ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 268239
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| Date: | Thursday 30 September 2021 |
| Time: | c. 16:00 |
| Type: |  Boeing 747-4H6 (BCF) |
| Owner/operator: | Kalitta Air |
| Registration: | N741CK |
| MSN: | 24315/738 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1989 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 4 |
| Aircraft damage: | Minor |
| Location: | East Midlands Airport (EMA/EGNX) -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Landing |
| Nature: | Cargo |
| Departure airport: | Leipzig Airport (LEJ/EDDP) |
| East Midlands Airport (EMA/EGNX) | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
A Kallitta Air Boeing 747-4H6 (BCF), performing flight CKS330, landed at East Midlands Airport (EMA/EGNX) Castle Donington, Leicestershire, UK. During the landing rollout there was something ingested by engine #3 (General Electric CF6, inboard right hand) resulting in a loud bang and emitting some fire streaks. The aircraft rolled out without further event, emergency services responded, the aircraft vacated the runway and taxied to the apron with the engine still running. Emergency services performed a runway inspection focussing on the area of the touch down zone runway 27.
Despite the dramatic scenes caught on camera, no emergency was declared and the plane landed safely, with no injuries reported. Naturally, the UK press has jumped all over the image, making the incident seem far more dramatic than it actually was. “Cargo jet bursts into flames,” cries the Daily Mail (see link #6), while the Mirror goes so far as to call it a “botched landing.” (see link #7). None of this is true. Although the image is a stellar capture by the photographer, the backfire was actually just a fleeting moment of drama. (See the Youtube footage below)
Note that, despite some uninformed press and media reports, the fire was localised in the #3 engine; there was not (despite reports) any fire in the port undercarriage, not did the tyres of the port undercarriage burst or catch fire. The "Coventry Evening Telegraph" headline "Jumbo jet tyres burst into flames on landing at East Midlands Airport" (see link #2) is incorrect in this respect.
According to Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Services, they were called to standby at EMA at around 3.31pm on Thursday, September, 30. A spokesperson said:
"The aircraft was experiencing flap problems but managed to land safely. We were subsequently asked to stand down by fire services at the airport."
The cargo plane was making its regular journey from Los Angeles, through to Leipzig in Germany and then landing at EMA - which it does routinely without incident. An EMA spokesman said:
"A 747 cargo aircraft belonging to Kalitta Air is currently being inspected by the airline's engineers following reports that it developed a technical issue upon landing at East Midlands Airport (EMA) yesterday afternoon. The flight operated safely into EMA and no action was required from airport staff."
While it will require some inspection to determine the cause of the flameout, the assertion that it was a bird or foreign object ingestion would tally up. It could also have been an engine fault, exacerbated by the application of the reverse thrusters.
UPDATE: Comments on this story in the "Derby Evening Telegraph" (see link #9) state that the 'engine fire' was simply due to excessive ingestion of water into the No.3 engine, caused by splashes from a puddle on a rain-soaked runway and a brief flame-out (quote):
"The aircraft has not caught fire, I doubt that it was an emergency landing being as it was most likely engine foreign body ingestion which could cause either a bade or blades to break thus causing a fuel line fracture. The resulting fuel leakage would then 'explode' or burn fiercely upon exposure to the hot exhaust gases, bit like re-heat on a fighter aircraft. Only a little bit, the flames coming out the rear of the engine".
Sources:
1. http://avherald.com/h?article=4ee0f084&opt=0
2. https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/jumbo-jet-tyres-bursts-flames-21732006
3. https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/local-news/engineers-investigation-problems-boeing-747-5998591
4. https://westbridgfordwire.com/pictures-boeing-747-engine-fire-at-east-midlands-airport/
5. https://www.aeroinside.com/16191/kalitta-b744-at-east-midlands-on-sep-30th-2021-engine-malfunction-on-roll-out
6. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10047869/747-cargo-jet-shoots-flames-lands-East-Midlands-airport-loud-bang.html
7. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/plane-bursts-flames-after-making-25113124
8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalitta_Air#Incidents_and_accidents
9. https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/local-news/boeing-747-fire-emergency-landing-5997190
10. https://www.planelogger.com/Aircraft/Registration/N741CK/527935
11. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N741CK
12. https://simpleflying.com/kalitta-engine-flames-east-midlands/
13. https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=741CK
Media:
Flames and a loud bang on Landing - 32 years old Kalitta Air Boeing B747-4H6(BCF) Engine no#3 (GE CF6-80C2B1F turbofan) spit streaks of flames and made a loud bang upon landing at East Midlands, UK .
— FL360aero (@fl360aero) October 1, 2021
Picture : Tony Johnson.#aviation #aircraft #avgeek #airport #incident #safety pic.twitter.com/DP9Q9Zr72u
Kalitta Air
— SkyScanWorld (@scan_sky) September 30, 2021
N741CK
Boeing 747
Arriving at EMA earlier today.
Tony's words,
"No3 engine ingested something on landing and went bang"
Credit to Tony Johnson for allowing SSW to share.@EMAirport @KalittaAir
#747 #cargo #kalitta #JUMBO pic.twitter.com/vZXP7tMr27
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 01-Oct-2021 10:01 | gerard57 | Added |
| 01-Oct-2021 10:45 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 01-Oct-2021 10:46 | RobertMB | Updated [Narrative] |
| 01-Oct-2021 10:55 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Source, Embed code] |
| 01-Oct-2021 15:36 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Total occupants, Location, Source, Embed code, Narrative, Category] |
| 01-Oct-2021 15:39 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 01-Oct-2021 15:41 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source] |
| 01-Oct-2021 15:47 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source] |
| 02-Oct-2021 06:03 | harro | Updated [Aircraft type, Narrative] |
| 04-Oct-2021 15:23 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Source, Narrative] |
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