ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 204511
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| Date: | Monday 23 December 2013 |
| Time: | 16:15 LT |
| Type: |  Boeing 737-3H4 (WL) |
| Owner/operator: | Southwest Airlines |
| Registration: | N360SW |
| MSN: | 26571/2307 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1992 |
| Engine model: | CFM INTL. CFM56 SERIES |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 115 |
| Aircraft damage: | Minor |
| Category: | Incident |
| Location: | Saint Louis-Lambert International Airport, MO (STL/KSTL) -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Saint Louis-Lambert International Airport, MO (STL/KSTL) |
| Kansas City International Airport, MO (MCI/KMCI) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
A Boeing 737-3H4, registration number N360SW, operated by Southwest Airlines as flight 1091, and powered by two CFM56-3 turbofan engines, experienced a bird strike and ingestion on the No. 2 or right-hand engine after takeoff from Saint Louis-Lambert International Airport, Missouri, USA. As the airplane climbed through 1,700 feet, it impacted multiple birds causing damage to the no.2 engine and wing. The pilot declared an emergency and returned to Saint Louis for an uneventful landing. There were no injuries reported to the 110 passengers, 2 flight crew and 3 flight attendants.
Examination of the airplane revealed no damage to the fuselage. Examination of the engine revealed no penetration or breaches of the cases; however, the fan case exhibited several bulges that corresponded to hard impacts and missing fan blade rub strip material exposing the parent material below.
Examination of the no.2 engine revealed that all the fan blades were extensively damaged exhibiting hard-body impact damage with significant material loss along the length of the leading edge. Two adjacent fan blades were fractured transversely across the airfoil near the one-third span, and exhibited leading edge soft-body impact damage. The remains of the two birds were identified as one male and one female mallard duck. The average weight of the male mallard is 1246 grams or 2.75 pounds; the average weight of the female mallard is 1095 grams or 2.4 pounds.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this incident as follows:
The initial damage to the fan blades was caused by the ingestion of two mallard ducks that caused one or more fan blades to fracture, striking the fan shroud, as well as other passing fan blades, producing various sized blades fragments that created a cascading effect of collateral impact damage to the other fan blades, the fan case, and the inlet cowl. One large blade fragment was deflected out of the fan containment plane, which pierced and exited the inlet cowl in a benign direction.
The engine and airplane met the applicable bird and containment design standards since the engine did not catch on fire, no engine cases exhibited any penetrations, the engine was able to be shutdown normally, and the airplane damage did not impact the safe operation of the airplane or create a hazard to the persons on board.
Accident investigation:
 |
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Sources:
https://ntsb.gov/investigations/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20131224X22946&key=1
Location
Images:
Photo: NTSB
Photo: NTSB
Photo: NTSB
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 15-Jan-2018 20:53 | harro | Added |
| 15-Jan-2018 20:55 | harro | Updated [Photo, ] |
| 15-Jan-2018 20:55 | harro | Updated [Photo, ] |
| 15-Jan-2018 20:55 | harro | Updated [Photo, ] |
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