Aircraft engines : analysis of reported systems failures in Polish aviation during years 2008-2015

Aircraft engine failure during different aircraft flight phases can cause accidents or incidents. ICAO Annex 19 requires from each state establishing the state safety program (SSP) and from the subordinate aviation organizations safety management system (SMS). Point 5.2.1 of Annex 19 instructs to establish safety database, which should be used for effective analysis of actual and potential safety deficiencies. Such analysis should lead to determining necessary measures in order to improve safety. Polish Civil Aviation Authority among other databases manages an important one called European Coordination Centre for Aviation Incident Reporting Systems (ECCAIRS). The authors have done a laborious processing of the data contained in that database analysing engine failures based on criteria like phases of flight, ATA chapters concerning powerplant and category of the occurrence. Separately, under consideration were taken engines installed on aircraft with an MTOM <5700 kg (mainly General Aviation) and for aircraft with MTOM > 5700 kg (commercial aviation). The article presents a proposed method of predicting the number of events, the alert levels for the next years and for ATA chapters’ determination, assuming a normal distribution (Gaussian). It is one of the first attempts to use the actual data contained in the database of events in Poland. The results of this analysis can support the decisions of supervisory authorities in the areas where security threats are most important.