Incident: Swiss BCS3 near Paris on Jul 25th 2019, engine shut down in flight

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Incident: Swiss BCS3 near Paris on Jul 25th 2019, engine shut down in flight

By Simon Hradecky, created Thursday, Jul 25th 2019 17:47Z, last updated Thursday, Mar 4th 2021 21:58Z

A Swiss Bombardier C-Series CS-300, registration HB-JCM performing flight LX-348 from Geneva (Switzerland) to London Heathrow,EN (UK), was climbing through FL320 about 100nm southeast of Paris (France) when the left hand engine (PW1524G) emitted a bang and streaks of flame prompting the crew to shut the engine down and divert to Paris Charles de Gaulle (France). The aircraft landed safely on runway 09R about 30 minutes later. The aircraft vacated the runway and stopped on the adjacent taxiway for inspection by emergency services.

A passenger reported the engine emitted a loud bang and streaks of flames, the crew diverted to Paris for a safe landing.

On Aug 9th 2019 the French BEA reported the left hand engine failed while the aircraft climbed through FL320 and was shut down. The aircraft diverted to Paris CDG Airport. A post flight examination revealed the low pressure compressor rotor stage 1 was missing from the engine. There were no injuries, the aircraft sustained minor damage. The BEA delegated and the NTSB accepted the delegation of the investigation. The occurrence was rated a serious incident and is being investigated by the NTSB.

On Aug 20th 2019 the BEA, on behalf of the NTSB, published a call for witnesses stating:

On behalf of the NTSB, the BEA is issuing a call for witnesses regarding engine parts that may have fallen in an unoccupied wooded area near the towns of Perrigny-sur-Armancon and Cry. The four points of the search zones are at the following GPS coordinates:

47�41'40"N 4�14'16"E / 47�42'04"N 4�14'52"E / 47�40'30"N 4�16'14"E / 47�40'20"N 4�15'57"E

providing a map (see below).

The FAA released an Air Worthiness Directive 2019-19-11 requiring following actions on Pratt & Whitney Models PW1519G, PW1521G, PW1521GA, PW1524G, PW1525G, PW1521G-3, PW1524G-3, PW1525G-3, PW1919G, PW1921G, PW1922G, PW1923G, and PW1923G-A turbofan engines that have accumulated fewer than 300 flight cycles:

(1) Within 50 flight cycles from the effective date of this AD, and thereafter at intervals not to exceed 50 flight cycles until the engine accumulates 300 flight cycles, borescope inspect each LPC inlet guide vane (IGV) stem for proper alignment.

(2) Within 50 flight cycles from the effective date of this AD, and thereafter at intervals not to exceed 50 flight cycles until the engine accumulates 300 flight cycles, borescope inspect the LPC R1 for damage and cracks at the following locations:

(i) The blades tips;
(ii) the leading edge;
(iii) the leading edge fillet to rotor platform radius; and
(iv) the airfoil convex side root fillet to rotor platform radius.
(3) As the result of the inspections required by paragraphs (g)(1) and (2) of this AD, before further flight, remove and replace the LPC if:
(i) An IGV is misaligned; or
(ii) there is damage on an LPC R1 that exceeds serviceable limits; or
(iii) there is any crack in the LPC R1.

The FAA argued the AD is necessary:

The FAA received reports of two recent IFSDs on PW PW1524G-3 model turbofan engines. The first IFSD occurred on July 25, 2019 and the second IFSD occurred on September 16, 2019. These IFSDs were due to failure of the LPC R1, which resulted in the LPC R1 releasing from the LPC case and damaging the engine. LPC rotor failures historically have released high-energy debris that has resulted in damage to engines and airplanes (see Advisory Circular (AC) 39-8, �Continued Airworthiness Assessments of Powerplant and Auxiliary Power Unit Installations of Transport Category Airplanes,� dated September 8, 2003, available at rgl.faa.gov). Although these IFSDs occurred on PW PW1524G-3 model turbofan engines, the FAA is including PW PW1900 engines in the applicability of the AD because similarities in type design make these engines susceptible to the same unsafe condition as PW PW1500 engines. This condition, if not addressed, could result in uncontained release of the LPC R1, in-flight shutdown, damage to the engine, damage to the airplane, and loss of control of the airplane. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

According to this FAA AD the root causes of this and a later occurrence, see Incident: Swiss BCS3 near Geneva on Sep 16th 2019, uncontained engine failure are related.

