AA 17 emergency landing JFK 4 Jan 2016 (compressor stall - engine out)
Jan 5, 2016, 6:25 pm
#16
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The aircraft experienced what is called a "compressor stall". "A compressor stall is a local disruption of the airflow in a gas turbine or turbocharger compressor. It is related to compressor surge which is a complete disruption of the flow through the compressor." link
Fortunately, though this is an event accompanied by lots of banging and drama, the event itself is pretty routine, in terms of pilots training for these and other events all the time and that the aircraft are designed with huge safety margins. E.g. an engine out event isn't dangerous, and the aircraft is designed to be able to fly - and even climb - with one engine out. And though compressor stalls used to be commoner, they are pretty rare today, thanks to a system called FADEC. (But weather and mechanical issues still happen, though they affect us today much less than when I started flying on AA - on unpressurized DC-3s.)
You benefitted from all of that, and yes, pilots are highly trained and regularly challenged in white-knuckle deviltry cooked up by the simulated [strike]monsters[//strike], er, masters. But you may want to explain to the kids that though it felt very scary, their lives were not really threatened - pilots train for this stuff all the time, the plane can climb and fly on a single engine. Less potential for trauma next time they fly. (But way exciting stuff to tell at school, including that it wasn't such a big deal to them, because they know... the cool factor.)
Welcome back to Earth!
I've heard from others who were aboard - an impressionable event!
Fortunately, though this is an event accompanied by lots of banging and drama, the event itself is pretty routine, in terms of pilots training for these and other events all the time and that the aircraft are designed with huge safety margins. E.g. an engine out event isn't dangerous, and the aircraft is designed to be able to fly - and even climb - with one engine out. And though compressor stalls used to be commoner, they are pretty rare today, thanks to a system called FADEC. (But weather and mechanical issues still happen, though they affect us today much less than when I started flying on AA - on unpressurized DC-3s.)
You benefitted from all of that, and yes, pilots are highly trained and regularly challenged in white-knuckle deviltry cooked up by the simulated [strike]monsters[//strike], er, masters. But you may want to explain to the kids that though it felt very scary, their lives were not really threatened - pilots train for this stuff all the time, the plane can climb and fly on a single engine. Less potential for trauma next time they fly. (But way exciting stuff to tell at school, including that it wasn't such a big deal to them, because they know... the cool factor.)
Welcome back to Earth!
I've heard from others who were aboard - an impressionable event!
Thanks for the welcome back too - it's good to be back! We had to travel from JFK to SFO this morning after 3.5 hours sleep at an airport hotel and it was seamless except for the part when we were waiting on the tarmac and the pilot came on and said "thanks for your patience, we had some paperwork we had to sign off after some maintenance", and my daughter starting crying again and said "mum, I want to deplane" - new word in the vocabulary! We didn't deplane and arrived safely in SFO.
Jan 5, 2016, 6:25 pm
#17
Join Date: Nov 2015
Posts: 18
Great reporting on this event by all! Thanks also for the air traffic control audio!
Windy at the airport listening to the tapes. Wonder if something blew into the the engine to disrupt the airflow?
Just curious, any guidance from the flight attendants during the emergency?
Windy at the airport listening to the tapes. Wonder if something blew into the the engine to disrupt the airflow?
Just curious, any guidance from the flight attendants during the emergency?
Jan 5, 2016, 6:35 pm
#18
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Great reporting on this event by all! Thanks also for the air traffic control audio!
Windy at the airport listening to the tapes. Wonder if something blew into the the engine to disrupt the airflow?
Just curious, any guidance from the flight attendants during the emergency?
Windy at the airport listening to the tapes. Wonder if something blew into the the engine to disrupt the airflow?
Just curious, any guidance from the flight attendants during the emergency?
Jan 5, 2016, 6:54 pm
#20
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Hi PF PM - she is 16. Curiously she has only told one friend so far (we are from Australia on hols in the US so she's just texting or whatever they do) and the response was "that's annoying"... No doubt it'll be more of a big deal when she goes back to school in a few weeks.
Jan 5, 2016, 7:37 pm
#21
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So I woke up to an apology email from AA. Fairly sizable amount of miles deposited without asking. I actually would have preferred a phone call by someone knowledgeable about the event - this is a miss by AA. I think most people just want to understand at a detailed level what happened and why they were supposedly relatively safe - there was no mention of that, just "sorry for the inconvenience". When flight attendants are scared sh*tless and you stop on an active runway to have fire equipment inspect you, that's a real incident that needs more than just a "we're sorry!" email...
I requested someone call me - let's see if they actually do.
I requested someone call me - let's see if they actually do.
