Honolulu International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Honolulu, Hawaii 96819
Monday, February 9, 1998 9:47 HST

During takeoff the crew heard a loud oscillating sound and aborted takeoff. The tower reported fire was visible from their right engine. The aircraft stopped and the crew initiated the engine fire and emergency evacuation check lists. The forward right service door was opened but the slide did not inflate. The airstairs were then deployed and the occupants deplaned. An inspection revealed an engine bearing cage had disintegrated. The evacuation slide was tested and functioned properly; however, its inflation bottle was found to be empty. While required, the bottle had not been checked that day because of a change in the operations manual that had resulted in confusion as to whose responsibility it was to perform the daily pressure checks. The manual states that it is the captain's responsibility to ensure that the bottle is pressurized but it is not an item on the preflight checklist. The flight crew thought maintenance personnel were performing the checks while maintenance personnel thought the crews were checking the bottles. The bottles have a history of sometimes losing pressure over time.

the disintegration of the No. 6 bearing in the No. 2 engine which resulted in an aborted takeoff. In addition, the malfunction of the slide in the right forward service door was the result of a faulty seal in the inflation system. The inflation gauge had not been checked that day due to confusion resulting from a change in the operations manual. The change in the language made it unclear as to whose responsibility it was to check the inflation gauge. The operator did not verify that the change was being properly implemented after it had been made effective.