American Airlines plane engine flung debris in rare failure

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

AEROSPACE & DEFENSE | Sat Oct 29, 2016 | 8:56pm EDT

American Airlines plane engine flung debris in rare failure

By Alwyn Scott and Tim Hepher

An American Airlines (AAL.O) jet engine that failed seconds before takeoff in a fiery runway accident at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport flung broken turbine parts as far as half a mile from the scene, a federal investigator said on Saturday.

Disclosure of the "uncontained" failure," in which internal engine parts breach the protective housing designed to keep them safely enclosed, even in a breakdown, came a day after a mishap that authorities said neared the point of disaster but caused no serious injuries.

Shrapnel escaping from the engine's outer cover can tear through the cabin or rupture fuel tanks in the wings.

Such engine failures are extremely rare, and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators were looking for clues as to whether the fault lay with the engine itself, with its manufacture or a freak event such as debris on the runway entering the engine.

[font size=1]-snip-[/font]

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-chicago-airplane-engine-idUSKCN12T0Q7

LBN thread from yesterday: Plane on fire at O’Hare Airport, emergency crews responding

[BlueCollar]

1. compressor disk failure?

Whatever it was it will probably redefine inspection criteeia.

[Yo_Mama]

2. Well, the NTSB is rightly going to be all over this. n/t