from the lots-of-groundings-and-inspections-coming dept.
In an excellent article, jam-packed with details, The Seattle Times reports: (Javascript required)
One passenger died and several others were injured [April 18] when a Boeing 737 operated by Southwest en route from New York to Dallas suffered a serious engine blowout. Shrapnel broke a passenger window and penetrated the fuselage, forcing an emergency landing in Philadelphia.
[...] Southwest Flight 1380 [...] suffered a serious engine blowout 20 minutes into the flight at 32,500 feet
[...] The left engine exploded with such force that shrapnel penetrated the aircraft's fuselage and broke a window in the passenger cabin, causing depressurization and the deployment of oxygen masks.
The pilots--Capt. Tammie Jo Shults and an unidentified co-pilot--guided the plane carrying 144 passengers and five crew to a smooth landing. According to flight-tracking service FlightAware, the jet landed 20 minutes after the explosion.
Emergency vehicles drenched the damaged left engine in foam to prevent a fire as passengers exited the plane via stairs on the right side.
The woman who died was identified by Albuquerque TV news station KOAT as Jennifer Riordan, 43, a mother of two children and vice president of community relations at Wells Fargo in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
In preliminary briefings, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairman Robert Sumwalt said that inspection of the damaged engine revealed that one of the titanium blades on the big fan had broken off at the root, and that there was evidence of metal fatigue at the site where it broke.
He said metal fatigue is a major problem.
[...] Southwest CEO [Gary Kelly] said the airplane had undergone a routine maintenance inspection two days earlier, on April 15.
Fox Business notes
The engines [...] were built by CFM, a joint venture between U.S.-based General Electric and French company Safran Aircraft Engines.
[...] The CFM56-7B model is the exclusive engine of Boeing's "737 Next Generation" of aircraft--a partnership which began in July 1993 and includes the 700 series--and produces 19,500 to 27,300 pounds of thrust, the company said. The engines have been in use since 1997 and power more than 6,700 aircraft globally.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @09:08AM
Obviously she knew too much. What could be more convenient than a "random", wink wink, blade separation?
Ya can't miss [wikipedia.org]!
(Score: 1, Troll) by realDonaldTrump on Thursday April 19 2018, @09:17AM
Thoughts & prayers w/the kids. Still one of the best and safest years on record! Because of me. Because I have been very strict on Commercial Aviation.
(Score: 2) by acid andy on Thursday April 19 2018, @09:21AM (8 children)
Well that's clear given that it caused the fan blade to break off and the engine to explode. But, more to the point, is it a frequent problem in these circles?
If a cat has kittens, does a rat have rittens, a bat bittens and a mat mittens?
(Score: 5, Informative) by MadTinfoilHatter on Thursday April 19 2018, @09:40AM (4 children)
No, but it has happened at least once before. [wikipedia.org] And those pilots really displayed some mad skills in that not everybody on board that flight died, which given the circumstances, would have been the expected outcome.
(Score: 5, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @02:34PM (3 children)
Check out the recorded conversation between the pilot and the air traffic controllers. After correcting the plane posture (it dropped sharply on one side due to the engine blow up, as if the plane is making a sharp turn) and stabilizing the altitude, she calmly reports the flight status to the air traffic controllers, request emergency landing, transistions to the desired airport's traffic controllers, and land the craft safely.
At one point, an air traffic controller asks if there is fire in the cabin. She said "no, but parts of the plane had been blown out."
She's one cool cat, a former navy pilot.
(Score: 2) by acid andy on Thursday April 19 2018, @10:24PM (1 child)
Yeah. Tragic as it was, it's an amazing tale.
Off duty flight instructor Fitch (who took over controlling the plane using just the left and right throttles) and Captain Haynes (from the wiki page):
If a cat has kittens, does a rat have rittens, a bat bittens and a mat mittens?
(Score: 2) by acid andy on Thursday April 19 2018, @10:29PM
Just realized AC is probably talking about the TFA. I was talking about MadTinfoilHatter's link about Flight 232.
If a cat has kittens, does a rat have rittens, a bat bittens and a mat mittens?
(Score: 2) by pkrasimirov on Thursday April 19 2018, @10:45PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKf7sfgSjjc [youtube.com]
(Score: 4, Insightful) by turgid on Thursday April 19 2018, @09:41AM (1 child)
In order to improve efficiency, engines must be run at higher temperatures and pressures. Obviously, this puts more stress on the components.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 3, Troll) by realDonaldTrump on Thursday April 19 2018, @10:15AM
That's how Amazon runs its warehouses. The guys working there must carry around a bottle to piss in. Because they don't have time to take a bathroom break. Very efficient. But so nasty!!!!
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Thursday April 19 2018, @06:04PM
Happens once every few million hours of operation. Typically contained in the engines. Uncontained ones are even rarer. Casualties in the last few decades are less than one day of US roads.