Jan 5, 2016, 9:29 pm
#22
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So I woke up to an apology email from AA. Fairly sizable amount of miles deposited without asking. I actually would have preferred a phone call by someone knowledgeable about the event - this is a miss by AA. I think most people just want to understand at a detailed level what happened and why they were supposedly relatively safe - there was no mention of that, just "sorry for the inconvenience". When flight attendants are scared sh*tless and you stop on an active runway to have fire equipment inspect you, that's a real incident that needs more than just a "we're sorry!" email...
I requested someone call me - let's see if they actually do.
I requested someone call me - let's see if they actually do.
Jan 5, 2016, 9:40 pm
#23
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Was on a BA flight back to LHR on the 1/4, we were delayed taking off due to "an incident on the runway" glad everyone is OK.
Just checked and looks like I was on the same plane into JFK (AA118)
Just checked and looks like I was on the same plane into JFK (AA118)
Jan 6, 2016, 2:33 am
#24
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At 8:08 into this recording, you can hear one of the pilots very calmly declare an emergency, listing the reason being compressor stalls in the right engine:
http://archive-server.liveatc.net/kj...2016-2300Z.mp3
http://archive-server.liveatc.net/kj...2016-2300Z.mp3
Jan 6, 2016, 5:10 am
#25
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It's pretty clear. You can't miss it otherwise.
Jan 6, 2016, 5:13 am
#26
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So I woke up to an apology email from AA. Fairly sizable amount of miles deposited without asking. I actually would have preferred a phone call by someone knowledgeable about the event - this is a miss by AA. I think most people just want to understand at a detailed level what happened and why they were supposedly relatively safe - there was no mention of that, just "sorry for the inconvenience". When flight attendants are scared sh*tless and you stop on an active runway to have fire equipment inspect you, that's a real incident that needs more than just a "we're sorry!" email...
I requested someone call me - let's see if they actually do.
I requested someone call me - let's see if they actually do.
Jan 6, 2016, 6:08 am
#27
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So I woke up to an apology email from AA. Fairly sizable amount of miles deposited without asking. I actually would have preferred a phone call by someone knowledgeable about the event - this is a miss by AA. I think most people just want to understand at a detailed level what happened and why they were supposedly relatively safe - there was no mention of that, just "sorry for the inconvenience". When flight attendants are scared sh*tless and you stop on an active runway to have fire equipment inspect you, that's a real incident that needs more than just a "we're sorry!" email...
I requested someone call me - let's see if they actually do.
I requested someone call me - let's see if they actually do.
Jan 9, 2016, 1:09 pm
#28
Join Date: Jan 2016
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I was on the flight and I asked AA to call me to have a chat. They did call me and it was obviously very high level and also a bit rude. I asked the person who called me if any extra safety measure is being taken after the incident. I thought it was a fair question. I was answered that nothing additional is being done, she/he said, planes are thoroughly checked before takeoff but some problems cannot be caught. This is a totally reasonable answer if we think the problem is ordinary. It does not coincide with the impression I got from some member of the crew who said the situation was "extraordinary". I asked for a reason. It is fine not to take action as far as there is a good reason. She just repeated the high level statement on planes being checked and literally hung up on me. That was rude and probably means she didn't have any real context on the problem.
I'm concluding AA sees this as a routine event, which I think is debatable. I would hope there is a process to learn from any incident and possibly maintenance routines are improved, but this is not the feedback from AA. I still hope it is just a miscommunication with their customer service.
I'm concluding AA sees this as a routine event, which I think is debatable. I would hope there is a process to learn from any incident and possibly maintenance routines are improved, but this is not the feedback from AA. I still hope it is just a miscommunication with their customer service.
Jan 9, 2016, 1:16 pm
#29
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I was answered that nothing additional is being done, she/he said, planes are thoroughly checked before takeoff but some problems cannot be caught. This is a totally reasonable answer if we think the problem is ordinary. It does not coincide with the impression I got from some member of the crew who said the situation was "extraordinary".
That said, they're a scary experience for passengers, and it sounds like the agent could've exercised more empathy. I agree that she was probably told what to say but didn't have any special knowledge of the issue.
Finally, welcome to FT!
Jan 9, 2016, 1:18 pm
#30
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I'm concluding AA sees this as a routine event, which I think is debatable. I would hope there is a process to learn from any incident and possibly maintenance routines are improved, but this is not the feedback from AA. I still hope it is just a miscommunication with their customer service.
Compressor stalls are a fairly "routine" event in commercial aviation and not cause for changing any maintenance procedures. They happen with old engines and they happen with new engines.
I assume the crewmember who told you that it was "extraordinary" was a flight attendant. Unless that FA is also licensed to repair turbine engines, it's unlikely that they know any more about the situation than anyone else on the plane.