A B757-200 flight crew experienced high vibration levels on the right engine. They coordinated with ...

Narrative:

Departing ZZZ on climbout; approaching FL350; noted a vibration in the floor of the flight deck associated with #2 engine. Use of right engine anti-ice did not improve our situation. We were cleared to climb to FL390; however; approaching FL370 #2 engine; still producing climb power; began to register an N1 vibration of amber 2.8 confirmed by hull vibration felt by flight attendants and passengers. A radio call to dispatch turned into a 3-way conference call with maintenance. Real time engine monitor revealed that soon we would be thrust limited by the N1 vibration on the right engine. We declared an emergency with ZZZ. ZZZ center cleared us to descend and return to ZZZ. Returning from this point allowed us to make an idle power descent back to ZZZ. ZZZ airport crash fire rescue equipment met our flight for landing on runway xx. One vehicle remained with us from landing until we reached our gate where we terminated our emergency. Maintenance met our flight; reviewed a 'saved event record' of the right engine parameters inflight; took the aircraft out of service.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A B757-200 flight crew experienced high vibration levels on the right engine. They coordinated with Dispatch and Maintenance; declared an emergency; and returned to their departure airport.

Narrative: Departing ZZZ on climbout; approaching FL350; noted a vibration in the floor of the flight deck associated with #2 engine. Use of Right Engine Anti-ice did not improve our situation. We were cleared to climb to FL390; however; approaching FL370 #2 engine; still producing climb power; began to register an N1 vibration of amber 2.8 confirmed by hull vibration felt by Flight Attendants and passengers. A radio call to Dispatch turned into a 3-way conference call with Maintenance. Real time engine monitor revealed that soon we would be thrust limited by the N1 vibration on the right engine. We declared an emergency with ZZZ. ZZZ Center cleared us to descend and return to ZZZ. Returning from this point allowed us to make an idle power descent back to ZZZ. ZZZ Airport Crash Fire Rescue equipment met our flight for landing on Runway XX. One vehicle remained with us from landing until we reached our gate where we terminated our emergency. Maintenance met our flight; reviewed a 'Saved Event Record' of the right engine parameters inflight; took the aircraft out of service.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.

Attributes
ACN	821821
Time
Date	200901
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B757-200
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Climb Cruise
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Turbine Engine
Person 1
Function	Captain Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) Flight Crew Flight Engineer
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 210 Flight Crew Total 12700 Flight Crew Type 4900
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical

A B757-200 flight crew experienced high vibration levels on the right engine. They coordinated with dispatch and maintenance; declared an emergency; and returned to their departure airport.