IAE engines: Fuel leak during engine start
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Joined: Jan 2018
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From: international
IAE engines: Fuel leak during engine start
Hello
Attached is a screenshot from the procedure for fuel leak during engine start for IAE engines as it existed a few years ago in the FCOM.
This procedure seems to have been removed a few years ago from the FCOM and basically vanished. No replacement guideline / procedure can be found. For the CFM and NEO engines their respective procedures are maintained.
Does anyone know why is this and what is applicable in this case?
Attached is a screenshot from the procedure for fuel leak during engine start for IAE engines as it existed a few years ago in the FCOM.
This procedure seems to have been removed a few years ago from the FCOM and basically vanished. No replacement guideline / procedure can be found. For the CFM and NEO engines their respective procedures are maintained.
Does anyone know why is this and what is applicable in this case?
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2018
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From: international
Yes, it is for the A320 .
The thing is, for the NEO engines it explicitly tells you to shut the engines and call maintainance. If this is the case for the IAE engines why not say it in the same way?
The thing is, for the NEO engines it explicitly tells you to shut the engines and call maintainance. If this is the case for the IAE engines why not say it in the same way?
Only half a speed-brake
Joined: Apr 2003
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From: Commuting not home
From FCOMs dated MAY 2024:
The IAE "Engine Start" DU from 2012 shows the advisory to consider the 5-minute leak a non-issue. However, it is missing in the 2017 edition I can access. Hope it helps.
- PW1000G: If, during the engine start, the ground crew reports a leak from the engine, abort the engine start sequence. Maintenance action is due before the flight..
- CFM: If, during the engine start, the ground crew reports a fuel leak from the engine drain mast, run the engine at idle for 5 min. If the leak disappears during these 5 min, the aircraft can be dispatched without maintenance action. If the leak is still present after 5 min, shut down the engine and request the maintenance personnel to investigate the leakage source. [DU PRO-NOR-SOP-08-00010162.0060001 / 09 NOV 21]
- IAE: - nil - [DU PRO-NOR-SOP-08-00010162.0056001 / 05 MAY 22]
The IAE "Engine Start" DU from 2012 shows the advisory to consider the 5-minute leak a non-issue. However, it is missing in the 2017 edition I can access. Hope it helps.
Last edited by FlightDetent; 10th March 2025 at 11:26.
Thread Starter
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From: international
So about 7 years after this removal , a great dozen of operators with IAE engines , thousands of pilots operating 320s with IAE , no one posed a question to Airbus about inserting a guideline on what to do in this case ??
Joined: Jul 2006
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From: Somewhere over the rainbow
Airbus tends to remove a lot of information from the FCOM. That’s why I always keep a copy of all the FCOM I have since I started. Maybe the risk of fuel leak during engine start is so slim that they removed the procedure? Flying IAE engines for over 10 years I never heard of a case of fuel leak during engine start. I can confirm the procedure is also removed in my FCOM. Anyway as mentioned above, if fuel is leaking from the drain, I would keep it simple and just call maintenance. Maintenance will call you first anyway and tell you to shut down or wait 5 minutes if that’s still a procedure.
Last edited by pineteam; 10th March 2025 at 09:54. Reason: Correction
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From: Between a rock and a hard place
From FCOMs dated MAY 2024:
- NEO: If, during the engine start, the ground crew reports a leak from the engine, abort the engine start sequence. Maintenance action is due before the flight..
- CFM: If, during the engine start, the ground crew reports a fuel leak from the engine drain mast, run the engine at idle for 5 min. If the leak disappears during these 5 min, the aircraft can be dispatched without maintenance action. If the leak is still present after 5 min, shut down the engine and request the maintenance personnel to investigate the leakage source. [DU PRO-NOR-SOP-08-00010162.0060001 / 09 NOV 21]
- IAE: - nil - [DU PRO-NOR-SOP-08-00010162.0056001 / 05 MAY 22]
This kind of fuel leak was common on the 737 with CFM56-7B and helped us many times dispatch without further ado, never had it on the Airbus (yet).
Only half a speed-brake
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From: Commuting not home
Our FCOM for the NEO (with Leap engines) still has the advice to idle run 5 min. If the leak disappears, you're good to go without maintenance action. For the IAE engines the same trick has been removed.
This kind of fuel leak was common on the 737 with CFM56-7B and helped us many times dispatch without further ado, never had it on the Airbus (yet).
This kind of fuel leak was common on the 737 with CFM56-7B and helped us many times dispatch without further ado, never had it on the Airbus (yet).
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2018
Posts: 134
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From: international
Airbus tends to remove a lot of information from the FCOM. That’s why I always keep a copy of all the FCOM I have since I started. Maybe the risk of fuel leak during engine start is so slim that they removed the procedure? Flying IAE engines for over 10 years I never heard of a case of fuel leak during engine start. I can confirm the procedure is also removed in my FCOM. Anyway as mentioned above, if fuel is leaking from the drain, I would keep it simple and just call maintenance. Maintenance will call you first anyway and tell you to shut down or wait 5 minutes if that’s still a procedure.