On Oct 15th 2019 the BEA reported the two occurrences of Jul 25th 2019 and Sep 16th 2019 are "identical". So far, no parts of the engine of HB-JCM have been recovered. The NTSB asked for assistance to locate the parts, in particular a piece of titanium of about 70cm in diameter (possibly browk into smaller pieces). The BEA have therefore decided to set up a sweep of the search area and are looking for up to 150 volunteers to sweep the area on Nov 6th 2019 and Nov 8th 2019.

On Oct 26th 2019 Transport Canada issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive (EAD) CF-2019-37 (subsequently also distributed by Switzerland's BAZL) stating:

Several occurrences of engine in-flight shutdowns (IFSDs) were reported on Airbus Canada Limited Partnership BD-500 family aeroplanes. Investigations are ongoing to determine the root cause. Preliminary investigation results indicate high altitude climbs at higher thrust settings for engines with certain thrust ratings may be a contributor. This condition, if not corrected, could lead to an uncontained failure of the engine and damage to the aeroplane.

To address this potentially unsafe condition, this AD introduces a new Aircraft Flight Manual (AFM) limitation and normal procedure to limit the engine N1 setting to 94% while above 29000 feet.

In the EAD required amendment to the Aircraft Flight Manual it is stated: "Caution: Before initiation of step climbs above 29000 feet, the autothrottle must be selected off to respect the 94% N1 limitation."

On Nov 6th 2019 the BEA reported a targeted search with the assistance by volunteers brought about 3 pieces of engine debris on the first day of the search (see photo below).

On Mar 31st 2020 the FAA released another Airworthiness Directive AD-2020-07-02 arguing:

The FAA has received reports of four instances of IFSDs occurring on the affected model turbofan engines since 2019.

In response to the two IFSDs that occurred in July and September 2019, and in response to ongoing investigations of these IFSDs, the FAA issued AD 2019-19-11 (84 FR 50719, September 26, 2019), to perform inspections of the LPC R1 to prevent failures. The FAA subsequently superseded AD 2019-19-11, issuing AD 2019-21-11 (84 FR 57813, October 29, 2019) in response to another IFSD and to expand the population of affected engines that needed inspection of the LPC R1. Since the effective date of AD 2019-21-11, another IFSD occurred in February 2020. Analysis by the manufacturer determined that the LPC vane schedules were putting the engine in a condition to experience an acoustic resonance that damages the LPC R1, which then leads to LPC R1 failure. In response, the manufacturer updated the EEC FADEC software to improve vane scheduling to avoid acoustic resonance.

This condition, if not addressed, could result in uncontained release of the LPC R1, damage to the engine, and damage to the airplane. The FAA is issuing this AD to address the unsafe condition on these products.

The four mentioned occurences are: Incident: Swiss BCS3 near Paris on Jul 25th 2019, engine shut down in flight, Incident: Swiss BCS3 near Geneva on Sep 16th 2019, uncontained engine failure, Incident: Swiss BCS3 near Paris on Oct 15th 2019, engine shut down in flight and Incident: Baltic BCS3 near Bordeaux on Feb 12th 2020, uncontained engine failure.

