B767-300 and 300 ER
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Flight Crew Total 20000
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical
Flight Crew Rejected Takeoff; Flight Crew Returned To Gate; General Maintenance Action
Aircraft; Procedure
Aircraft had had several write-ups regarding the left engine EEC being INOP and I believe it was replaced the day our flight operated. On takeoff roll with power set and about 110 knots I felt the plane yaw to the left as if we encountered a crosswind gust; but there was also a change in engine sound and then I noticed the N1 drop about 10%. It recovered to just about takeoff thrust only to roll back again. At about 130 knots I elected to reject the takeoff. We didn't declare an emergency as there were no overheat or other abnormal indications. We cleared the runway and contacted maintenance after reassuring the passengers that all was well and were told to have the fire department check our tires and brakes for any abnormalities. It was very close; so we taxied over to the firehouse where the fire commander checked out the aircraft and found nothing wrong. We then taxied back to the gate and parked making sure nobody was allowed near the main gear.
I was acting first officer (FO) on this flight. The Captain was making the Take Off. Everything was normal and the Captain (CA) had provided a standard briefing while at the gate; i.e. 'my Take off; my abort' etc. With our clearance to depart runway 9; the CA pushed up the throttles and called 'engage'. I pressed N1; adjusted the throttles and announced 'thrust set'. After the speed check; the plane accelerated normally. At approximately 110 knots I saw the left N1 gauge drop from 100% to about 80% and back in 1-2 seconds; and felt a slight pull to the left. I announced 'left engine...' and before I could say 'surge'; it happened again and the CA was initiating the abort procedure. Our speed peaked at 132 knots. The plane decelerated so rapidly that the CA overrode the auto brakes to avoid overheating them. He needed reverse thrust only minimally. We cleared the runway with some 2000 feet remaining.We taxied past the fire station to allow the Fire Chief to inspect our gear with heat sensors. The Brake Cooling Chart indicated 30 minutes to approach the gear and 60 minutes to depart. With this info; we continued to the gate; waited for chocks; and did not set the parking brake. After shutdown we were advised that one tire had deflated. We were given a new airplane and departed. The aircraft had been on the ground all day and the EEC's were worked on or replaced due to a previous write up.
B767-300 flight crew experiences an engine surge during takeoff causing a loss of thrust and a rejected takeoff at 130 knots. The EEC for the engine in question had been replaced by Maintenance just before this flight.