NYC92IA042

NTSB incident investigation · Airbus Industrie A-310-324 · Covington, KY · December 7, 1991

Incident · No injuriesIncident investigationFinal report
Date
December 7, 1991, 15:51 local (20:51 UTC)
Place
Covington, KY
Injuries
122 uninjured
Damage
No damage
Phase of flight
Enroute
Aircraft
N819PAAirbus Industrie A-310-324
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report May 5, 1993
Report
Approved by Office Director
FAA report
19911207061619I
Case key
37080

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the incident.

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Probable cause

The installation of an improper restrictor in the bleed air line by the manufacturer, which caused the rvdt to fail due to heat, and brought about the uncommanded power loss.

Sequence of events

NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.

Airframe/component/system failure/malfunctionClimb - to cruise
Maintenance,modification - improperManufacturerCause
Thrust reverser,wiring - failure,partialCause
1 engine

Analysis

While climbing through 6000 feet there was an uncommanded reduction of power on the right engine, accompanied by a warning of the thrust reverser becoming unlocked. The engine was shutdown and the airplane returned for landing. A readout of the dfdr disclosed the thrust reverser was never unlocked. The investigation disclosed that the restrictor placed in the bleed air line used to heat the reverser components was too large and these components had been exposed to excessive heat. Electrical windings had failed and a false signal of an inflight thrust reverser unlock caused the power to be reduced on the engine. The engine was originally manufactured by pratt & whitney as a PW4460 and then rebuilt as a PW4152, at which time the reverser components manufactured by rohr were added. The job was described as a 'rush job,' and rohr sent two mechanics to assist pratt & whitney in the rebuild.

Aircraft

Registration
N819PA
Reported as
Airbus Industrie A-310-324 (A310-324)
Category
Airplane
Serial number
456
Engine
P&W PW4152, 52,000 lbs thrust, turbo fan
Damage
No damage
Flight
Part 121
Operator
Delta Airlines
Registered owner
Wilmington Trust Company
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Transport
Last inspection
Continuous airworthiness · January 2, 2000
Destination
JFK · New York, NY
Flight plan
IFR

Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

Role
Pilot
Certificate
Airline transport
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
Instrument ratings
Airplane
Medical
Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
Seat
Right

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.