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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| FAA orders fan blade inspections after jet engine explosion |
| 2018-04-19 |
| PHILADELPHIA (AP) ‐ U.S. airline regulators have ordered inspections on engine fan blades like the one that snapped off a Southwest Airlines plane, leading to the death of a woman who was partially blown out a window. The Federal Aviation Administration’s announcement late Wednesday comes nearly a year after the engine’s manufacturer recommended the additional inspections, and a month after European regulators ordered their airlines to do the work. Pressure for the FAA to act grew after an engine on a Southwest plane blew apart on Tuesday, showering the aircraft with debris and shattering a window. A woman sitting next to the window was partially blown out and died of her injuries. The plane, which was headed from New York to Dallas, made an emergency landing in Philadelphia. Investigators said a blade that broke off mid-flight and triggered the fatal accident was showing signs of metal fatigue ‐ microscopic cracks that can splinter open under the kind of stress placed on jetliners and their engines. The National Transportation Safety Board also blamed metal fatigue for an engine failure on a Southwest plane in Florida in 2016. Related Chicago Bus Journal story sites possible 'outsourcing' and 'labor' difficulties. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #11 I originally thought the FAA for some reason wanted to inspect all of the fans in the District ahead of the IG releasing their report. Notice how even Stormy has disappeared. AND now we have a judge questioning Mueller's jurisdiction to press changes on Manafort??? Me thinks it is going to turn very quickly, much like the Ardennes was the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom 2018-04-19 23:37 |
| #10 In this case it will be done by UT (ultrasonic testing) which depending on the frequency the depth will be greater. |
| Posted by: Tzsenator 2018-04-19 22:45 |
| #9 Oh Lord have mercy THAT was FUNNY |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom 2018-04-19 20:11 |
| #8 Your snark definition for today: ETOPS: Engines Turn Or Passengers Swim. Maybe time to go back to 4 engine birds..... (Why is the soundtrack from "Airplane" of the aircraft in flight running through my head? |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2018-04-19 14:34 |
| #7 I wrote the insurance on this one |
| Posted by: Beavis 2018-04-19 13:17 |
| #6 Nice read VR. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2018-04-19 10:29 |
| #5 Pilot's in trouble now. By landing the plane safely there is no difficulty determining the cause of the failure - and the liability of Southwest for being late on inspections; if the plane had crashed in a fireball a broken fan blade could be claimed to be incidental damage, and the crash pilot error. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2018-04-19 09:53 |
| #4 Southwest has their own maintenance crews. The 737 is the only make/model flown by them to realize economies of said maintenance (training, parts inventories, bookkeeping, etc.). Fan blades can "go" at any time. Sometimes it can be caught (Dye Penetrant Inspection), but not always (the defect must be evident on the surface of the tested/examined part). In this case, it appears the blade departed the engine, went through the a/c window and hit the unfortunate passenger. At that point, she was seriously injured. The rapid and violent a/c decompression adjacent to the injured passenger "sucked" her upper torso partially through a shard-riddled window. Note the aircraft was probably at cruise, depending upon model, between 430 and 450 knots. Thence the passengers pulled her back through the shard-riddled window and began CPR. I suspect the ultimate cause of death was, owing to trauma and stress, a heart attack, this exacerbated by injury caused by the flying part, and neck trauma caused by the immediate violence of a 0-to-430-ish knot stress to the neck/spinal cord. Throw in blood loss and shock, and she had no chance. Some years back, something similar happened when an a/c structure was compromised and an occupied passenger seat departed the aircraft and then went through the engine. Some days are not your day. |
| Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy 2018-04-19 09:04 |
| #3 I am suprised the inbred rent a dork police from the TSA did not take the woman into custody for breaking the window and terroristic threats! She had to have said God or Jesus help or save me! |
| Posted by: Jack Chaiter7913 2018-04-19 08:21 |
| #2 Just curious, who does Southworsts maintianence |
| Posted by: Cheaderhead 2018-04-19 06:28 |
| #1 Faulty inspections as had been suspected. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2018-04-19 01:16 |