Regional Jet 200 ER/LR (CRJ200)
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Time Pressure; Situational Awareness; Distraction; Troubleshooting
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical; Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Maintenance
Aircraft Aircraft Damaged; Flight Crew Returned To Gate; Flight Crew Rejected Takeoff; General Maintenance Action; General Release Refused / Aircraft Not Accepted
Human Factors; Airport; Procedure
The event occurred around very in the evening while departing Runway 19. We had been cleared for takeoff; I was the flying pilot and started the normal takeoff profile. At around 80-85 KIAS the Captain and I both felt a yawing motion while on the runway; accompanied with an engine noise that was a different pitch than we normally hear. A spilt-second later I noticed the left engine Interstage Turbine Temperature (ITT) gauge was blinking red; around 928C. I called for an abort; we performed the rejected takeoff profile; and I advised Tower that we were aborting. The Captain had the left engine at idle and the engine still showed a high ITT; and the right engine was used in reverse to help us stop and we exited on to Taxiway November. We decided to shut down the left engine as we exited the runway because of the high ITT. We had no indication of fire and we did not know if there was damage so we told ground we were going back to the gate. Upon arrival at the gate; we inspected the left engine to find damage to the bottom part of the engine cowl and damaged N1 fan blades. I looked for further damage and found the left wing lens cover on the taxi light was missing; we noted that the left taxi light had just been replaced and signed off my maintenance; so the captain and I both thought it had come loose on the takeoff roll and caused the incident. We wrote up the aircraft for damage and swapped into another airplane and continued to our destination with no further events.
A CRJ-200 crew rejected the takeoff after the left engine compressor section was damaged during takeoff when a taxi light lens was ingested. Maintenance had just replaced the light and installed the lens prior to the flight.