Earlier this week, an Air Canada Jazz flight bound for Vancouver suffered an engine failure, prompting an emergency return to Sacramento.
Information has been released pertinent to this incident, which we will get into in this article.
Without further ado, let’s get into it…
Air Canada Jazz Flight QK7121 – Sacramento to Vancouver…
Air Canada Jazz flight QK7121, which suffered the engine failure, is a routine scheduled flight between Sacramento & Vancouver.
Furthermore, the aircraft involved in the incident is C-FJJZ.
As per data from Planespotters.net, C-FJJZ is a 19.0 year old Bombardier CRJ-900LR that was delivered to the airline in August 2005.
Of the CRJ-900LR, Air Canada Jazz, under the Express brand, has 35 of them in their fleet.
Furthermore, of that 35, all but one are in active service, with an average fleet age of 13.2 years.
The carrier also has the following aircraft in their fleet:
- 39 Bombardier DHC-8s.
- 25 Embraer E170s.
The Express subsidiary of the airline handles regional and international flights that are closer to their base.
For any flights typically longer than three hours, that will be out of range for the aircraft they have in their fleet.
Air Canada Jazz flight QK7121 departed Sacramento at 0952 local time on June 11 and initially tracked north to Sacramento.
Furthermore, over the Corning area, the aircraft made a u-turn back to the U.S airport.
It is key to note that the aircraft didn’t declare an emergency via the 7700 squawk code during this incident.
The flight landed safely without incident at 1034 local time, after 42 minutes in the air.
Reporting from The Aviation Herald states that this was due to an engine failure sustained to the aircraft.
Aircraft Grounded For 24 Hours…
Data from RadarBox states that following the engine failure on Air Canada Jazz QK7121 Sacramento-Vancouver, the aircraft was grounded for over 24 hours.
Furthermore, on June 12, the aircraft managed to fly back to Vancouver, where it underwent maintenance checks.
It is understood that the aircraft was placed back into service on June 13 operating flights to the following destinations:
- Phoenix
- Yellowknife
- San Diego
It is understood that no further issues have been reported with the aircraft following this engine failure.
Why Is It Unsafe To Continue?
In the case of Air Canada Jazz flight QK7121 Sacramento-Vancouver, it was unsafe to continue to destination.
The Bombardier CRJ-900LR only has two engines, which meant the failure brought it down to just one engine.
That one engine alone cannot provide the power needed to cruise onwards to the Canadian destination.
Moreover, it is safer to return back to the departure airport than risk the possibility of the other engine failing.
If the other engine failed, then there would be no power available for the aircraft, which would effectively turn it into a glider.
When an engine fails, the crew are well-prepared in dealing with that, and the aircraft can limp home on one engine.
When it was sent back to Vancouver from Sacramento, the engine would have been fixed to a point where it was suitable to fly home.
However, with aviation being the safest mode of transport out there, maintenance teams would have given the airplane a thorough check.
A sign-off for a return to commercial service can be given when maintenance crews are happy that the fixes will stick.
Looking ahead, all eyes will be on whether the fixes will stick, or whether the same sort of issue will happen again.
However, the aircraft is safe to fly, and will continue to transport passengers normally.
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