detailed analysisInvestigators are currently examining crew data flight data and air traffic control records to determine the sequence of events that led to the engine failureThe bureau said the affected engine will undergo a detailed examination to identify the root cause of the malfunctionThe investigation is also being supported by Francersquos Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Aviation Safety BEA which has appointed an accredited representative to assist the probeAircraft manufacturer Airbus and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency EASA have also been associated with the investigationThe preliminary findings revealed multiple signs of damage inside the engine External observations before the borescope inspection identified broken bolts and spacers of the highpressureintermediatepressure bearing support in the thrust reverser ductsInvestigators also found that the highpressure bleed valves were partially blocked with debrisDuring the borescope inspection of the engine core investigators observed damage to the High Pressure Turbine blades and Nozzle Guide VanesAdditional damage was detected in the Intermediate Pressure Turbine blades Low Pressure Turbine blades and High Pressure Compressor blades and stator vanesThe report further stated that the highpressure shaft and intermediatepressure shaft were seized preventing a complete inspection of the engineHowever investigators did not find any evidence of impact damage or blade distortion in the Intermediate Pressure Compressor although the IPC shaft was also seized and could not be fully examinedThe AAIB said further analysis of the engine components and flight recorder data is currently underway adding that safety recommendations may be issued later as part of the investigationThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever