The Pilot of Flight 328

[Champakian]

Do you consider this your one lucky break and consider retirement?

Next time, maybe crash and burn?

Play the odds?





Boeing 777 fallin' out of the sky,
won't you take me down in Memphis?

 

[Brains_N_Boobs]

Who wants to fly today?

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/us/f...nes-engine-falls-apart-mid-flight/vi-BB1dTTGd

 

[Brains_N_Boobs]

https://assets.ozy.com/ozy-prod/2021/02/engineburning.gif

 

[Mr_Neb]

There are a few good videos from commercial pilots that go through what happened in great detail. One covered the entire flight, complete with all the ATC communications.

A few things to note:

First off, what most likely happened was that the engine tossed a fan blade or two. At those RPMs, that can be catastrophic but the engines are designed to withstand that. (Check out the video of Rolls Royce's aircraft engine factory. Very impressive.)

There is a special band around the fan disk that is designed solely to prevent thrown blades from being flung out sideways and potentially into the fuselage where it can kill people. (It's that brown band.) Clearly it did its job as designed.

But that means that any thrown blades are going to go INTO, not out of the engine. That completely trashed the engine which probably caused the compressor to blow which caused it to loose just about all of its outer casings.

The rule in flying is "Aviate, Navigate, Communicate" and that is exactly what the pilot did. He first assessed the planes ability to fly. Aside from a gu-fucked engine, the rest of the plane was intact and doing just fine. He alerts ATC of the trouble. They clear everything for him but all he wants at first is clearance to make a LEFT turn. This is very important. Never turn into the dead engine.

ATC askes what else he need but he just asks for delaying vectors. Since the plane is still flying, he needs time to go through his check lists. It is not yet time to improvise out of desperation. He goes through his check lists which ensures that all the fuel lines to that engine are shut off as well as all hydrolytic power coming from that engine. He also (probably) fired off both fire extinguisher bottles. That took care of the big fire but some of the remains of engine were still left burning.

Once everything was stable, it was time to navigate. The pilot and ATC worked out the path to return to the same runway that they took off from. ATC offered a straight in approach but the pilot was OK with the plane staying intact and (wisely) made the decision to go past the field and come in from the same direction he took off from. This avoided a downwind landing.

This is a perfect example of exceptional engineering, training, and teamwork. All three contributed to a safe return to the airport. The worst thing that happened is that United will probably have to fix up that guys yard from the damage from the debris.

 

[Saint Peter]

i did not hear panic in the captain's voice. drove it home and parked it.

 

[Harrypalm]

There are a few good videos from commercial pilots that go through what happened in great detail. One covered the entire flight, complete with all the ATC communications.

A few things to note:

First off, what most likely happened was that the engine tossed a fan blade or two. At those RPMs, that can be catastrophic but the engines are designed to withstand that. (Check out the video of Rolls Royce's aircraft engine factory. Very impressive.)

There is a special band around the fan disk that is designed solely to prevent thrown blades from being flung out sideways and potentially into the fuselage where it can kill people. (It's that brown band.) Clearly it did its job as designed.

But that means that any thrown blades are going to go INTO, not out of the engine. That completely trashed the engine which probably caused the compressor to blow which caused it to loose just about all of its outer casings.

The rule in flying is "Aviate, Navigate, Communicate" and that is exactly what the pilot did. He first assessed the planes ability to fly. Aside from a gu-fucked engine, the rest of the plane was intact and doing just fine. He alerts ATC of the trouble. They clear everything for him but all he wants at first is clearance to make a LEFT turn. This is very important. Never turn into the dead engine.

ATC askes what else he need but he just asks for delaying vectors. Since the plane is still flying, he needs time to go through his check lists. It is not yet time to improvise out of desperation. He goes through his check lists which ensures that all the fuel lines to that engine are shut off as well as all hydrolytic power coming from that engine. He also (probably) fired off both fire extinguisher bottles. That took care of the big fire but some of the remains of engine were still left burning.

Once everything was stable, it was time to navigate. The pilot and ATC worked out the path to return to the same runway that they took off from. ATC offered a straight in approach but the pilot was OK with the plane staying intact and (wisely) made the decision to go past the field and come in from the same direction he took off from. This avoided a downwind landing.

This is a perfect example of exceptional engineering, training, and teamwork. All three contributed to a safe return to the airport. The worst thing that happened is that United will probably have to fix up that guys yard from the damage from the debris.

Excellent post.

 

[Noob80301]

Loud bang

That plane flew over me where I also heard a loud bang like a plane breaking the sound barrier. I had a cloud over me blocking line of sight. I was a few streets away when they cowling blew off. I am happy to hear no one was hurt. The neighborhood has become a tourist attraction to see the aftermath.

 

[FL30]

Pilots train for this exact type of scenario every 6 months.

Even if it never happens to you, you've already had the training and know what to expect.

Yes, this was an extreme case of an engine problem, but once again, you train for it every 6 months.

The 777, 767, 757, 737, A321, A320, A319, A318 can all fly one ONE engine - so no problems with just one engine operating. That is how they are certified!

NOT as big of an issue as everyone is making it, other than some plane parts ended up in someone's yard.

Even if this would have been over the ocean, it was capable of flying on one engine.

These planes are certified to fly up to 120 minutes on ONE engine.

 

[Mr_Neb]

(Thanks Harry)

Update: As it turned out one fan blade let loose at the shank and took half of another one with it. Those things weigh more that 20 lbs each so they can do a lot of damage.

Present thinking is that the tossed blades did not go into the engine but bounced down and out. It/they sliced the nose cowl. (That ring part.) That tore it off the ending and it fell away. The rest of the engine cowling shell was then exposed to 250+ knot winds. It was probably that wind that ripped it all away.

I don't want to diminish the talents and airmanship that went on but this scenario was anticipated and trained for. Commercial airline pilots practice this very scenario every year in the simulator and at even the more critical point. One engine out at V1, the takeoff rotation point. Even at full flying weight, the plane can take off on one engine so it certainly can fly on one.

As for fuel, even that is calculated out depending on the route. A route like that (Denver to Hawaii) means that until they left the west coast, they had lots of options to land. Once over the pacific, the plane would have had at least several hours of flying time after reaching either Hawaii or turning back to LA, SF, or places like Vandenburg on one engine.

The engine on this plane was a Pratt & Whitney 4000 series engine. As it turns out, there have been several recent incidences of them tossing fan blades. More than the expected rate. United has grounded 777s with those engines. I am sure everyone else is now inspecting their engines too.

(P.S. Full disclosure. Although I am not a pilot of full scale aircraft, I am an airplane nut and I was an aerospace engineer.)

 

[InternationalFunboy]

i did not hear panic in the captain's voice. drove it home and parked it.

Engine out procedures are drilled relentlessly from the jump and at every stage. I had an engine out on my first solo. Sounds like a disaster, but I did the procedures as-learned and once I'd done that I was calm and confident that I'd done the right thing and made the best choices. I stuck to it, and carried it out. I felt in no way that I would be scrutinized or second-guessed. This I think helped to get the rig on the ground safely.

Cracked intake valve. I still have it

 

[Champakian]