Flameout

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A flameout refers to the failure of a jet engine caused by the extinction of the flame in the combustion chamber. It can be caused by a number of factors, including fuel exhaustion; compressor stall; insufficient oxygen supply; engine ingestion of foreign substances (such as birds, hail or even volcanic ash); severe inclement weather; mechanical failure; and other factors.

Flameouts occur most frequently when the engine is at an intermediate or low power setting (such as during the cruise and descent phases of flight). Most of the time, they are recovered from uneventfully.

To recover from a flameout, the pilot should ensure the engine's fuel supply has been restored and then simply perform an engine restart as detailed in the aircraft's Flight Operations Manual.

Early jet engines, such as those in the Messerschmitt Me 262, were at relatively high risk of flameout. Fast acceleration or inappropriate throttle settings could impoverish the fuel/air mixture causing a flameout. If this happened at low altitude it would often lead to the total loss of the aircraft.

However, modern jets are engineered to a higher degree of technical quality and are controlled by digital computers that constantly fine-tune their performance; and as such flameouts are not such a risk as they were in the early days of jet-powered aviation.

[edit] Trivia

In the film Top Gun, a flameout and flat spin is the cause for the crash of Tom Cruise's character's aircraft during a mock dogfight. The engine flameouts in the movie were simulated by turning off the stunt aircraft's afterburners.

British Airways Flight 9 suffered flameouts in all four of its engines after flying through a cloud of pyroclastic material thrown up by the eruption of Mount Galunggung. The pilots were eventually able to restart three of the engines and make a safe landing.