N80057

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On July 9, 1998, about 1007 Atlantic standard time, an Airbus Industrie A300B4-605R, N80057, registered to General Electric Aircraft Engines (GEAE) and operated by American Airlines, Inc. (AA), as flight 574, had a fire in the No. 1 engine shortly after takeoff from Luis Munoz Marin International Airport, San Juan, Puerto Rico. The airplane received minor damage. The captain, first officer, 7 flight attendants, and 215 passengers were not injured. Twenty-eight passengers reported receiving minor injuries during the postlanding emergency evacuation. The airplane, operated by AA as a scheduled passenger flight under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 121, was destined for Miami, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and an instrument flight rules flight plan had been filed.

During postincident interviews, the first officer stated that nothing appeared unusual about the No. 1 engine during preflight inspection and that neither the airplane nor the ground showed evidence of leakage. The captain (the pilot flying) stated that the engine start and taxi out were normal. He stated that he engaged the autothrottles for takeoff and that the takeoff and climb were normal. About 4,000 feet, he reported hearing a thump and that he did not feel any vibration after hearing the "thump." About 4,500 feet, the No. 1 engine fire warning went off; he observed the fire light illuminated in the overhead fire handle as he was hand-flying the airplane with the autothrottles engaged. Almost immediately, the autothrottles were disengaged and he made a left turn towards San Juan. He told the first officer to call air traffic control (ATC) and to declare an emergency and get clearance to return and land at San Juan. They leveled at 5,000 feet. ATC said to turn left to 210 degrees and cleared them to descend to 3,000 feet. The captain stated that he had already put the left engine to idle and reduced the right throttle to idle.

About 47 seconds after the engine fire warning, the captain told the first officer to run the Electronic Centralized Airplane Monitoring (ECAM) checklist. The flight officer said that he then began to address the fire issue. He completed the checklist items down to the fuel lever OFF. About 88 seconds after the fire warning activated and 2 seconds before the first officer moved the No. 1 fuel lever to the OFF position, shutting down the No. 1 engine, he reached for the fire handle. The fire light was out, which he told the captain. The first officer stated that the operating manual states that you can stop the fire procedure if the fire light has gone out. He mentioned this to the captain and asked if he should continue with the ECAM checklist. They elected to stop the fire procedure before pulling the fire handle and returning to land. The first officer said that there was no procedure to check continuity of fire loops after a fire warning. The airplane's normal loop positions are both loop switches on and no faults; both loop switches were on. He did not recall getting a loop warning light after the fuel lever was moved to OFF. He stated that a warning went off, which he thought was a fuel filter clog light; a single chime also went off. According to the airplane's design, if the fire light goes out when the throttle is pulled back, the chime will cease.

The captain stated that about 1,000 feet, during the approach to land, the interphone rang and the first officer answered it. It was the purser and he informed the first officer that an AA mechanic was on board and possibly saw smoke and fire in the No. 1 engine. The captain stated that he told the first officer to tell ATC they might have a fire and to "standby the emergency evacuation checklist." While still airborne, the first officer told the tower that they might still have smoke in the engine.

The captain stated that he landed about 1,000 feet down runway 8 and stopped about a third of the way down, abeam to gate 19. As soon as the airplane stopped, he pulled the No. 1 fire handle and fired both bottles. He called the tower and asked if they saw smoke or fire. The tower confirmed smoke and fire. According to the cockpit voice recorder (CVR), the captain ordered an emergency evacuation 1:03 minutes after stopping on the runway. The captain stated that he started the ground evacuation checklist and that he announced on the public address (PA) system, "do not use the left overwing exits." After completing the checklist, he left the cockpit. A flight attendant told him that the airplane was empty. He stated that there were no restrictions to visibility in the airplane and he could see it was clear. He stated that he exited through the 1 right (1R) door, even though according to AA procedures his assigned emergency evacuation exit was door 4 right (4R), because the fire marshal wanted him off of the airplane.

The purser stated that during the evacuation he cracked door 1 left (1L) a little and saw that fire trucks blocked it. He elected not to use this exit. The remainder of the flight attendants on the left side of the airplane also did not open their doors. The flight attendants directed all of the passengers to the right side exits.

