20130221019889I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Airbus Industrie A320-214 · Saint Louis, MO · February 21, 2013

Date: February 21, 2013 · 19:00 local
Place: Saint Louis, MO
Airport: Lambert Field
Phase of flight: Taxi
Operating rules: Air carrier (Part 121)
Operator: F3LA
Damage: Minor damage
Aircraft: N261AV
Reported as: Airbus Industrie A320-214
Reported engine: CFM International CFM56 series
People aboard: 48
Fatal injuries: 0
Other injuries: 0
Pilot’s certificate: Airline transport
Pilot’s flight hours: 8,882 total6,600 in this make and model128 in the last 90 days

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

During a routine taxi out after a large snow/ice event in Saint Louis, the captain notice a slight left engine vibration and thought he might have some ice build up although he was taxiing with anti-ice on. The captain performed an "ice shedding procedure" which is an engine run-up. The vibration increased and the captain elected to return to the gate. Maintenance performed the inspections referenced in the aircraft maintenance manual and discovered multiple fan blades shingled, punctured and scarred on the number 1 (left) engine. The entire fan blade section was removed and replaced. A borescope was conducted with no damage observed to the core engine. Finally, maintenance performed a leak check with the engine at minimum idle and no leaks were noted.

As the FAA filed it

DURING A ROUTINE TAXI OUT AFTER A LARGE SNOW/ICE EVENT IN SAINT LOUIS, THE CAPTAIN NOTICE A SLIGHT LEFT ENGINE VIBRATION AND THOUGHT HE MIGHT HAVE SOME ICE BUILD UP ALTHOUGH HE WAS TAXIING WITH ANTI-ICE ON. THE CAPTAIN PERFORMED AN "ICE SHEDDING PROCEDURE" WHICH IS AN ENGINE RUN-UP. THE VIBRATION INCREASED AND THE CAPTAIN ELECTED TO RETURN TO THE GATE. MAINTENANCE PERFORMED THE INSPECTIONS REFERENCED IN THE AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE MANUAL AND DISCOVERED MULTIPLE FAN BLADES SHINGLED, PUNCTURED AND SCARRED ON THE NUMBER 1 (LEFT) ENGINE. THE ENTIRE FAN BLADE SECTION WAS REMOVED AND REPLACED. A BORESCOPE WAS CONDUCTED WITH NO DAMAGE OBSERVED TO THE CORE ENGINE. FINALLY, MAINTENANCE PERFORMED A LEAK CHECK WITH THE ENGINE AT MINIMUM IDLE AND NO LEAKS WERE NOTED.