Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor
Air Traffic Control Provided Assistance; Flight Crew Rejected Takeoff; Flight Crew Returned To Gate; General Maintenance Action
Aircraft
Leg 1 of a three day pairing. Preflight; push; and taxi out were all normal. I was the FO (First Officer) and Pilot Monitoring. Captain was the Pilot Flying. We were in position on the active runway when our takeoff clearance was given. Thrust levers were brought to 40% and I was waiting for the engines to stabilize to give the 'stable' call out. Just prior to engine stabilization on COM1 which was tower frequency we heard '(airline) HIT THE BRAKES!!!' An aircraft behind us on the taxiway advised Tower on frequency that we had a '2 foot flame' coming out of the back of the Number 1 Engine. The Captain upon hearing this immediately shutdown the number 1 engine and called for the QRC. Tower wanted us to clear the runway and we advised them that we need to run a checklist and will get back to them. After running the Engine Tailpipe Fire QRC and QRH we asked Tower if the aircraft could see any indication of fire out of the engine. They said that they could not see anything. The Captain and I both felt comfortable at that point to taxi the aircraft off of the runway and onto the parallel taxiway. Airport Fire and Rescue contacted us on a discrete frequency and approached the aircraft to verify there was no active fire. After their surveillance indicating no fire the Captain and I felt it was safe to taxi the aircraft back to the gate. We advised operations and maintenance of our intentions. Taxi back and shutdown were normal.Excellent job by the Captain. Immediate decision making on his part and excellent communication. For myself personally; as always just like in the sim; slow down when accomplishing checklists. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.I have attached a picture of the engine 'torching' as the maintenance crew were performing a run up at the gate after we returned. The engine is at idle power and the very tip of the tailpipe you can see a blue flame.
Aircraft flight crew experienced an engine tail pipe fire during engine spool up on takeoff roll.