Narrative:

I met the crew in the jetway and introduced myself to the first officer and the flight attendants and then gave them the crew briefing. The aircraft preflight was normal. I did discuss MEL 28-6 with the first officer to make certain we understood and complied with it. The pushback was normal. Both engine starts were normal. After rollback; on engine 1; I cleared off the tug crew. I then checked the generators on the overhead panel and noticed that the generator on engine 1 was not indicating. The first officer announced that we had a low oil pressure light on the number 1 engine and when I checked the engine instruments there was no N1; egt was 750-800 and there was fuel flow. We accomplished the aborted engine start checklist and shut the number 1 engine down. I then called ops for a gate return and to have maintenance meet us at the aircraft. I then talked to the flight attendants and informed them that we would be returning to the gate. We started our before taxi checklist and noticed that the wing anti-ice was on. Two maintenance personnel came out to meet us on the ramp (we were not at the gate). One of the maintenance personnel plugged into the aircraft so that I was able to communicate with him. The other positioned himself just left (captain side) of the nose to observe the number 1 engine. I discussed with the maintenance personnel the engine problems; including the high egt; N1; fuel flow; and the wing anti-ice switch being on. He thought that the anti-ice wing switch being on may have caused the problem and we should try a restart of engine number 1. The engine start was normal. Maintenance cleared off and I then informed the flight attendants that we would be taxiing for takeoff. We did the before taxi checklist and taxied to the runway. The engine performance and instruments were normal for the taxi. We were cleared for takeoff. We stabilized the engines at 40% N1 and checked the engine instruments. They were normal. After rotation and positive rate; I called for the gear up. The first officer raised the gear and then pointed out that the egt on engine 1 was rising faster than engine 2. When I looked at the egt gauge it was approaching 800 and rising. I reduced the thrust on engine number 1. This stopped the egt rising and reduced it slightly. The egt never went into the yellow arc and we never exceeded egt limits. We then called the tower to tell them that we were returning to the airport for landing. The tower told us to make left traffic and asked what the problem was and if we needed the emergency vehicles. We told the tower that we had a high egt and yes; we did want the emergency vehicles. Under my captain's emergency authority; I made the decision to keep engine number 1 running and the related systems. With the power reduced; the egt stayed within parameters but I wanted to get the aircraft on the ground as soon as possible. We made a normal landing; flaps 30. When we cleared the runway; the emergency vehicles contacted us on tower frequency and said that their visual inspection indicated no fire or smoke. I then shut the number 1 engine down and taxied to the gate and then completed the parking checklist.

Related reports:

Google
 

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A B737-300 flight crew experienced high engine EGT after takeoff. They declared an emergency and returned to departure airport.

Narrative: I met the crew in the jetway and introduced myself to the First Officer and the Flight Attendants and then gave them the crew briefing. The aircraft preflight was normal. I did discuss MEL 28-6 with the First Officer to make certain we understood and complied with it. The pushback was normal. Both engine starts were normal. After rollback; on engine 1; I cleared off the tug crew. I then checked the generators on the overhead panel and noticed that the generator on engine 1 was not indicating. The First Officer announced that we had a low oil pressure light on the number 1 engine and when I checked the engine instruments there was no N1; EGT was 750-800 and there was fuel flow. We accomplished the Aborted Engine Start checklist and shut the number 1 engine down. I then called Ops for a gate return and to have Maintenance meet us at the aircraft. I then talked to the Flight Attendants and informed them that we would be returning to the gate. We started our Before Taxi checklist and noticed that the wing anti-ice was on. Two Maintenance personnel came out to meet us on the ramp (we were not at the gate). One of the Maintenance personnel plugged into the aircraft so that I was able to communicate with him. The other positioned himself just left (Captain side) of the nose to observe the number 1 engine. I discussed with the Maintenance personnel the engine problems; including the high EGT; N1; fuel flow; and the wing anti-ice switch being on. He thought that the anti-ice wing switch being on may have caused the problem and we should try a restart of engine number 1. The engine start was normal. Maintenance cleared off and I then informed the flight attendants that we would be taxiing for takeoff. We did the Before Taxi checklist and taxied to the runway. The engine performance and instruments were normal for the taxi. We were cleared for takeoff. We stabilized the engines at 40% N1 and checked the engine instruments. They were normal. After rotation and positive rate; I called for the gear up. The First Officer raised the gear and then pointed out that the EGT on engine 1 was rising faster than engine 2. When I looked at the EGT gauge it was approaching 800 and rising. I reduced the thrust on engine number 1. This stopped the EGT rising and reduced it slightly. The EGT never went into the yellow arc and we never exceeded EGT limits. We then called the Tower to tell them that we were returning to the airport for landing. The Tower told us to make left traffic and asked what the problem was and if we needed the emergency vehicles. We told the Tower that we had a high EGT and yes; we did want the emergency vehicles. Under my Captain's emergency authority; I made the decision to keep engine number 1 running and the related systems. With the power reduced; the EGT stayed within parameters but I wanted to get the aircraft on the ground as soon as possible. We made a normal landing; flaps 30. When we cleared the runway; the emergency vehicles contacted us on Tower frequency and said that their visual inspection indicated no fire or smoke. I then shut the number 1 engine down and taxied to the gate and then completed the Parking checklist.

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.