NTSB investigating airliner uncontained engine failure

Citation

(2006), "NTSB investigating airliner uncontained engine failure", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 78 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.2006.12778fab.017

NTSB investigating airliner uncontained engine failure

NTSB investigating airliner uncontained engine failure

Keywords: Aircraft components, Jet engines, Air safety

The National Transportation Safety Board recently investigated an uncontained engine failure on an American Airlines B-767 that was undergoing testing, June 2, at Los Angeles International Airport.

At 12:27 PST, during a ground maintenance test run, the high- pressure turbine stage one disk on the number one engine (GE CF6-80A2) broke into several pieces that were found embedded in the fuselage, the number two engine, and scattered as far 3,000ft from the aeroplane.

Numerous holes punched in the wings by pieces of the engine caused fuel leaks that led to a ground fire that was extinguished by airport fire department personnel.

There were no reported injuries to the three maintenance technicians aboard the aeroplane at the time of the accident.

NTSB investigators were at the accident scene from June 3 to 7. Pieces of the high-pressure turbine disk were recovered and brought to the NTSB Materials Laboratory in Washington, DC, for analysis. Initial examination of the disk pieces found indications of fatigue cracking.

The failed engine was brought to the American Airlines facility in Tulsa, OK, for teardown under NTSB supervision.