What happened
On February 2, 2007, a Beechcraft 1900D, registration EC-IJO, operated by NAYSA, was performing a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Lanzarote to Tenerife South. While cruising at FL100 near the coast of Gran Canaria, the crew experienced a strong explosion and uncommanded right yaw. The first officer observed flames exiting the number 2 engine's exhaust nozzle, and the captain noted a significant rise in Inter Turbine Temperature (ITT) to 720 °C.
Following the engine fire or failure emergency procedure, the crew shut down the number 2 engine and feathered the propeller. The crew decided not to attempt an in-flight restart due to the apparent damage. The aircraft diverted to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. During the approach, the crew requested that a preceding Boeing 757 be removed from the sequence to ensure safety, but the approach sequence was maintained. Additionally, an aircraft was cleared to take off on a parallel runway while the Beechcraft was on final approach. The aircraft landed safely on runway 03L without further incident or injuries to the 15 persons on board.
The investigation
The CIAIAC examined the engine components and flight data. Disassembly of the PT6A-67D engine revealed that the compressor rotor had seized due to friction between the rotor and stator. This was caused by the failure of the number 2 bearing, which suffered from inadequate lubrication. Investigators found that the oil nozzle for this bearing was partially clogged, resulting in an abnormal spray pattern.
The investigation also reviewed the crew's performance and air traffic control (ATC) actions. It was noted that the company's operations manual lacked clear definitions for task sharing between the two pilots during emergencies. Furthermore, the investigation found that the crew's routine practice of pressing the CVR ERASE button prior to flights, combined with a lack of procedures to preserve data, meant that the cockpit voice recorder data could not be retrieved.