Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Flight Crew Type 1205
Situational Awareness
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor; Ground Event / Encounter FOD
Aircraft Aircraft Damaged; Flight Crew Requested ATC Assistance / Clarification; General Maintenance Action
Airport; Environment - Non Weather Related
After landing at ZZZ Ground Control directed us to wait on taxiway B short of Q1; then turn and stop on taxiway A to wait for our gate. While stopped at the Taxiway A location pointing east; with throttles in idle thrust awaiting our gate to open; a loosely wadded roll of clear plastic approximately 15 feet in width and 3 feet in diameter driven by the wind tumbled and rolled (reported surface winds were 290/19) toward the aircraft from our 1 o'clock position across our nose (about 50 feet in front of the nose) toward the left wing. As it passed in front of the aircraft nose; I asked the Captain; 'Does it look like that FOD will go in the engine?' Radio chatter prevented a timely verbal reply; and seconds later; as the Captain turned his head to look at the left engine nacelle; the number 1 engine (left nacelle) shuddered and stopped with an amber 'engine fail' indication on the center display panel. The Captain remarked that the plastic had just entered the engine intake. The Captain then directed me to cut off the number one engine after transferring the electrical bus to the APU; which was already running. No fire warnings or high EGT indications happened. The engine shuddered and stopped abruptly. While we were executing the engine failure checklist in the QRH; a regional jet behind us reported small flames at the bottom back section of our left engine on Ground Control radio frequency. We then coordinated with responding fire department; maintenance; operations; and ground control to 1) verify the fire was out; 2) that the jet was safe to move to the gate; and 3) that no evacuation was needed. After getting the needed approval by the fire department and maintenance representatives; we then taxied into parking and deplaned the passengers without further incident. We also pointed out other multiple similar pieces of nearby drifting rubbish to field operations personnel and request that they clean them up before they created another similar hazard.
B737 First Officer reported the left engine shut down abruptly after ingesting a large piece of plastic FOD while waiting for their gate on a taxiway.