Bird strikes cause engine fires in two separate events only days apart

Engine ingestions are rare events. Even rarer are engine ingestions causing fires. So two fire events in 3 days is remarkable

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A Kallitta Air Boeing 747-4H6 (BCF), performing flight CKS330, landed at East Midlands Airport (EMA/EGNX) Castle Donnington, 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.

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.

Despite the dramatic scenes caught on camera, no emergency was declared and the plane landed safely, with no injuries reported. 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.

The second event was as follows:

Spirit Airlines flight NK3044, an Airbus A320neo, aborted the takeoff from runway 31 at Atlantic City International Airport, NJ. The aircraft was accelerating on the runway when reportedly a bird was ingested by the no.2 engine (a PW1127G). The takeoff was aborted and the aircraft was brought to a stop on the runway. Flames were observed in the area of the no.2 engine and an evacuation was carried out.Flight tracking website adsbexchange.com shows the aircraft reached a speed of at least 115 knots during the takeoff ru

by Aviation Safety Network