Narrative:

Aircraft X had previously departed and we were advised (by TRACON) thereafter that they planned on returning to land here due to an indication that a panel was open and they requested no assistance. A low-level potential emergency alert was passed on to the port authority; and they responded with several fire trucks as a preemptive measure. After aircraft X landed and was turning off runway X (the only active runway at the time); I noticed an unidentified target on the asde-X. This target was just behind them as they exited. I immediately advised the local controller of this and seconds later determined with binoculars this was not a false target but a large piece of metal. Local controller quickly advised the following aircraft (on short final) that debris was on the runway. This flight did land without incident but was visibly steering well left of centerline to avoid the hazard. Fortunately; there was not enough space between these two arrivals to squeeze an awaiting departure in between. As stated in my previously filed report under 'safety problem'; the asde-X never issued an alarm. As the second aircraft was landing the port authority's duty officer that responded along with the emergency trucks advised that there were several areas of debris left by the aircraft X and the runway was immediately closed. Two aircraft were given go-around instructions; departures were stopped and the TRACON began holding arrivals for at least 4 minutes as the hazard was removed. The severity of the damage incurred by the aircraft X (right engine cowling torn) became apparent only after the debris had been spotted and they had turned the aircraft eastbound onto the taxiway. From the tower vantage point; this side of the aircraft was not visible on the visual approach. As a witness to this; I can only say that the event qualified as a significant safety hazard. And that it was very lucky to have occurred during daylight hours. I am relieved we avoided a potential 'concord-like; catastrophic event.other than recommendations given in my previous report relating to this: the TRACON provided no extra space on these succeeding; arriving aircraft - which would have been nice. It is not unusual for a departing aircraft to return to the field for precautionary reasons; but - when they do - this instance shows the benefit that extra time could provide. In this case; there was very sufficient room behind the arriving aircraft in order for them to have done so. However; like I said above; being that we were a single runway operation at this time it is a good thing that there was not a lot of space as we likely would have had a departure directly behind aircraft X. Aircraft X flight crew gave us no indication that part of their plane was left on the runway. Primary debris (which was picked up on the asde-X) was mid-field between taxiways tango and juliet; about where most departing aircraft are reaching V1 speed; or the point of no stopping before the water off the end of [our departure airport's] runway. Though I personally work the controller in charge position rarely; from my training I seem to recall that selecting the 'significant event' check box in a required report [this] is done when an incident that is potentially newsworthy occurs. The wreckage that was left on the runway potentially witnessed by passengers of the arriving airline as well as any passenger on board aircraft X able to see the tremendous damage on that side's engine may have led them to be truly; rightfully scared for their safety. So when I hear the powers that be directing my supervisor to not qualify this as significant; it boggles my mind that this real and present danger that existed can be seemingly written off as 'not a big deal'. Clarification on logging events in that system and qualification procedures might need to be reviewed.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Air carrier aircraft had engine cowling depart the aircraft on departure. Controller advises Local Control and city closes runway due to large amounts of debris on runway.

Narrative: Aircraft X had previously departed and we were advised (by TRACON) thereafter that they planned on returning to land here due to an indication that a panel was open and they requested no assistance. A low-level potential emergency alert was passed on to the Port Authority; and they responded with several fire trucks as a preemptive measure. After Aircraft X landed and was turning off Runway X (the only active runway at the time); I noticed an unidentified target on the ASDE-X. This target was just behind them as they exited. I immediately advised the Local Controller of this and seconds later determined with binoculars this was not a false target but a large piece of metal. Local Controller quickly advised the following aircraft (on short final) that debris was on the runway. This flight did land without incident but was visibly steering well left of centerline to avoid the hazard. Fortunately; there was not enough space between these two arrivals to squeeze an awaiting departure in between. As stated in my previously filed report under 'Safety Problem'; the ASDE-X never issued an alarm. As the second aircraft was landing the Port Authority's Duty Officer that responded along with the emergency trucks advised that there were several areas of debris left by the Aircraft X and the runway was immediately closed. Two aircraft were given go-around instructions; departures were stopped and the TRACON began holding arrivals for at least 4 minutes as the hazard was removed. The severity of the damage incurred by the Aircraft X (right engine cowling torn) became apparent only after the debris had been spotted and they had turned the aircraft eastbound onto the taxiway. From the Tower vantage point; this side of the aircraft was not visible on the Visual Approach. As a witness to this; I can only say that the event qualified as a significant safety hazard. And that it was very lucky to have occurred during daylight hours. I am relieved we avoided a potential 'Concord-like; catastrophic event.Other than recommendations given in my previous report relating to this: The TRACON provided no extra space on these succeeding; arriving aircraft - which would have been nice. It is not unusual for a departing aircraft to return to the field for precautionary reasons; but - when they do - this instance shows the benefit that extra time could provide. In this case; there was very sufficient room behind the arriving aircraft in order for them to have done so. However; like I said above; being that we were a single runway operation at this time it is a good thing that there was not a lot of space as we likely would have had a departure directly behind Aircraft X. Aircraft X flight crew gave us no indication that part of their plane was left on the runway. Primary debris (which was picked up on the ASDE-X) was mid-field between taxiways Tango and Juliet; about where most departing aircraft are reaching V1 speed; or the point of no stopping before the water off the end of [our departure airport's] runway. Though I personally work the CIC position rarely; from my training I seem to recall that selecting the 'Significant Event' check box in a required report [this] is done when an incident that is potentially newsworthy occurs. The wreckage that was left on the runway potentially witnessed by passengers of the arriving airline as well as any passenger on board Aircraft X able to see the tremendous damage on that side's engine may have led them to be truly; rightfully scared for their safety. So when I hear the powers that be directing my supervisor to not qualify this as significant; it boggles my mind that this real and present danger that existed can be seemingly written off as 'not a big deal'. Clarification on logging events in that system and qualification procedures might need to be reviewed.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.