"Plane has critical mishap, lands safely". Have you thanked an engineer today?
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Thursday April 19 2018, @10:31AM (15 children)
It's impressive that the pilots were able to land the plane and save everyone else. I hope they get the Christmas bonus to end all Christmas bonuses.
The part of the story that caught my eye was that the passenger was partially sucked out through the shattered window. I thought Mythbusters had busted that in one of their episodes.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @10:36AM
mythbusters said that if you shoot a gun at at the airplane wall then there won't be an explosion, and nobody will be sucked out.
as far as I can remember, they didn't talk about a window being shattered by shrapnel.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @12:24PM (11 children)
Any commercial pilot can land a (multi-engine) plane with one engine down. It's a requirement to pass the exam.
So what you are saying is that it's impressive that the pilots were able to pass the exam.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @12:47PM (1 child)
quote from the bbc piece:
"With oxygen masks over their mouths, passengers screamed and braced for impact.
For a few seconds, the aircraft rolled to an angle of 41 degrees before levelling out and starting an emergency descent, federal investigators said on Wednesday."
did you notice the 41 angle bit?
engine not working is one thing.
what the pilot was facing was an exploded engine and severely modified aerodynamics (i.e. broken window), plus adrenaline spike because 41 degree roll and dead people on the plane.
I'd say it's a big deal.
(Score: 5, Informative) by deadstick on Thursday April 19 2018, @01:46PM
The broken window wouldn't do much to the aerodynamics. The sudden failure of an engine will create a transient in the yaw axis, which will couple into the roll axis (especially in a swept-wing airplane), which would explain the 41 degree roll. Recovering from that is not a big deal: boot the rudder to stop the yaw, and apply aileron to level the wings. Scary for the passengers, yes, but well within the airplane's control authority.
But with the window blown out, another problem presented itself: the airplane was at 32,000 feet and had to get to a breathable altitude now. That means an abrupt downward acceleration (read: sensation of falling) until they achieved a descent rate of 3000+ feet per minute.
TL;DR: In a situation like this, the crew's job is to get the passengers down alive; they won't compromise on that just because it scares the shit out of them.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @01:05PM (2 children)
Any commercial pilot can land a (multi-engine) plane with one engine down
Does the test also have a holes-in-the-aircraft section?
I remember previous incidents where an engine scattered and control systems went pear-shaped.
That DC-10 out of Chicago [google.com] where the engine and its pylon separated from the aircraft is an extreme example.
Yeah, it would fly with the engine not functioning; completely ripped away is another thing.
N.B. In that case, the mechanics had found an "easier" way to replace an engine--rather than following the manufacturer's manual.
Using a forklift, they replaced the engine and pylon as 1 unit--and fucked up the mounting point.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by Spamalope on Thursday April 19 2018, @03:08PM (1 child)
Actually with the engine separated it'd be easier to fly. It'd reduce drag on the side missing the thrust so the offset to correct would be reduced. In the real world, possible damage to the control systems on the wing would be a serious problem.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 20 2018, @01:11AM
with the engine separated
Is that why the photos of the doomed plane show it tipped over 90 degrees?
It unbalanced the aircraft, of course,
It also tore loose fuel lines.
I suspect that it also damaged control mechanisms (hydraulic lines ripped open?).
I do remember hearing about another 3-engine plane where the center engine came apart violently and damaged hydraulic lines, causing loss of control.
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @01:39PM (5 children)
In today's climate? Yes, it is impressive the pilot was qualified and not a diversity hire.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @02:12PM (4 children)
I'm going to guess that Capt. Tammie Jo Shults does qualify as a diversity hire. Tough for your white male ego to admit that a hire can be both for quality and diversity?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Thursday April 19 2018, @02:41PM (3 children)
You may guess, all you like. Would you care to bet money on your guess? I'd like a piece of that action!
Unlike Fox news anchors, Tammie Jo wasn't hired for her looks.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @06:29PM (2 children)
But she still counts as a female qualifying as a diversity hire. What seems to blow your mind is that a hire can be both a diversity hire and a quality hire.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @08:18PM (1 child)
He's just angry that his white privilege doesn't go as far as it used to. In fact he's in complete denial about the existence of said privilege.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday April 19 2018, @10:05PM
I exercise my white privilege on a daily basis. I go to work, Uncle Sam takes whatever portion of my wages he chooses to take, and I get what is left. This is so that deadbeats can have generous welfare checks. That is white privilege.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by epitaxial on Thursday April 19 2018, @02:47PM
This may be an unpopular opinion, but that pilot would have landed the plane the same way even if she was the only person on board.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @10:22PM
The impressive ones are:
1. when all engines go out (landing on the Hudson River, or the Gimli Glider in Canada)
2. when the rudder is ripped off
3. when all hydraulics go out (DHL in Iraq, and a half-success landing in a cornfield near Chicago)
4. when the pilot is sucked partly out the window
5. when the cockpit windows become frosted over, for example by volcanic ash abrasion
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @11:05AM
Well, the upshot is there is a job opening at Wells Fargo now. Let the massive resume battle begin because the job market is just so freaking great.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Thexalon on Thursday April 19 2018, @12:24PM (10 children)
Government bureaucracy at the FAA just saved the lives of all but 1 of the people on that plane. Everybody involved followed procedures and training to a T, and if you listen to the radio traffic the level of professionalism across the board is impressive.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @01:09PM (9 children)
You can, however, credit professionalism and objective standards.
