FSVT investigations are stating poor fuel quality as the main cause of engine failure in a Sibir Tu-154M.

Published: 3/3/2000

Tu-154M engine failure linked to poor fuel quality. Poor fuel quality is being given as the main cause of engine failure in a Sibir Tu-154M in January this year, according to Alexander Neradko, head of the Flight Safety Surveillance Department of FSVT. One engine failed during preparation for landing of a charter flight, with eight passengers on board, on the Krasnodar-Radnushy - Novosibirsk route. The plane landed safely, despite the stalling of the other engines during landing, and only the landing gear and wheels were damaged. Following completion of the site investigations by the FSVT commission and handing over of the results to Moscow, tests are currently being conducted on the aviation kerosene used for refuelling. The boost pumps in the fuel tanks and engines are also under scrutiny. According to employees at Tolmachevo airport, the engine filters were severely clogged, suggesting poor fuel quality, which could be caused by sediments formed during long periods of storage. The FSVT findings indicate that the aircraft was maintained and in an operable state. Sibir has said that the aircraft was manufactured in 1993 and had a total flying time of around 6,000 hours. The time before overhaul for the Tu-154M is 10,000 hours and the designated lifetime is 30,000 hours. Two incidents of engine failure on a Tu-134M were reported in October last year. The first involved the failure of the hydraulic pump in the fourth engine while, in the other, one of the engines failed and began to break up during take-off. Investigations are currently underway. The use of poor quality fuel is also under the spotlight in Kyrgyzstan, with allegations that the national state carrier is being forced to use low grade kerosene, unfit for aviation use. www.concise.org 21st October 1999; 2nd March 2000

Article ID: 1513