Engine trouble was detected just as the pilot had set the throttles on take-off power and the plane was accelerating down the runway at Karachi. The pilot abandoned take-off and returned back safely. No harm came to the passengers, who disembarked and then proceeded to Lahore on another plane.
Had the aircraft been airborne and its two engines been lost – considered a major emergency in aviation – the consequences would have been disastrous.
The Boeing 747-300, equipped with Rolls-Royce engines, experienced stall on engine no 1, causing a seizure of all parameters and the tower reported smoke coming out of it. This engine has been badly damaged and will most likely have to be replaced. At almost the same time engine no 3 had a bird hit, which triggered an engine vibrations warning along with severe vibrations on the throttles. The pilot, Captain Zahid, aborted takeoff by applying brakes and following emergency procedures. Investigations conducted in PIA engineering reveal that on July 28, the day of the tragic disaster of ED202, the same aircraft with registration AP-BGG had severe vibrations on engine no 2 while flying at 36,000 feet from Lahore to Karachi. The engine was shut down and the aircraft landed safely at its destination, Karachi.
The Associated Press of Pakistan quoted a spokesman for the airline as saying that the Jumbo aircraft was taxying when a bird hit one of its engines. Engineers, according to the spokesperson, are still working on the affected engine of the plane.
On June 29, the same aircraft had a problem on engine no 3 during a flight from Karachi to Lahore. The engine was shut down and replaced. Sources within PIA reveal that incidences of engine failure on PIA’s ageing fleet of Boeing 747 have shown a sharp increase since the PIA management changed the contract for overhaul of these Rolls-Royce engines from SAECO, a maintenance overhaul repair company in Hong Kong to JAICO, a company based in Jordan. PIA had purchased these Boeing 747-300s from Hong Kong’s Cathay-Pacific airways.
The concentration of residential houses, restaurants, public places close to the airport results in rise in bird activity, especially those that feed on waste. The Boeing 747-300 had severe vibrations on engine no 3 at speeds below 80 knots, moments after the pilot had opened power for takeoff, lined up on Runway 25 at Karachi bound for Lahore.
The tower alerted the pilot about the smoke coming out from the engine and PIA engineering reported a bird hit, which caused the engine vibrations warning along with severe vibrations on the throttles. Aviation experts are of the opinion that a bird hit at low speeds alone could not have caused such major damage.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 31st, 2010.
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