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| Date: | Wednesday 6 January 1999 |
| Time: | 07:00 |
| Type: |  McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 |
| Owner/operator: | Canadian Airlines International |
| Registration: | C-GCPH |
| MSN: | 48288/364 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1981 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 266 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Minor, repaired |
| Location: | London-Heathrow Airport (LHR/EGLL) -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Taxi |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Calgary International Airport, AB (YYC/CYYC) |
| London-Heathrow Airport (LHR/EGLL) | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Following an uneventful flight from Calgary to London, the aircraft landed on Runway 27L and taxied off the runway to the right, onto the outer taxiway. After taxiing east towards Block 85, the aircraft held awaiting clearance to cross Runway 27L from the north side to Terminal 4. After a short wait, the aircraft was cleared to cross the runway via Block 85 and the commander was asked to expedite the crossing. The commander reported that he had used slightly more thrust than normal, to comply with the request, and shortly afterwards he became aware of a vibration through the airframe.
All three crew members initially suspected that a tyre might have deflated during a tight taxiing turn in Block 91 (just south of their crossing block), but the aircraft's taxiing characteristics remained unchanged and so the commander continued for the short distance (less than 200 metres) to the allocated stand (stand 12) at Terminal 4. However, as the aircraft approached the stand the vibration amplitude increased and so the commander asked the flight engineer to scan the systems panel whilst he manoeuvred the aircraft onto the stand. As the aircraft reached the stand, the flight engineer reported that the only abnormal indication was the No 1 engine N1 (fan) RPM which was reading 17% instead of the expected 34%. The commander advanced the No 1 engine thrust lever but there was no N1 response and so he shut the No 1 engine down, before completing the remainder of the normal arrival and aircraft shut down procedures.
Some 30 minutes later, the ATC staff in the Heathrow Control Tower were contacted by Terminal 4 Operations Control and informed that C-GCPH had suffered a mechanical failure of an engine whilst taxiing. A search of the aircraft's taxying route was then carried out and scattered engine debris was found in the northern half of Block 91, indicating that the engine had probably failed after the aircraft had crossed Runway 27L.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422f3c7e5274a1314000489/dft_avsafety_pdf_500525.pdf
https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/116878 (Photo)
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 23-Mar-2025 08:00 | Justanormalperson | Added |
| 23-Mar-2025 08:00 | ASN | Updated [Narrative, Accident report, ] |
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