(Score: 5, Touché) by Thexalon on Thursday April 19 2018, @02:36PM (8 children)
So let me get this straight:
1. Everyone involved was extremely professional in a crisis situation. This had absolutely nothing to do with the culture of the bureaucracy they were a part of.
2. Everyone involved met objective standards of behavior and training. This had absolutely nothing to do with the bureaucracy that created and enforced those objective standards and certified the level of training for everyone involved.
3. At least half the voices heard on the radio communications were civil servants, a.k.a. government bureaucrats. That's what air traffic controllers are, albeit relatively low-level bureaucrats. But again, their actions have nothing to do with a government bureaucracy.
4. Everyone was following established procedures for emergency landing, which government bureaucrats had created a long time ago. This had absolutely nothing to do with the bureaucracy either.
Well, I'm sure glad we're clear about that.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday April 19 2018, @02:44PM (2 children)
It definitely had a lot to do with Navy training. https://heavy.com/news/2018/04/tammie-jo-shults-pilot-southwest-flight-1380-engine-hero/ [heavy.com]
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @02:56PM
She was one of the first women Navy pilots, right?
You know what the means? As an individual, she must be extraordinary, regardless of her Navy training.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Thexalon on Thursday April 19 2018, @02:57PM
Absolutely. None of that is a knock on Captain Shults' training or experience. However, she wasn't the only one who made this possible: I counted her co-pilot, the flight attendant(s), 3 ATCs, and a couple of other pilots, plus the emergency personnel who responded on the runway, all of whom did their jobs perfectly. These kinds of things are a team effort that require people and organizations that can work together and rely on each other.
If you put Shults in the cockpit, but don't give her that kind of support, then things do not turn out as well as they did. For a simple example, what would have happened if another plane hadn't cleared that runway in time?
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @02:54PM (4 children)
A group of professionals who adhere to objective standards can create a very useful government bureaucracy, but a government bureaucracy won't necessarily (or even likely) create a group of professionals who adhere to objective standards.
Get it yet?
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Thexalon on Thursday April 19 2018, @03:46PM (3 children)
Yes, I do get it: Objectively, the bureaucracy worked well to solve a problem, but a lot of people dogmatically believe that all bureaucracy sucks, and are experiencing cognitive dissonance as a result.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @04:33PM
While I admire your dogged persistence, some nuts are apparently too tough to crack. Just sayin'.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @05:54PM (1 child)
What?? A private company didn’t do all of the creation of how to deal with an emergency? We must quickly call Fox News so they can fix this. Calm down. Dynamic duo Hannity and Carlson to the rescue!!!!
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Thursday April 19 2018, @06:12PM
"You didn't land that [alone]"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @04:46PM (1 child)
From the photos, it looks like blood all along fuselage starting at the busted window.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @06:16PM
I'm wondering if the poor dead woman was wearing her seat belt. I suppose if one is right next to a window (fore-aft) and belted, an explosive decompression could pull your upper body out through the hole(?) But it seems more likely that she was not belted in.
I'm tall enough (6'1") that my head and shoulders are often above the tops of airline windows. As long as I'm belted it seems like I might get badly smashed against the window frame by the rush of air, but not pushed outside(??) Not volunteering for a quick test...
Perhaps she was short?
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @07:40PM (1 child)
Was that real, decent Americans were forced to spend time in that librul elite hell hole known as Philadelphia, PA.
There are actual Democrats there. What's worse, there are even some (((folks))) [constitutioncenter.org] who falsely claim to be Americans and run propaganda and disinformation organizations [constitutioncenter.org].
We don't have that scum here in the heartland [wikipedia.org].
Better to die. That woman from New Mexico was the lucky one.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday April 19 2018, @09:38PM
Original AC here.
Troll? More like flamebait.
Serious sarcasm detection problem with the moderator:
Links to the National Constitution Center [constitutioncenter.org] and its knowledgeable, learned CEO termed a propaganda organization?
A link to Jefferson, Texas [wikipedia.org] which has a prominent monument to Jewish residents:
Way to go with the knee-jerk, moderator!