The flight attendant stationed at the 1R door stated that he activated the door for the evacuation, but it only went out about 1 foot and then stopped. He pulled the door back in and pushed it out again to unjam the evacuation slide from the door. The door then opened and the slide activated. The flight attendant stationed at the 2 right (2R) door stated that the door and slide activated normally. The flight attendant stationed at the 3 right (3R) door stated that when he activated the door, the door hung up on the evacuation slide and he could not get the door to open or the slide to activate. He blocked off the exit and redirected the passengers to other exits. The flight attendant stationed at door 4R stated that the door and slide activated normally.

INJURIES TO PERSONS

Injuries Flight Crew Cabin Crew Passengers Other Total

Fatal 0 0 0 0 0

Serious 0 0 0 0 0

Minor 0 0 28 0 28

None 2 7 215 0 224

Total 2 7 243 0 252

DAMAGE TO AIRPLANE

The airplane received minor fire damage in the area of the No.1 engine and No. 1 pylon. The left wing and flap in the area of the No. 1 engine were also damaged. Examination of the airplane revealed that the fire damaged the No. 1 engine's fan cowls, thrust reverser, core cowls, engine core compartment external to the engine cases, and fire detection system. The airframe experienced heat damage that included wrinkling and blistering of the pylon and flap actuating fairing surfaces. There was no indication of an internal engine fire.

OTHER DAMAGE

No other damage resulted from this incident.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

The captain, age 53, was hired by AA in May 1976. He holds an airline transport pilot (ATP) certificate with type ratings in the DC-9 and A310 and a flight engineer certificate. At the time of the incident, he had an estimated total of 17,100 hours of flying time, including 3,705 hours as a A300 captain at AA. He had flown 3 hours, 63 hours, and 130 hours in the past 24 hours, 30 days, and 90 days, respectively. The captain received his last checkride on February 14, 1998. His most recent Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) first-class medical certificate was issued on February 9, 1998, with limitations requiring him to possess corrective glasses for near vision. FAA records showed no enforcement actions, accidents, or incidents.

The first officer, age 41, was hired by AA in August 1987. He holds an ATP certificate with a type rating in the A310 and a flight engineer certificate. At the time of the incident, he had an estimated total of 9,500 hours of flying time, including 408 hours as an A300 first officer at AA. He had flown 3 hours, 45 hours, and 143 hours in the past 24 hours, 30 days, and 90 days, respectively. The first officer received his last checkride on September 10, 1997, when he initially qualified as an A300 first officer. His most recent FAA first-class medical certificate was issued on March 23, 1998, with no limitations. FAA records showed no enforcement actions, accidents, or incidents.

See the Operations Group Chairman's Factual Report for additional information about the captain and first officer. See the Survival Factors Group Chairman's Factual Report for additional information about the seven revenue flight attendants and two nonrevenue flight attendants riding on the flight.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

N80057, an Airbus Industrie A-300B4-605R, serial number (S/N) 465, was manufactured in 1988. The airplane was registered to GEAE and operated by AA. At the time of the incident, the airplane had accumulated 27,845 total flight hours. The airplane was last inspected on May 28, 1998, 326 flight hours before the incident.

The No. 1 engine was a GEAE CF6-80C2A5 turbofan, S/N 695250. The engine was last overhauled at Motoren-und Turbinen-Union (MTU), Hannover, Germany, from September to November 1995. The most recent repair of the engine occurred at the AA Maintenance and Engineering Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in September 1997, to replace several high-pressure turbine stage two blades and the main fuel pump. The engine had accumulated 1,806 flight hours and 727 cycles since repair; 5,484 flight hours and 2,178 cycles since overhaul; and 22,239 flight hours and 8,914 cycles since new, at the time of the incident.

Examination of the engine revealed that the accessory gearbox adapter bolt inserts had backed out, allowing fuel lines (cross-over tubes) to unseat from the adapter. This allowed pressurized fuel to spray onto hot engine parts and ignite, resulting in the nacelle fire. On September 26, 1995, the ad...