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From A. M. Costa Rica Feb. 27:

Another passenger jet suffers trouble with turbine
By the A.M. Costas Rica staff

Another passenger jet leaving Costa Rica had to turn around and make an emergency landing because of a failure in an engine turbine.

This is the third passenger craft that has had the same problem in nine days.

This time the aircraft was operated by Continental Airlines and carried more than 150 persons. The crew of the Boeing 757 reported a problem Saturday almost immediately after takeoff at 8:20 a.m. The Houston-bound craft was turned around and made an emergency landing without complications. Passengers spent the night in Costa Rica.

The mishap took place at Juan Santamaría airport in
Alajuela. That's the same airport where an American Airlines passenger jet blew a right engine Feb. 17. The next day, Feb. 18, a similar problem forced a Delta Air Lines jet to return to Daniel Oduber airport near Liberia.

All the aircraft involved are believed to have two engines.

There has been little official comment on the circumstances of the two earlier incidents. Refinadora Costarricense de Petróleo, the national refinery monopoly, did not respond to reporters' inquiries last week. However, those in the aviation business say that the quality of fuel is probably not an issue and that many conditions can cause this problem, including foreign objects being sucked into the turbine.

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PacoLoco: "You pay for it one way or another."
Ace: "Rent everything, do not buy in Costa Rica"

Same thing happened to me about four years ago on a Continental flight leaving SJO - turned out to be a bird or birds were sucked into the engine.
We returned to SJ and they put us up overnight at the Best Western in Irazu. No problema for me. Just caught a cab and went back to the DR for an extra night on Continental.
LVSTeve

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Just an old horney, fat gambler.

Turbine engines are so dependable that after takeoff I wouldn't freak even if we lost an engine at altitude- lost means it shuts down with no other complications. I would hate to fly over the ocean with a single engine- that would scare me.. But, knowing a little about aviation, overall the scenario doesn't scare me too much.

Any idea why these engines are having trouble?

All modern 2 engine turbine powered aircraft are designed to be able to fly on one engine. As long as there is no fuel contamination that could affect the second engine or an engine fire in the one engine there is little danger of crashing. Flight crews are trained in the scenario of flying on one engine extensively.

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

Hey Ace or Witling,
isn't there a site where we can view the reports/details of these incidents?

_________________

Living well is the best revenge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwUtj_YnNoY

These are your typical IFE (In-Flight Emergencies) and there should be a report somewhere with the FAA but since there were no "accidents" they won't receive as much attention. Either way they don't usually show up on the internet right away. They like to keep these things low key.

On Feb. 6th my Delta flight was delayed leaving SJO for 3 hours while they bypassed a switch. This was also related to a 757 engine.

They don't have Delta ground crew in SJO so they had to get the go-ahead from Atlanta to use locals and to bypass the switch.

We couldn't even get a drink due to local customs until after take-off (or so they said).

That is an extremely unusual procedure. Most airlines who service an airport with regular service, and do not have a on site maintenance person, contract with another carrier or local fixed base operator (FBO) to provide routine turn around maintenance and emergency repairs when necessary

There "go no-go" list should have told them if they could return to a main maintenance base with the switch bypassed and the local contracted maintenance should have performed the repair. Their having to contact the dispatch center in ATL is not a usual procedure for most carriers.

If Delta is using there flight crew to perform turn around checks they are really trying to save some bucks in an odd way.

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

I'm flying TACA in2 days from LAX and they fly A319's & A320's. Do those have "Turbine" engines?

Yes, Piroca, all jet engines are turbine. That's the little fan blades you see turning when the engine is running.

OK, sorry I didn't consult the T.O. (tech order) or the captain before writing my post.

We had already started to taxi away from the gate when the light came on.

We returned to the gate and the crew called Atlanta to get info regarding the switch. Atlanta said it could be bypassed.

We wasted so much time at the gate that we had to be towed out of the way of another plane coming in.

While we were being towed away from the gate the light went out. They still had to fire up the engines to do a check and sure enough, the light came back on.

They then had to get locals to open the engine cowlings and do whatever it took to bypass the switch. They then had to do another engine run and fill out all the paperwork before we could leave.

I'm sorry I didn't get the exact cause but after sitting on the plane for 3 1/2 hours for a 3 3/4 hour flight I was just anxious to get going. Even more so when it was determned that we would NOT be spending the night.

Yes they have turbine engines which is a fancy term for a jet engine

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

Piroca,
I have flown TACA the last 2 trips and had good flights. You'll probably be on an 320, the 319 is small and it's not used for US-CR routes, as far as I know. It is a comfortable flight, if the weather agrees. Turbulance is out of their control. They say that they've got one of the newest fleets in the industry. And I know it's true because their 320's all have winglets, little attachment at the tip of each wing, which Airbus only started to add in the last several years. These are not 25 year old planes. I wouldn't worry about safety in an 320, they have one of the best safety records out there.

Turbine engines are exteremely dependable and safe because they are a very simple mechanism. It's just a fan that spins, controlling air flow, much less complicated than a car engine. That's why planes can be in service for 30 or more years.

(I know a little about commercial airliners because I'm seriously thinking about a career as a commercial pilot. I hope to get my pilots license by the end of the year, but it's kind of pricey for the sim and flight times required by the FAA.)

"That's why planes can be in service for 30 or more years."

Orange,
Airplanes and engines are totally separate components.

Engines are removed, replaced and rebuilt all the time. They have their own serial numbers and maintenance records. The technology is constantly being improved.

The airframe can be modified and repaired but the main structure just keeps getting older and older.

Those old B-52s are definitely not still using the same engines or avionics or much of anything else, other than the frame and much of the skin, that they started with.

In the Air Force we took an oil sample (about 2 ounces) called SOAP (Specmetric Oil Analysis Program, I think is what it stood for) from each engine after each sortie (flight) and sent it to the lab for analysis.

Great Feedback. If anyone's at the SL bar this Thursday or Friday evening and notices a guy with a big tatoo of a Toucan on his left forearm, that's me and I'll be happy to buy you a drink.

I thought Airbus jets used warp drive engines like on Star Trek & that is why the make such good time. Speaking of warped Paco must need a trip soon wanting pictures of web sites with plane crashes he needs some help now I tell you! Really I am very bored today stuck operating all these computers gets old sometimes. Need a Chica right now that would help.

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"Run silent, run deep"
Spunk glazed Chicas are the building blocks of the universe!

If your car received the same maintenance as a aircraft you would have your first car from the day you bought it until you gave up driving. You would only replace it to buy a newer model that was more efficient and could drive longer and faster with less fuel consumption. You would then park your old car in the desert until someone came along and needed a start up set of wheels.

Engines and mechanical parts are replaced on aircraft at timed intervals. Unlike your car engine which you would replace only if it failed an aircraft engine is replaced after it has run for XX amount of hours even it it is running perfectly.

An aircraft undergoes maintenance checks every amount of predetermined hours. They vary in time from a simple "A" check to a complete overhaul "D" check and that included the fuselage which is checked for corrosion and other problems.

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine