B737 MAX 8 flight crew reported a bird strike on takeoff with no abnormal indications. Subsequent maintenance inspection revealed damage to both aircraft engines.
Synopsis
B737 MAX 8 flight crew reported a bird strike on takeoff with no abnormal indications. Subsequent maintenance inspection revealed damage to both aircraft engines.
Narrative
Doing OE (Operational Evaluation) for a new hire FO on his first leg as PF. During takeoff roll; he called 'birds'. I elected to continue takeoff roll. We thought we were close to hitting the birds around 80 kts. Before switching to departure freq; we alerted ZZZ tower to possible bird strike. All indications normal in Flightdeck. We continued to ZZZ1 uneventfully and entered possible bird strike into AML (Aircraft Maintenance Logbook). Upon arrival; called ZZZ1 maintenance to ensure they received report and decided to do post flight inspection to look for bird strike. Found both engines had evidence of bird strike and what appeared to be cracked fan blades. Called ZZZ1 maintenance again to report fan blade abnormalities and was told the team was on the way to the aircraft.Later; I checked the AML to see the status of the aircraft. I saw the aircraft still flying after having been signed off as no evidence of bird strike in ZZZ1. I reached out to the next crew to fly the aircraft and suggested a very thorough preflight of the fan blades.Upon inspection; the aircraft was taken out of service for suspected bird strike and multiple cracked fan blades on both engines.Cause: After doing the post-flight inspection; I should have added another entry into the AML regarding my findings with the fan blades. We were moving on to the next flight; and I should not have assumed the inspection would find the cracks.
Second reporter narrative
While doing new hire IOE with my check airman; on the departure roll leaving ZZZ; shortly after advancing the thrust levers for takeoff; I noticed birds on the right side of the runway. I called 'birds'; we continued; and flew past numerous around 80kts. I thought I felt an impact; but wasn't sure. All systems and indications were normal. After informing ZZZ tower of a potential bird strike (they never contacted us after about finding; or not finding birds on the runway) we continued to ZZZ1 as all engines; systems; and flight controls were operating normally. At the gate; the captain wrote up a possible bird strike on the right wing root; where I suspected we struck a bird. While conducting the external inspection together; we noticed damaged; deformed; and cracked fan blades on both engines. The captain called maintenance again to inform them of the engine damage; they acknowledged. We left for the next airplane to continue our day. Maintenance then cleared the damaged airplane; and it flew numerous legs after that event. Feeling uneasy; the captain called future captains of the airplane to have them look it over; and only after a subsequent captain wrote up the issue; was it found and the aircraft taken out of service for maintenance. Cause: Failure of ZZZ1 maintenance to conduct a thorough inspection and relay information to each other. Possible miscommunication: the captain wrote up a possible bird strike on the right wing root; where I thought the bird hit. There was no damage on the wing root; so maintenance cleared it without inspecting anything else (my suspicion). However; the captain used the radio in the flight deck to inform maintenance of the fan blade damage after the write up was submitted; after we noticed the damage; to which a short response 'they are on their way' was received. The inspecting mechanics probably did not hear that we called to warn them about the fan blades.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.