Passengers returning to Sydney from San Francisco were treated to a delightful pyrotechnic show as a special treat from Qantas. A mesmerising cascade of flame and sparks! Coming from their 747′s engine. Which exploded after taking off. Wait a second.
One man aboard the plane was able to document the ordeal—which thankfully ended with a safe landing—on his iPhone, capturing what must have been a harrowing hour in the air. But at least the captain was able to provide some soothing words: “You must be assured that we are trained for this situation…Normally, we do it in a simulator, of course, but we are trained for it so rest assured everything is under control.” [Daily Mail]
Edward Luck
Monday, September 6, 2010 at 10:56 AMWhat’s most important here (and was largely ignored by the media) is that the engine threw a fan blade or other component OUT of the engine casing; it was not contained inside the casing like it is supposed to.
In this case, the matter was ejected outboard. Based on the rotational speed of a jet engine, it’s just random chance that this component didn’t fly inboard, or upwards into the wing. Either situation would have likely been terminal for the aircraft, either through explosive decompression or puncturing a fuel tank and igniting it.
I’d say Qantas was a random dice throw away from having their first hull-loss incident right here.