On Feb 9th 2021 the NTSB opened their investigation docket and released their factual report stating the aircraft "experienced a No. 1 engine failure while climbing through flight level 320 over Perrigny-sur-Arman�on, France. The flight crew followed quick reference handbook procedures and attempted to shutdown the No. 1 engine, but the engine had already been shutdown by the EEC. The crew diverted to Charles de Gaulle International Airport (CDG), Paris, France and made an uneventful single engine landing. A post flight examination of the engine revealed a hole in the LPC case and the LPC stage 1 IBR (low pressure compressor stage 1 integrally bladed rotor) had separated and was missing. There were no passenger or crew injuries reported."

The NTSB described the damage:

The separated LPC stage 1 IBR penetrated the forward and mid LPC cases and created a hole from the 9 to 1 o�clock positions radially and between the forward flange of the forward LPC case and the aft flange of the mid LPC case axially. The separated LPC stage 1 IBR was contained by the nacelle and travelled aft through the bypass duct and was liberated out the back of the engine. The remaining LPC stages sustained secondary impact damage. Uncontained engine fragments also caused secondary impact damage to the trailing edge of all the fan blades and the trailing edge of eight consecutive fan exit guide vanes (FEGV) between the 10 o�clock and 11:30 positions. Thermal damage and material loss was observed in stages 5 through 8 of the high pressure compressor (HPC) and stage 2 of the high pressure turbine (HPT) during a borescope inspection (BSI) of the engine core. The low pressure turbine (LPT) stage 2 and 3 rotor blades were all broken, and the fracture surfaces were thermally distressed. The LPT stage 2 and 3 stator vanes exhibited coincident 360 degree impact damage.

Metallurgy

Multiple loose engine fragments, including a section of the separated LPC stage 1 IBR, were recovered from the nacelle and were shipped to the P&W Materials and Processes Engineering (MPE) Laboratory in East Hartford, Connecticut for examination. The fracture surface features on all recovered fragments were consistent with tensile-shear overload and a primary fracture surface was not identified.

...

Corrective Actions

Several corrective actions were released by P&W, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Airbus Canada, and Transport Canada to reduce the likelihood of additional events. A recurrent BSI inspection of the LPC stage 1 IBR was mandated and the inspections identified two additional LPC stage 1 IBR crack findings in the fleet. In addition to the recurrent BSI, an N1 speed restriction above FL290 was implemented to reduce the likelihood of mode excitation and an EEC software update, V2.11.9, was released to revert the LPC vane schedule back to the original vane schedule that was installed prior to the LPC stage 1 IBR failures. Finally, redesign efforts are underway to modify the 2.5 bleed valve duct geometry to increase the frequency margin and eliminate the resonant response within the engine operating range. According to P&W, redesigned hardware is scheduled to be available to the fleet by the fourth quarter of 2021.

On Mar 4th 2021 the NTSB released their final report concluding the probable causes of the incident were:

A No. 1 (left) engine low pressure compressor (LPC) stage 1 integrally bladed rotor (IBR) separation due to a high cycle fatigue crack (HCF) that originated at the runout of an airfoil leading edge root radius. The HCF crack developed as a result of a mechanically coupled LPC stage 3 and stage 1 IBR mode excitation and blade flutter response. The excitation was driven by an acoustic tone generated by turbulent airflow passing over the 2.5 bleed valve duct cavity while the engine was operating at high speeds in specific flight conditions. A primary contributor to the failure mode was an electronic engine control (EEC) software update that changed the LPC vane schedule and increased the likelihood of LPC stage 1 IBR blade flutter onset within the engine operating range.

Three pieces of engine debris located on Nov 6th 2019 seen on map of search area (Photo: BEA):

Three pieces of engine debris located on Nov 6th 2019 seen on map of search area (Photo: BEA)

Map of search area for engine parts (Graphics: BEA):

HB-JCM on final approach to Paris (Photo: William Musculus):

Reader Comments: (the comments posted below do not reflect the view of The Aviation Herald but represent the view of the various posters)

Whale Sound
By William Candee on Friday, Mar 12th 2021 02:31Z

Looks like they're gonna redesign a part to eliminate the acoustic tone generated by airflow passing over it, which appears to be part of the flutter-excitation issue that led to the fracture of the blade.

