ERJ-170 flight crew reported the engine fan blades were covered in ice with one engine frozen in place. A de-ice crew sprayed Type I deicing fluid directly into the fan inlet and on the fan blades without authorization. After consulting with maintenance and disembarking an ill passenger; the aircraft departed four hours late.
Synopsis
ERJ-170 flight crew reported the engine fan blades were covered in ice with one engine frozen in place. A de-ice crew sprayed Type I deicing fluid directly into the fan inlet and on the fan blades without authorization. After consulting with maintenance and disembarking an ill passenger; the aircraft departed four hours late.
Narrative
I did the walk around as soon as we got to the airplane at ZZZ and learned that there was ice on both engine blades and preventing the blades to move freely. I let the Captain know so they checked the manuals and told me it is a special operation to defrost the engine blades. Captain called deicers to let them know that we need to deice and to defrost the engine blades and they told us to call Maintenance. We did call Maintenance and let them know Maintenance said they will send someone to look at it but we should go ahead and write it up. A while later we saw a deice truck next to the airplane and an Iceman pulling a hose out of the truck. 10 minutes later the Iceman came up to the cockpit to let us know that they (took care of the engines). We were not sure how they defrosted. After 2 hours [contract maintenance] came and said why are the engines soaked in type 1 deice fluid? We told them that we weren't aware of the procedure and we didn't give a permission to the iceman to proceed. We called ZZZ1 Maintenance to explain what happened and they explained to the Captain that we should be fine since the engines was sprayed almost an hour and half ago. After we pushed from the gate and in the middle of getting deice; a Flight Attendant (FA) called and said there is a passenger feeling numb in their hands and feet and has difficulty breathing. We decided to stop deice and return to the gate immediately to let the passenger off.
Second reporter narrative
We arrived at the airport at ZZZ received several hours of snow and freezing rain. During the First Officers (FO's) inspection they found that ice had accumulated on the fan blades of both engines and the left engine was frozen in place. I contacted operations per the Cold Weather Operations Guide and FOM to have the ice removed. Operations informed us that Maintenance would have to remove the ice and to contact them; which was done at XA:12. Just after our communication with ops; the Deicing Crew informed us they would come and 'take a look' at the engines. Contract Maintenance arrived at XB:20 and asked why we had the insides of the engines sprayed with Type 1 fluid. I informed them that we did not request nor did we have any knowledge that it had been done. Upon looking at the intakes of both engines I confirmed that they had indeed been sprayed with Type 1 fluid. I contacted our Dispatcher; informed them; and asked to be transferred to Maintenance to advise them and ask for guidance. In speaking with Maintenance; I confirmed that at no time did I request deicing of the inlets and fans of the engines. Maintenance said that there should be no issue with engine starts provided that we followed the procedure in the SOP. Shortly after beginning to deice; we received a call from the Flight Attendants (FA) that a passenger was experiencing numbness in their arms and legs; shortness of breath; chest pains; and was requesting an ambulance. We contacted operations & Dispatch via communications and returned to the gate when the passenger deplaned with the Gate Agent. The passenger's bags were removed and we pushed off the gate at XC:42 and continued the flight. I have no idea why the Deicing Crew decided to spray inside the engines without contacting us first. Every other Company aircraft was requesting Maintenance to do the same thing we were and none of them had the issue we did. The Contract Mechanics told me that a Captain had requested the inside of their engines to be sprayed and guessed our Deicing Crew thought it might be our procedure as well. I was not able to get an answer from anyone as to why we were sprayed without expressed permission. My suggestion would be to refer this matter to ZZZ Deicing Personnel for additional training. I feel that our Crew followed all policies and procedures correctly.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.