Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Midland International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Midland, Texas 60305
Friday, November 2, 2001 7:34 CST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The transport airplane was in cruise flight at flight level 390 for 12 minutes when they received an "engine oil filter bypass" fault message on the engine centralized aircraft monitoring (ECAM) system; however, all of the engine parameters remained within limits. Subsequently, the oil pressure indication for the #1 (left) engine rose into the red band and a "high vibration and a thumping sound" was felt and heard. The flight crew then declared an emergency and diverted to another airport. The captain reported that during the landing roll, he moved both throttle levers into reverse, and simultaneously the cockpit and cabin began to fill with smoke. Air traffic controllers reported they observed white smoke emanating from the #1 engine during the landing roll. The captain stopped the airplane on the high-speed taxiway, turned off both engines, and an emergency evacuation ensued. The 1L and 2L doors were operated normally; however, the 1R door jammed when the flight attendant attempted to open it. Examination of the 1R door actuator and slide did not reveal the reason it failed to operate. Examination of the engine revealed that debris contamination of the #3 bearing initiated spallation of the bearing's outer ring raceway. Cyclic loading from the bearing balls passing over the growing raceway spall resulted in extensive fretting of the outer diameter surface of the outer ring, from which a fatigue crack was initiated. High-cycle fatigue progression radially through the outer ring was followed by rapid fracture and subsequent liberation of the outer ring fragments. The debris contamination more than likely came from the high-pressure compressor (HPC) stubshaft coating, which was liberated and entered the #3 bearing area causing it to fracture, and the engine to lose power. Research revealed this was one of five similar occurrences, which was traced down to a change in the manufacture process for the HPC stubshaft coating. The manufacturer has taken actions to alert operators of the existing problem.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
the #1 engine's fatigue failure of the #3 bearing due to the manufacturer's inadequate design of the high-pressure compressor stubshaft coating, which resulted in a loss of engine power and an emergency landing.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Incident |
| Event Date | 11/2/2001 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 734 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Standard Time |
| Event City | Midland |
| Event State | TEXAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 60305 |
| Event Date Year | 2001 |
| Event Date Month | 11 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 315633N |
| Event Location Longitude | 1021207W |
| Event Location Airport | Midland International |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | MAF |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 2871 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 753 Central Standard Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | MAF |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 2871 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CST |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 17 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 12 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 230 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 8 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.06 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | None |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 89 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 16708 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA |
| NTSB Notification Date | Nov 2 2001 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 830 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Dec 3 2004 9:35AM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Lubbock, Texas |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N814AW |
| NTSB Number | FTW02IA027 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 121: Air Carrier |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | None |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Airbus Industrie |
| Aircraft Model | A319-132 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 1281 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 150000 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 130 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Continuous Airworthiness |
| Date of Last Inspection | Oct 18 2001 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 4798 |
| ELT Installed | Unknown |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | International Lease Finance Corporation |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 1999 Avenue of the Stars 39th Floor |
| Aircraft Owner City | Los Angeles |
| Aircraft Owner State | CA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 90067 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | America West Airlines Inc. |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | 4000 E. Sky Harbor Blvd |
| Operator City | Phoenix |
| Operator State | AZ |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 85034 |
| Operator Code | AWXA |
| Owner has at least one certificate | -- |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | -- |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | Scheduled |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | Domestic |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | Passenger Only |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | -- |
| Second Pilot on Board | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | IAH |
| Departure City | Houston |
| Departure State | TX |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 610 |
| Departure Time Zone | CST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | PHX |
| Destination City | Phoenix |
| Destination State | AZ |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Cruise - normal |
| Report sent to ICAO? | No |
| Evacuation occurred | Yes |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 29 2004 6:36PM |
| User who most recently changed record | CASH |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 16R |
| Runway Length | 9501 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |