JAL | JAPAN AIRLINES

SAFETY Safety-related information

A summary of past safety troubles and measures

calendar
2013

FY2013

Serious Incident

  • JAL2362 Fire breaks out inside an engine

Serious Incident

An incident involving circumstances indicating that there was a high probability of an accident, such as overrunning, emergency evacuation, fire or smoke inside the cabin and abnormal depressurization, encountering abnormal weather conditions, etc, as classified by the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT).

JAL2362 Fire breaks out inside an engine

Outline

On May 6, 2013 (Mon.), JAL2362 (Oita-Itami) operated by J-AIR had landed at Itami Airport and was taxiing to its Spot when fire broke out inside the right engine. This incident was classified as a Serious Incident by the Civil Aviation Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), as it corresponded to "occurrence of fire within an engine fire-prevention area".
None of the passengers or crew was injured.

Investigation into the cause

Investigations were conducted by the Japan Transport Safety Board, and results were announced on February 26, 2015. According to their report, It is highly probable that the cause of this serious incident was that the coupling nut connecting the right engine fuel manifold (fuel supply piping) and fuel injector (fuel injection nozzle) was loose, fuel leaked from this area and was ignited by the heat of the engine, which resulted in fire in the designated fire zone. Although it is somewhat likely that the reason why the coupling nut was loose was the insufficient tightening force of the coupling nut, resulting in gradually loosening caused by factors such as engine vibration, the Japan Transport Safety Board couldn't determine the cause of the loosening.

Countermeasures

J-AIR (operating carrier) implemented the following measures after this recommendation.

  1. Indicates slip marks on the B nuts for the same engine model of all operating aircrafts is operating, and regularly confirms conformity with these marks.
  2. Distributed documents to all flight crew members which describe the importance of implementing operations that constantly take into consideration the worst-case scenario and the faithful implementation of basic operations and meetings were held with all flight crew members for the purpose of providing education and ensuring a thorough understanding of these documents.
  3. Reviews have been conducted of fire protection system in classroom training and conducted practical training using a simulator for all flight crew members.