question for the pilots

[Tom239]

I could ask this in some aviation forum, but I know
there are some jet pilots here on Prime and thought
I'd try here first.

A commercial flight I was on yesterday made an
emergency landing after an engine had a compressor
stall. About a half dozen banging noises had been
audible in the cabin.

The captain said we were landing without the use of
that engine and were diverting to a safer airport (ONT)
than the one we were already on descent toward (BUR).
He said the runways at BUR were short and he
wouldn't have reverse thrust to slow down, and
if for any reason we had to do a go-around, he
didn't like the idea of doing that with only one engine
(there are mountains near BUR and the air was hazy).

The flight was JetBlue 353. Airbus 320, N603JB.

My questions:

How common are compressor stalls? (This one
happened at about 20,000 feet, so I'm thinking
it probably wasn't caused by a bird strike.)

When stalls do happen, do they usually result
in that engine no longer being usable for the
rest of the flight?

Are some models of jet more prone to stalls than others?

 

[skyguy]

My questions:

How common are compressor stalls?

Not very. I had one two months ago.
Just after takeoff. Managed to throttle back and get it back on one engine.

When stalls do happen, do they usually result
in that engine no longer being usable for the
rest of the flight?

The checklist calls for throttling back untill the stall no longer occurs.Then use only the engine to the point of no compressor stall. If it is severe, you shut down the engine.

Here are two general types of compressor stall.

The first, less severe type of stall, the "axis-symmetric stall", is a straightforward expulsion of air out the intake due to the compressor's inability to maintain pressure on the combustion chamber.

In the second, more-severe "rotational stall", the air flow disruption of the stall causes standing pockets of air to rotate within the compressor without moving along the axis. Without fresh air from the intake passing over the stalled compressor vanes they overheat, causing accelerated engine wear and possible damage.

Are some models of jet more prone to stalls than others?

Older "Low bypass" jet engines are a little more prone. I had a GE engine on my DC-10 compressor stall and it shed it guts. Violent type.

 

[ChopsJazz]

Older "Low bypass" jet engines are a little more prone. I had a GE engine on my DC-10 compressor stall and it shed it guts. Violent type.

Ewww. That doesn't sound like a very good scenario.