Does this mean the whale sounds might disappear? That might not be a bad thing.

Maybe more importantly: does this mean that the whale sounds may be causing other issues?

@ Dave Cornutt
By Snack Time on Thursday, Nov 7th 2019 03:51Z

Why do you think an LPC R1 failure would be caused by a "rotor cooling issue"?

@ Dave Cornutt on Tuesday, Oct 29th 2019 19:16Z
By Simon Hradecky on Tuesday, Oct 29th 2019 19:45Z

We have covered that EAD already (on Oct 28th) in the most recent occurrence at article=4ce0bb41

Airworthiness Directive
By Dave Cornutt on Tuesday, Oct 29th 2019 19:16Z

Transport Canada (not sure why them and not the FAA) has today issued an AD applicable to the PW1524-G, limiting maximum power settings at high altitudes. Apparently they think that the stage 1 LPC rotor failures have something to do with using high power for climbs at higher altitudes. (Rotor cooling issue?) The wording suggests that further ADs may follow shortly.

By Alex Hertz on Tuesday, Oct 15th 2019 20:00Z

Yes my mistake, I wrote on the wrong entry, my failure. It was brant for the September incident.

Swiss now has 3 engine explosions on the c series, all LP1 missing

@Alex Hertz
By Biggles on Tuesday, Oct 15th 2019 15:09Z

Alex, just to clear any confusion you state 'HB-JCA the aircraft involved in this incident...' but the text states the reg. as HB-JCM. Are you mixing the registrations or do you mean -JCA has had similar problems to -JCM?

By KKN on Tuesday, Oct 15th 2019 14:39Z

Swiss has withdrawn the type(s) from use for now.

A220 grounded
By 727driver on Tuesday, Oct 15th 2019 14:39Z

Today SWISS has grounded all of their A220 (29).

By Alex Hertz on Tuesday, Oct 8th 2019 09:38Z

HB-JCA the aircraft involved in this incident has a boroscoping last night on the new engine Number. 1 for the new AD.

LPC 1 found to be cracked requiring engine replacement.

Engine had 80hours and 70cycles on wing since installation on 25th September 2019.

Is it my imagination...
By Raffles on Wednesday, Oct 2nd 2019 21:02Z

or is the Bombardier C-Series having a lot of engine problems?

@ anonymous
By Valdo on Tuesday, Oct 1st 2019 15:26Z

"Engine problem persists !"

Anything that can go wrong will go wrong - Murphy's Law !!!

ICAO Annex 13
By JJ on Saturday, Aug 24th 2019 13:10Z

Regarding which organizations investigate what...
The �State of Occurrence� always has primary jurisdiction over an investigation, which in this case is France and their BEA.
In accordance with ICAO Annex 13 (the accident investigation �rule book�), they can then bring in other party members to their investigation. The states of manufacture for the airframe and engines are specifically designated, (in this case, TSB Canada and NTSB, respectively) but other relevant states could be brought in as required based on the course of the investigation. These are called �accredited representatives� or Acc-Reps. Those states� Acc-Reps will then typically assign technical representatives from the manufactures, who will frequently be the only people traveling to the sight from that country if it�s not a major accident. They are �technical representatives for the accredited representative�...
Got it? :-)

By (anonymous) on Tuesday, Aug 20th 2019 23:59Z

Eh.. It's an engine issue not air frame issue so P&W, thus NTSB. If it were a P&W of Canada engine then it would likely be CAN.

@ Adam
By The Legacy on Tuesday, Aug 20th 2019 14:58Z

Also, technically, the Canadian TSB should be involved because the C-Series is a canadian-built aircraft, with the exception of those being constructed in the United States for American clients like Delta. Though Airbus owns the program now, it is still built by Bombardier.

