The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) released the preliminary report of the incident that occurred with Swiss International Air Lines during takeoff at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI) on April 26. According to the report, Swiss Airlines flight LX147 from New Delhi to Zurich was canceled at around 1:27 pm after its left engine broke down.
A total of 245 people were on board the plane, which included 13 crew members and 232 passengers. Four passengers were injured during emergency evacuation. AAIB described this incident as a serious incident and started investigation. Agencies of France, Germany and Britain are also involved in the investigation. Technical experts from Airbus, Rolls Royce and EASA are assisting in the investigation.
plane engine failed
It is being told that the aircraft was an Airbus A330-343 manufactured in 2012 and was fitted with Rolls Royce Trent 772B engines. According to the report, during take-off the plane had reached a speed of about 106 knots when the engine failed and the pilot stopped the plane on the runway. The pilot immediately informed ATC about an engine failure and asked for the fire brigade.
Smoke and fire near landing gear
The follow-me vehicle and fire tender present on the runway noticed smoke and fire coming out near the landing gear of the aircraft, after which the fire brigade extinguished the fire. When the situation became serious, full emergency was declared at 1:35 pm. The passengers were taken out through emergency slides on the runway itself. During this, 7 slides were used. During investigation, serious internal damage was found in the engine of the aircraft. Along with this, damage was found in Gee High Pressure Turbine, Compressor and Turbine blades. Broken bolts and metal pieces were also found inside the engine. However, during investigation, no evidence of any engine pieces coming out was found.
flight recorder found safe
Burn marks and smoke were visible on the plane’s engine pylon, but there was no damage to the fan blades. The flight recorders (black box and cockpit voice recorder) have been found safe. Their data is being downloaded and investigated. The first alert recorded in the post flight report was ENG 1 Stall. After this ENG 1 FAIL and other system fault messages came.
According to the pilot’s initial statement, there was a massive explosion when the engine failed and fire was visible from the cockpit. The aircraft started turning to the left, after which the pilot successfully stopped it on the runway. The aircraft was removed after the incident and later parked on Bay-254. At present AAIB has not issued any safety recommendation. The AAIB said the investigation of the engine and flight recorder data is ongoing and safety recommendations can be issued after the investigation.
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