Incident Details
On January 1, 2022, a Boeing 767-300ER, registration UK 67002, operated by Uzbekistan Airways, was performing charter cargo flight HY-3548 from Barcelona to Tashkent. The takeoff from Barcelona-El Prat Airport occurred at 04:55 UTC from runway 21L under dark night conditions with simple weather. Visibility was 1700 meters with haze and patchy fog, cloud base at 100 feet. The aircraft had no cargo, only ballast.
Aircraft and Crew
The aircraft, manufacturer serial number 28392, was delivered in March 1997 and had accumulated 83,165 hours and 16,593 cycles. The right engine, a Pratt & Whitney PW4062 (serial P729184), had 57,730 hours and 12,549 cycles since new, and had undergone two overhauls, the last in August 2017. The flight crew consisted of a captain with 8,890 total hours, including 5,875 on the Boeing 767/757, and 2,279 hours as captain on type. The first officer was also on the flight deck. Both pilots held valid qualifications meeting Uzbekistan civil aviation standards.
Investigation Findings
Post-flight inspection by maintenance personnel revealed bird strike evidence on the right engine. Two fan blades were damaged: blade #13 with a dent measuring 60x12 mm and blade #14 with a dent of 120x20 mm, both exceeding permissible limits. Analysis of flight data recorder information showed that during takeoff roll at 78 knots, vibration on the right engine increased, peaking at 2.89 units on the first bearing after liftoff, while the left engine vibrations remained below 0.4 units. The vibration stayed elevated throughout the flight. Small white feather remnants were found on the damaged blades, indicating a single bird. The crew did not observe birds in flight. The aircraft was returned to service after replacing two pairs of fan blades and a successful engine run-up test.
Cause
The investigation determined that the incident was caused by a collision with a single bird during takeoff at Barcelona Airport, which resulted in damage to two fan blades of engine number 2.