Call for witness
By Fanfwe on Tuesday, Aug 20th 2019 14:22Z

French BEA has just issued a call for witness. They are looking for missing pieces of the aircraft found on ground.

@adam
By A220-300 on Wednesday, Aug 14th 2019 11:19Z

Probably because the engine manufacturer Pratt is from the USA.

delegated investigation
By Adam on Monday, Aug 12th 2019 14:29Z

Airbus in Swiss registration, flying from Switzerland to the UK, diverted to France. Why has the investigation been delegated to NTSB?!

By (anonymous) on Saturday, Aug 10th 2019 19:32Z

Because the fan is separated from the LPC by the gearbox, the 1st stage LPC is truly the first stage of the LPC on a GTF.

The LPC spins at the full LPT speed on the Pratt GTF. On some other GTF designs, like a ALF507, the LPC 1 spins with the fan.

missing
By (anonymous) on Saturday, Aug 10th 2019 18:28Z

"post flight examination revealed the low pressure compressor rotor stage 1 was missing from the engine"

I severely doubt the first stage was missing without showing significant penetrating damage to the nacelle. First stage blades are rather large in any engine.

In some engines the fan is actually numbered as stage 1 low pressure compressor....

GTF
By MichaelE on Saturday, Aug 10th 2019 17:03Z

All engines are going to have failures. Materials have flaws, there are manufacturing errors, etc. System is built around to insure those failures do not result in an accident i.e. multiple engine failure on a twin, loss of control, etc. It does seem, however, that the P&W GTF has a higher failure rate than most new engines. The description here - missing first stage low pressure compressor section. Where did it go? We are talking right up front! If it blew apart the rest of the engine should have suffered. First stage compressor thieves?

Which engine type do not have failures
By (anonymous) on Monday, Aug 5th 2019 19:58Z

@all the experts here
Which jet engine type have never had a failure which was not down to bird strike or similar?

Back to service
By Patrick on Saturday, Aug 3rd 2019 06:43Z

Charlie Mike returned back to service yesterday.

By Fredtecos on Wednesday, Jul 31st 2019 15:12Z

It was to show their new 220 to AF

RE: Peter Lewis: Brain drain
By RR eng on Wednesday, Jul 31st 2019 08:09Z

I agree with your comment! full of hate or irrelevance!

icident engine
By L.Marti on Tuesday, Jul 30th 2019 03:04Z

Korean air � eu un probl�me de moteur le 27 d�cembre 2018 mais la causse n'a jamais �t� publier ??????. Et maintenant c'est Swiss Air le 26 juillet 2019 aucune info sur la causse ?????? Bizarre

Brain drain.
By Peter Lewis on Monday, Jul 29th 2019 05:32Z

Wow what a bunch of insightful comments below.

By Jonatan on Saturday, Jul 27th 2019 19:58Z

Yes most of air plane they have mechanical engineering program if they fixed the proglam I hope for everybody is save instead of complain to the pallet .plas thos the pallet if they know about mechanical cors I think they can solve the proglam

By (anonymous) on Friday, Jul 26th 2019 15:31Z

GTF P&W engines are still forcing emergency landings.
Delivery flight of an A321-200N, from Hamburg to Hanoi ended in Lahore on the 6th of Feb. 2019, due to same failure as reported.

Reported A220-300 engine trouble...
By Mario Molins on Friday, Jul 26th 2019 14:51Z

I hate to state the obvious, but in the era of image, marketing gimmicks and "alternative facts", consumers/flyers can never be sure:

Whatever the problem may be, the airlines and engine manufacturer must focus on a complete solution very quickly !!

EASA/FAA must not allow any "sweeping under the rug", period.
Thank you.

Engine failure from Pratt & Whitney
By wally on Friday, Jul 26th 2019 14:30Z

Could you tell us if any other Airliners like airBaltic have had those kind of engine failure. Does the problem occure only with the first engine generation which has been replace since many year by now.
Best Regard Wally

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