AVIATION/ SERBIA REPORTS ON XL AIRWAYS FL614

Serbia's Air Accident and Incident Investigation Commission (SAAIIC) has released its Final Report into a serious incident involving an XL AIRWAYS Boeing 737 near Belgrade, Serbia, on October 18, 2008. On that date, Flight 614 was on International Service from Frankfurt, Germany, to Antalya, Turkey, with 183 passengers and 6 crew onboard. The crew declared MAYDAYand diverted to Belgrade because of an indication of a left hand engine problem and severe vibrations of that engine. The 737 landed about 30 minutes later. Upon touchdown in Belgrade, the left engine began to emit smoke, which prompted the crew to order an immediate evacuation of the aircraft on the runway. Emergency Services responded and foamed the engine down. No one onboard was injured. In May of 2010, the NTSB, a participating member of the investigation, reported that the left hand engine of 737 suffered a No.4 bearing failure. A fire ensued in the aft center body of the engine. Due to the fire, the engine pylon, some left wing components, electrical cables and hydraulic tubing were heat affected. In their Final Report, the SAAIIC concluded: "On the basis of all, in this Report mentioned, research, testing and analyses, the Commission considers that the main cause of the incident, i.e. in flight shut down of the engine No.1 was complete failure of engine bearing No.4 which has been located in a LPT Shaft Assembly. Failure of the bearing caused the deterioration of working conditions of the engine and later led to engine in flight shut down". The full Report, which details events as they unfolded, and their full investigation into the incident, can be found on the SAAIIC website. The agency also made 6 safety recommendations as a result of their investigation.