Narrative:

After a stable start on an A320; (auto-start with auto protection box no longer displayed on ECAM); #2 engine had what appeared to be an idle speed compressor stall with roll back. Engine was shut down and as N2 speed decreased; egt climbed; indicating tail pipe fire; (fire was also indicated by ground crew). Starter was engaged at 10% N2; to blow fire out. Issue is that our quick reference checklists card mechanics use for emergencies; does not give the N2 max speed for when the starter can be re-engaged. It appears; the thinking is that tail-pipe fires only happen during starts and that the auto-start/protection will take over and re-engage the starter at the correct time. The tail pipe fire on the aircraft we had in november was at normal stable idle and auto-protection was no longer armed. It was possible; if we did not know the correct max N2 speed in which a starter could be re-engaged; the starter (shaft) could have been sheared off. Then the ability to blow the fire out would have been lost. Not all of our aircraft have the same max N2 re-engage speed for blowing a fire out; which is why each engine information should be listed on all the quick reference checklists that mechanics use for emergencies. This fire could have gotten out of control and damaged more than the engine. Even though we had the engine run-up handbook with us; it is not set up for quick references during an emergency as the quick reference checklists are obviously designed to be.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A Line Mechanic reports about the missing max N2 engine speed starter re-engagement information on their Quick Reference Checklists. Mechanics use the data for engine run emergencies on their A320's. The information is crucial in order to re-engage the starter after an engine shutdown; to blow out tail-pipe fires.

Narrative: After a stable start on an A320; (Auto-Start with Auto Protection box no longer displayed on ECAM); #2 engine had what appeared to be an idle speed compressor stall with roll back. Engine was shut down and as N2 speed decreased; EGT climbed; indicating tail pipe fire; (fire was also indicated by Ground Crew). Starter was engaged at 10% N2; to blow fire out. Issue is that our Quick Reference Checklists card Mechanics use for emergencies; does not give the N2 max speed for when the starter can be re-engaged. It appears; the thinking is that tail-pipe fires only happen during starts and that the Auto-Start/Protection will take over and re-engage the starter at the correct time. The tail pipe fire on the aircraft we had in November was at normal stable idle and Auto-protection was no longer armed. It was possible; if we did not know the correct max N2 speed in which a starter could be re-engaged; the starter (shaft) could have been sheared off. Then the ability to blow the fire out would have been lost. Not all of our aircraft have the same max N2 re-engage speed for blowing a fire out; which is why each engine information should be listed on all the Quick Reference Checklists that Mechanics use for emergencies. This fire could have gotten out of control and damaged more than the engine. Even though we had the Engine Run-up Handbook with us; it is not set up for quick references during an emergency as the Quick Reference Checklists are obviously designed to be.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.