Incident Narrative
On 15 October 2019, at 09:38 local time, an ATR 72-212A aircraft with registration EC-MPI, operated by Canarias Airlines, was preparing for flight NT112 from Tenerife North Airport (GCXO) to Gran Canaria Airport (GCLP). During the takeoff run on runway 12, while near rotation speed, the crew heard a strange noise emanating from the right side of the aircraft, followed by a strong vibration. Concurrently, they observed abnormal readings for the right engine parameters and decided to abort the takeoff. After braking, they stopped the right engine and vacated the runway via exit E4. They were subsequently cleared by the airport tower to taxi to parking, where they parked at stand 18. There were no injuries, and the passengers disembarked normally.
Aircraft and Damage
The aircraft was an ATR 72-212A, registration EC-MPI, owned and operated by Canarias Airlines. Following the incident, the pilots conducted an external inspection and noticed scratches on the aft part of the fuselage. Airport officials later informed them that various metal fragments had been removed from the runway and from the vicinity of exit taxiways E1 and E2.
Investigation Findings
According to the investigation by the Spanish Civil Aviation Accident and Incident Investigation Commission (CIAIAC), the engine distress that forced the crew to abort the takeoff was caused by a fatigue fracture of a blade in the second stage of the power turbine (PT2), followed by the overload fracture of several more blades. No other contributing factors were identified.