In 2020, one airline had bad luck to experience that. Lesson learned the hard way – right after the engine started accelerating down the runway, the crew felt vibration and heard “popping” noises. When the pilot applied a full left rudder, the aircraft bent to the right. Moreover, passengers had seen flames coming out of the right engine! Take-off was aborted and the aircraft stopped.
Pilots later commented that the noise and vibration during the event were much more severe than those on the simulators. It wasn’t possible to keep aircraft on the centerline, even with applying a full left rudder.
Engine data showed that the right engine surged. A borescope inspection revealed damage to compressor blades and stator vanes. When dealing with Foreign Object Damage, the entire engine needs to be dismantled This is how the screwdriver tip was found.
Impressive fact – this was not the first flight with a screwdriver tip for this aircraft. Already 112 flights were executed with a dangerous foreign object in the right engine. Over time, the screwdriver tip caused fatigue cracks on the stage 5 blade and stage 6 stator vane.
How could this situation have happened? Apparently, the aircraft was parked for 4 months during the pandemic. The lubrication of the LPC Bleed Valve Mechanism in each engine is required for the aircraft to return to service. During this task, mechanics remove faring with a screwdriver. Investigators concluded that the screwdriver tip has been lost in the engine during that procedure.
Now, the most important question is – how can this be prevented in the future? Innovative technologies have the power to prevent such incidents. QOCO Systems’ solution MROTools.io is a modern tool management software designed for airlines and MROs. Tracking of tools and strict damage control ensure no part of the tool kit can be possibly left in the engine or aircraft. Easy and user-friendly tool damage reporting solution support mechanics and engineers in addressing the issues with the tools and repair or utilize broken tools on time.
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