AAIB investigation to Airbus A320-214, OE-LOA
Evacuation following rejected takeoff due to left engine failure, London Stansted Airport, 1 March 2019.
Summary:
The aircraft was on a scheduled flight from London Stansted Airport to Vienna International Airport, Austria. Shortly after the takeoff roll was commenced it was rejected, due to a contained failure of the left engine, and the aircraft was brought to a stop on the runway. Just as the flight crew were about to taxi the aircraft off the runway, an evacuation was commanded by the Senior Flight Attendant. The investigation identified several factors that contributed to this decision. Ten passengers were treated for minor injuries that occurred during the evacuation and there was a risk of serious injury due to one of the engines running during the evacuation. The operator has taken several safety actions, principally based around the training of its flight attendants. Two Safety Recommendations regarding passenger evacuation have been made in this report.
The left engine experienced a contained failure following the rupture and release of several blades from the first stage of the high-pressure compressor. The investigation found that the blades fractured as a result of high-cycle fatigue loading which initiated in the dovetail (part of the blade root), due to a once-per-revolution aerodynamic excitation. An inlet guide vane lever arm had been improperly assembled which led to aerodynamic excitation of the passing blades and the resulting forces exceeded the design loads of the blades.
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Safety Recommendation Document