Fire involving Boeing 727-277 VH-ANA, Brisbane, Queensland, on 4 July 1992

At 0707 hours, on 4 July 1992, Boeing 727-277 aircraft VH-ANA took off from runway 01 at Brisbane Airport on a regular public transport flight to Sydney. As the landing gear was retracting, the crew heard a loud bang emanate from the rear of the aircraft This was followed by cockpit indications of a fire in, and a loss of thrust from, the no. 2 (centre) engine.

Ground witnesses saw large flames streaming from the rear of the aircraft. The crew shut down the engine, completed the engine-fire checklist, and flew a circuit for a landing on runway 01. During the landing roll, the crew were advised that there were still signs of fire around the centre engine, so a decision was taken by the aircraft captain to evacuate the aircraft. After clearing the runway and stopping the aircraft, the evacuation of passengers and crew was carried out from the two front doors and the forward left overwing exit.

During the evacuation, two passengers received minor injuries. The fire was extinguished quickly by airport fire personnel.

The investigation revealed that a fatigue failure had occurred in the first-stage compressor fan disc of the no. 2 engine leading to disruption of the engine. The fire resulted when a section of engine disc severed the main fuel line to the engine. Deficiencies were also revealed in the Brisbane Airport emergency plan and in some aspects of the training of rescue and firefighting personnel.