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| Date: | Monday 12 August 2013 |
| Time: | 18:34 |
| Type: |  Airbus A320-214 |
| Owner/operator: | easyJet |
| Registration: | G-EZTC |
| MSN: | 3871 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2009 |
| Engine model: | CFMI CFM56-5B4/P |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 175 |
| Aircraft damage: | Minor |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Milan-Malpensa Airport (MXP) -
 Italy
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Milan-Malpensa Airport (MXP) |
| Lisbon (LIS) | |
| Investigating agency: | ANSV |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
EasyJet flight EZY2715 returned to the departure airport, Milan-Malpensa Airport (MXP) in Italy when the it lost parts of the nr.1 engine cowling on takeoff.
The flight took off from runway 35R at 18:17 hours local time.
A few seconds after take-off, the pilot of an aircraft on the ground radioed that the easyJet flight had just taken off with open engine cowlings on engine no.1. The commander of G-EZTC was also informed of the situation by the cabin crew, who had heard an unusual noise during take-off and had been alerted by some passengers, who had observed the separation of the left engine cowling.
The crew informed air traffic control that it was returning to Malpensa, asking for priority landing. The aircraft landed on runway 35L at 16:33 using overweight landing procedures. In the deceleration the crew used maximum reverse thrust on both engines. During the landing further cowling parts detached from the engine. Two-thirds of both the inner and the outer cowling on engine no.1 had separated.
CAUSE (translated from Italian):
The cause of the accident was mainly due the human factor.
In particular, the opening of the cowling of the left side engine depended on the failure to close the same, because the maintenance operations were carried out without consulting the relevant technical documentation. The technician who performed the maintenance failed to consult the applicable technical documents and consequently failed to follow instructions causing the engine cowlings to be opened and then not closed and locked. Also contributing was an inefficient pre-flight external inspection that was carried out by aircraft commander.
Contributing factors:
- The shape of the engine cowlings latches did not facilitate the inspections to check the actual closing and the locking of the cowlings. In particular, the cowling locking system is constituted by latches which are located on the bottom center of the engine nacelle, hardly visible. The cowlings have, also, a symmetry for which, even if not locked, they recline almost fully and do not indicate an open condition.
- The procedures and the safety policy of AMO contained in the MOE: these policies and procedures did not show properly, the need to perform the work with application of the relevant documentation, as required by Part 145, where it is stated that the technical documentation for maintenance must be followed precisely and must be present in the immediate vicinity of the aircraft on which is being worked.
- The absence of signs / warning on the ECAM related to the condition of incorrect locking of the closing of the cowling system.
Finally, one can not exclude that fatigue of the maintenance technician and the commander may have contributed, in an environment characterized by high outside temperature.
The concentration level of the maintenance technician may have also influenced the fact that he was almost finished with the last scheduled service of the scheduled four working days.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
http://www.ansv.it/It/Detail_relazioni.asp?ID=2020
http://aerossurance.com/safety-management/ansv-easyjet-a320-cowling-hf/
Other Airbus incidents involving loss of engine cowling(s)
Media:
"Vola via" la copertura di un motore, rientra aereo Easyjet http://t.co/CzuxMEbmNz pic.twitter.com/vAQTFsB1d4
— GiorgiusLIVE (@GiorgiusLIVE) August 13, 2013
#OTD 2013 An #Airbus 320 lost a fan cowl departing Milan. We look at the #humanfactors that resulted in the 36th A320 cowling loss. The airline subsequently took a lead in encouraging an error-proof design.https://t.co/6SE12JV9S6 #flightsafety #aviationsafety pic.twitter.com/V6lvjPf64y
— Aerossurance (@Aerossurance) August 12, 2021
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 13-Aug-2013 17:12 | harro | Added |
| 13-Aug-2013 17:15 | harro | Updated [Cn, Embed code] |
| 13-Aug-2013 17:18 | harro | Updated [Time, Phase, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 13-Aug-2013 17:24 | harro | Updated [Total occupants, Narrative] |
| 07-Dec-2016 20:04 | harro | Updated [Source] |
| 07-Dec-2016 20:54 | harro | Updated [Total occupants, Narrative] |
| 10-Dec-2016 15:35 | harro | Updated [Narrative] |
| 10-Dec-2016 15:46 | harro | Updated [Source] |
| 12-Aug-2021 08:49 | Aerossurance | Updated [Source, Embed code] |
| 05-Sep-2022 17:32 | harro | Updated [Cn, Embed code] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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