Abnormal engine indications involving an Airbus A300-B4-203, VH-TAA, Brisbane, Queensland, on 8 March 1994

At about 120 kts on the take-off roll, the crew heard a loud bang followed by a series of lesser bangs, accompanied by significant vibration. The take-off was rejected, and the aircraft was brought to a stop without further incident.

The initial investigation found substantial internal damage to the number two engine. Later specialist strip examination of the engine determined that a single stage nine blade from the high-pressure compressor had failed due to progress of high cycle fatigue cracking. It was found that the cracking had propagated from an impact mark at the trailing edge of the blade, close to the root. The specialist report considers that this mark, caused by impact from a foreign object, was the root cause of the failure event.

The investigation found that there were no operational aspects associated with the occurrence.