B757 flight crew reported a Pneumatic Starter Failed during push back; resulting in a miss reported Engine Fire. The aircraft was towed back to the gate and the crew timed out; cancelling the flight.
Synopsis
B757 flight crew reported a Pneumatic Starter Failed during push back; resulting in a miss reported Engine Fire. The aircraft was towed back to the gate and the crew timed out; cancelling the flight.
Narrative
While starting the Right Engine it was observed that the N3 rotation reached approximately 12% and then began to decline. The Tug Driver alerted us the engine was on fire but there were no cockpit indications of fire. No fuel had been introduced for the starting sequence. The Fire Handle was pulled as a precaution but no extinguisher bottles were discharged. The checklist was followed for tailpipe fire. The Tug Driver said the fire was extinguished but we alerted the airport Ground Controller and requested the Airport Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) vehicles. The flight attendants and passengers were informed. The ARFF vehicles inspected and determined there was no fire. No evacuation was ordered. The aircraft was towed back to the hardstand and Maintenance was called. It was determined the Starter had failed and the 'fire' was actually a spray of sparks from the starter malfunctioning. The aircraft was deplaned and repairs were commenced but eventually the crew reached the duty time limit before repairs were complete.
Second reporter narrative
During push back from stand xx in ZZZZ; we were given clearance to start both engines during the push back. First Officer; started the Number 1 Engine with no issue. During the start of Number 2 he remarked that it was 'starting slowly'; when I looked down N3 was actually decreasing from approximately 11%. At this exact moment the Push Crew on the headset said 'Captain; you have a fire in your Right Engine'. I immediately instructed the First Officer to shut down the Right Engine and pull the Fire Handle. I also asked them to notify the Ground frequency to roll the Airport Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) equipment. My mind went immediately to evacuating the aircraft. I noticed that we were receiving ZERO indication of any fire; the fire handles were not Red; and we had no EICAS messages or lights of any kind. The First Officer asked me if I wanted to 'blow the bottles' and I said yes. As we would find out later; fortunately they were unable to blow the bottle as the handle was much stiffer than they were expecting. First Officer then reached up and opened the QRC to the tailpipe fire section and ran the QRC for our issue. At this moment the Push Crew informed me that the 'fire' was out. In a span of maybe 5 seconds I had gone from a 'normal' push and start; to possibly evacuating 135 people onto a taxiway where the ambient temperature outside was about 28 degrees F; to now remaining in the aircraft which could still potentially reignite. I had the Relief Pilot open the door and we informed the purser that we had just had a fire but it was out and that we would be returning to the gate once the Fire Department gave us the all clear. After maybe 2 minutes (it felt much longer) the fire department arrived and ascertained that there was NO fire damage or risk and we felt safe to have the push crew return us to the stand from whence we came. We informed Maintenance and Operations on the ground that we would need everybody back. Very quickly all those persons arrived and Maintenance informed me that we HAD NOT had a fire; we had blown a Pneumatic Starter. This had appeared as a fire to the Push Crew on the tug and they had notified me as such.As a result it was a good thing from a Maintenance point of view that we had not blown the bottle into the engine as it was unnecessary for that type of failure but after talking to the Push Crew later I can see why it had looked like a fire to them and I thanked them for the quick notification. After we had returned to the gate; before Maintenance had arrived; I had written up 'Right Engine Tailpipe Fire' as that is what I thought had occurred but upon reflection it should have been written up as a 'Right Starter Motor Failure'. We had the passengers deplaned as Maintenance had given us at least a 3 hour wait for a repair and after that time the flight was cancelled as the crew had timed out for the day.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.