commercial airline loss of power on takeoff

Asking this question to the group because I think the explanation given
is fishy. I was recently a passenger on a S80. On the takeoff roll,
the right engine lost power and the pilot aborted the takeoff.

It was partly cloudy, about 30 degrees outside with a 15 mph crosswind.
After the abort, the pilot pulled off the runway, stopped for a while
(presumably to check out the engine), and then taxied back into
position for another takeoff attempt.

When the pilot finally came on the PA, he said that a crosswind gust
came up at the same time takeoff power was applied and thus prevented
the right engine from coming up to speed. He also added this happens
at high altitude fields sometime.

huh? Never heard of that before. I've been flying out of this
particular high altitude airport for 15 years, in all kinds of weather,
and never experienced an aborted takeoff because a gust prevented the
engine from coming up to speed.

What's your take?

"Adam Sandler" wrote in message
ps.com...
Asking this question to the group because I think the explanation given
is fishy. I was recently a passenger on a S80. On the takeoff roll,
the right engine lost power and the pilot aborted the takeoff.

It was partly cloudy, about 30 degrees outside with a 15 mph crosswind.
After the abort, the pilot pulled off the runway, stopped for a while
(presumably to check out the engine), and then taxied back into
position for another takeoff attempt.

When the pilot finally came on the PA, he said that a crosswind gust
came up at the same time takeoff power was applied and thus prevented
the right engine from coming up to speed. He also added this happens
at high altitude fields sometime.

huh? Never heard of that before. I've been flying out of this
particular high altitude airport for 15 years, in all kinds of weather,
and never experienced an aborted takeoff because a gust prevented the
engine from coming up to speed.

What's your take?

Compressor stall.

Yup..happens..

A blast of wind accross the intake can cause the compressor to
"stall"

Dave


On 21 Jan 2007 11:31:59 -0800, "Adam Sandler"
wrote:

Asking this question to the group because I think the explanation given
is fishy. I was recently a passenger on a S80. On the takeoff roll,
the right engine lost power and the pilot aborted the takeoff.

It was partly cloudy, about 30 degrees outside with a 15 mph crosswind.
After the abort, the pilot pulled off the runway, stopped for a while
(presumably to check out the engine), and then taxied back into
position for another takeoff attempt.

When the pilot finally came on the PA, he said that a crosswind gust
came up at the same time takeoff power was applied and thus prevented
the right engine from coming up to speed. He also added this happens
at high altitude fields sometime.

huh? Never heard of that before. I've been flying out of this
particular high altitude airport for 15 years, in all kinds of weather,
and never experienced an aborted takeoff because a gust prevented the
engine from coming up to speed.

What's your take?

On 2007-01-21, Adam Sandler wrote:
When the pilot finally came on the PA, he said that a crosswind gust
came up at the same time takeoff power was applied and thus prevented
the right engine from coming up to speed. He also added this happens
at high altitude fields sometime.

It's a very real problem, and it isn't limited to high altitude
airfields. A few years ago, a Boeing 747 lost *two* engines departing
from Gatwick Airport (about 40 miles south of London). However, in this
case it actually got airborne and flew in ground effect, with trees
swishing in its wake for a couple of miles until they sorted out the
engines. That was also compressor stall caused by a strong crosswind
gust.

The write-up appeared in Flying magazine's "I Learned about flying from
that".

--
Yes, the Reply-To email address is valid.
Oolite-Linux: an Elite tribute: http://oolite-linux.berlios.de

Dylan Smith wrote:
It's a very real problem

Gents, thanks for all the info. After googling compressor stalls and
reading your replies, I'm amazed this road warrior hasn't experienced
this issue sooner. I guess we were lucky as well as there was plenty
of runway left to bring the aircraft to a stop.

Illustrates what happens when you try to extrapolate piston experience to
jets.

Bob Gardner

"Adam Sandler" wrote in message
ups.com...

Dylan Smith wrote:
It's a very real problem

Gents, thanks for all the info. After googling compressor stalls and
reading your replies, I'm amazed this road warrior hasn't experienced
this issue sooner. I guess we were lucky as well as there was plenty
of runway left to bring the aircraft to a stop.

Aw heck Bob! I was just getting ready to incorporate 'compressor stall'
into my explanation of how I almost lost my Maule during a crosswind
takeoff today.

Bob Gardner wrote:
Illustrates what happens when you try to extrapolate piston experience to
jets.

Bob Gardner

"Adam Sandler" wrote in message
ups.com...
Dylan Smith wrote:
It's a very real problem
Gents, thanks for all the info. After googling compressor stalls and
reading your replies, I'm amazed this road warrior hasn't experienced
this issue sooner. I guess we were lucky as well as there was plenty
of runway left to bring the aircraft to a stop.

On Jan 23, 2:38 pm, Bill Watson wrote:
Aw heck Bob! I was just getting ready to incorporate 'compressor stall'
into my explanation of how I almost lost my Maule during a crosswind
takeoff today.

Hah!

But then again, cannot you pretty much get airborne in a Maule coming
out of the hanger? If so, crosswinds shouldn't effect the takeoff roll