ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 351463
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| Date: | Friday 9 February 2007 |
| Time: | c 20:20 UTC |
| Type: |  Lockheed WP-3D Orion |
| Owner/operator: | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |
| Registration: | N42RF |
| MSN: | 5622 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 5 |
| Aircraft damage: | None |
| Location: | 540 mi (870 km) east of St. John's, NL -
 Atlantic Ocean
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Offshore |
| Departure airport: | St. John's Airport, NL (YYT/CYYT) |
| St. John's Airport, NL (YYT/CYYT) | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
N42RF was on a mission to investigate a low-pressure system as part of the Ocean Winds Winter Experiment. The low-pressure system was located approximately 540 miles (870 km) east of St. John's with winds of up to 95 knots. The flight took from St. John's International Airport at 18:23 UTC (14:53 local time). Roughly one hour into the flight, the flight crew observed a white film on the windshield, which they attempted to remove using the washer system, although it was inoperative, and the heater system, which didn't work. Starting at 19:53 UTC for the next ten minutes, dropsondes were released at 2,500 feet (800 m).
At around 22:12 UTC, the mission was wrapping up with the data collection of the last dropsonde being collected. While at 3,000 ft (900 m), crew members in the back (aft) of the aircraft reported flames from the number three engine with audible popping. The F/O and F/E noticed a Turbine Inlet Temperature (TIT) of 1100 with reducing power although there was no fire warning. They proceeded to shut down the engine while advancing thrust on the remaining engines. While doing the engine fire checklist, the aft crew members again reported a fire on the number four engine at 22:21:50. The procedure conducted with the number three engine fire was repeated. With engine four being shut down, power to the scientific recordings were stopped. The flight crew tried to maintain 200 knots at 3,200 feet, but with the loss of two engines, they had to descend to 2,600 feet.
Around four minutes later, the aft crew members once again observed flames, this time on the number one engine. They tried to only extinguish the fire without shutting down the engine, the engine has to be shutdown. The aircraft was now falling at 700 feet per minute with only one engine. The captain called for the restarting of engine one without the checklist. The F/O lowered the flaps to the maneuver position and the F/E successfully restarted the engine after wind milling it. During this time, the aircraft passed through a rain cloud for around a minute, reaching its lowest height of 800 feet (243 m). The flight crew then reset the engine fire handles and unfeathered the number three and four engines, causing them to restart. They returned to St. John's without incident.
The cause was determined to be sea salt accumulating inside the engines, resulting in engine performance issues and an eventual compressor stall. The reason why the engines were able to be restarted was because the rain cloud that the aircraft passed through washed enough salt away to increase engine performance. The white film that was reported on the windshield was also sea salt. The harsh winds inside the low-pressure system caused more sea salt the normal to blow off into the air.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://skybrary.aero/sites/default/files/bookshelf/3131.pdf
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235167214_An_Assessment_of_the_Meteorological_Conditions_Leading_to_the_NOAA_WP-3D_Engine_Compressor_Stalls_of_February_9_2007_Due_to_Sea_Salt_Aerosol_Particle_Fouling
FAA Aircraft Inquiry for N42RF
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 05-Feb-2024 08:21 | RandomInfinite | Added |
| 05-Feb-2024 08:24 | ASN | Updated [Aircraft type, Cn, Accident report] |
| 06-Feb-2024 08:44 | RandomInfinite | Updated [Narrative] |
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