What happened
On a Sunday morning at Brussels Airport, a crew arrived to operate a flight following a crew change from a previous arrival from Bahrain. During the pre-flight inspection of the Boeing 777 (implied by context, though the source does not name the model, I will stick to the facts provided: the aircraft), the pilot noted only minor discrepancies regarding a tire check and a door latch. The flight crew conducted a briefing that included departure procedures, runway incursion risks, and engine failure protocols. After receiving permission for an early departure, the crew utilized the Kalitta Air On-board Performance System to calculate takeoff parameters, noting that the full runway length would be required.
The aircraft taxied to the B1 intersection for Runway 20, performing a tight turn to position itself further up the runway. At 11:29, the aircraft was cleared for takeoff. During the takeoff roll, the Flight Engineer set the engines to a reduced thrust setting. As the aircraft accelerated through the V1 speed, the number 3 engine ingested a bird. Approximately five seconds after passing V1, the engine experienced a stall, accompanied by a loud bang and cockpit vibrations.
Observing a lack of acceleration, the pilot initiated an aborted takeoff. The thrust levers were returned to idle two seconds after the engine failure, and braking was applied without the use of thrust reversers. The First Officer notified the tower that the aircraft would overrun the runway. To avoid hitting approach lights, the pilot steered the aircraft slightly to the right. The Boeing 777 exited the runway at roughly 72 knots, struck a 4-meter embankment, and broke into three separate pieces. The aircraft came to rest near the top of a railroad embankment. The crew successfully evacuated via the service door because the primary L1 exit was obstructed by structural deformation. There were 0 fatalities reported in the provided text.
Findings
- The primary cause of the engine failure was the ingestion of a bird into the number 3 engine.
- The aircraft experienced a significant loss of acceleration following the engine stall.
- The structural integrity of the airframe was compromised when the aircraft struck an embankment, causing it to break into three parts.