MD-11
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical
Aircraft Automation Overrode Flight Crew; Flight Crew Rejected Takeoff; General Maintenance Action
Aircraft
On takeoff roll after 80 KT call received red Master Warning Light and Level 3 Engine 3 fire alert. Executed a reject; approximatelt 110 KTS with power reduction to idle; alerts went away. Taxi-in received brake overheat Level 2 alert due to the reject. Previous writeup no. 3 engine fire alert in cruise flight. Steady rain; required use of max power. No fire bell with Level 3 alert. I assumed it was an indication problem but not going to continue takeoff with alert indication. Somewhat surprised at the intensity of max brake with application of reverse. I normally deactivate autobrake with application of manual braking. Max brake did not release with manual brake application. Had to select autobrake switch off (instead of spoiler handle option). I believe delay in getting out of Max Braking lead to brake overheat. Informed Tower returning to blocks due to malfunction and Tower kept asking questions. Questions were a distraction. Wanted to evaluate aircraft and taxi back to ramp and Tower kept asking questions.
On takeoff the Master Warning Light flashed briefly; and then about a second later illuminated steady and the a level three engine fire alert was displayed. At that time I stated 'Engine Fire'; and the Captain rejected the takeoff. I immediately advised Tower that we had aborted the takeoff. Our speed reached appoximately 110 KTS. As soon as the throttles were pulled to idle the alerts went away; and remained off. After exiting the runway we ran the RTO checklist. We then ran the Brake Overheat Checklist as we received a Level 2 alert for brake overheat. We did not declare an emergency since the fire alert had dissapeared; and we had never heard an aural warning. The After Landing checklist was then accomplished; and we returned to the gate. On a side note; the Tower was extremely distracting during the resolution to these issues. Prior to even slowing down enough to exit the runway; they were asking why we aborted; then wanted to know if we dumped fuel on the runway. Their English was very hard to understand; especially when they were asking questions that made no sense. I don't know why they would ask us if we dumped fuel on the runway on a rejected takeoff; but it seemed like it was a standard question for them. It seems like they would be better served asking the ground vehicles; or other aircraft in line for takeoff if there was fuel or debris on the runway since we obviously can't see behind us. Once we were in the blocks; chocked and shut down we wrote up the problems; explained what happened to the mechanics; and returned to Ops as they transloaded the freight.There was one previous write-up that mentioned a red light in the #3 fuel lever enroute; with no other fire indication. There was also a bird strike. We never got the fire bell; and I don't think we had the fuel lever and fire handle red; but I think if we were beyond V1 we would have got them all on climbout. It may have been sensor malfunction; or the first indications of a full on engine fire. I'm glad we were able to deal with it on the ground and save the engine. I would suggest some communication between the company and the Tower in regards to their operating procedures during rejected takeoffs and emergencies because I got the impression that they do things 'different' over there.
MD-11 flight crew reports rejecting a takeoff at 110 KTS for a number three engine fire warning. The aircraft had a history of false and incomplete fire warnings. Autobrakes did not disengage with manual braking as expected requiring autobrake switch to be selected off; which contributed to hot brakes.