Airbus A319-132 N814AW

Summary

On 2 November 2001 at about 13:34 local time, a Airbus A319-132 registered N814AW, operated by America West Airlines Inc., was involved in an incident near Midland, Texas, United States. 89 people were on board and nobody was injured. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

2 November 2001 at 13:34

Classification

Incident

Location

Midland, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Midland International (MAF)

Coordinates

41.8910, -87.8106

Aircraft

Airbus A319-132

Registration

N814AW

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

America West Airlines Inc.

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Houston → Phoenix

Aircraft damage

Not recorded

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW02IA027

Nobody was injured.

the #1 engine's fatigue failure of the #3 bearing due to the manufacturer's inadequate design of the high-pressure compressor stubshaft coating, which resulted in a loss of engine power and an emergency landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The transport airplane was in cruise flight at flight level 390 for 12 minutes when they received an "engine oil filter bypass" fault message on the engine centralized aircraft monitoring (ECAM) system; however, all of the engine parameters remained within limits. Subsequently, the oil pressure indication for the #1 (left) engine rose into the red band and a "high vibration and a thumping sound" was felt and heard. The flight crew then declared an emergency and diverted to another airport. The captain reported that during the landing roll, he moved both throttle levers into reverse, and simultaneously the cockpit and cabin began to fill with smoke. Air traffic controllers reported they observed white smoke emanating from the #1 engine during the landing roll. The captain stopped the airplane on the high-speed taxiway, turned off both engines, and an emergency evacuation ensued. The 1L and 2L doors were operated normally; however, the 1R door jammed when the flight attendant attempted to open it. Examination of the 1R door actuator and slide did not reveal the reason it failed to operate. Examination of the engine revealed that debris contamination of the #3 bearing initiated spallation of the bearing's outer ring raceway. Cyclic loading from the bearing balls passing over the growing raceway spall resulted in extensive fretting of the outer diameter surface of the outer ring, from which a fatigue crack was initiated. High-cycle fatigue progression radially through the outer ring was followed by rapid fracture and subsequent liberation of the outer ring fragments. The debris contamination more than likely came from the high-pressure compressor (HPC) stubshaft coating, which was liberated and entered the #3 bearing area causing it to fracture, and the engine to lose power. Research revealed this was one of five similar occurrences, which was traced down to a change in the manufacture process for the HPC stubshaft coating. The manufacturer has taken actions to alert operators of the existing problem.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.