Southwest engine failure

[bronze_10]

We have a lot of pilots here on this forum. What does everyone think about the southwest flight the other day with the engine failure and the woman who was partially sucked out of the plane...

 

[MattFX4]

Freak accident that the poor lady was killed. Wrong seat at the wrong time. One of my friends is a long time mechanic at Delta and works on their jet engines. I haven't talked to him since this happened, but interested to get his take on it. This is a pic he sent me the other week. Pretty cool job.

 

[adrianp89]

Freak accident that the poor lady was killed. Wrong seat at the wrong time.

I think you summed it up well. Sounds like everyone on the plane did everything they could to the best of their ability. Kudos to the pilot for getting that thing down with no other causalities. I am sure there will be a movie in 5 years.

 

[bronze_10]

Gotta be such a freak accident...

 

[haknslash]

Yea it is a scary freak accident. Hate she got sucked out! I can't even imagine what was going through her mind

I always fly southwest with my company and generally like to sit just behind the wing or in front of the engines with a window seat. One time I was traveling to vegas on a southwest flight and we had to land because I let the stewardess know the wing was leaking fluid. It started as a little drip but by the time we landed in Houston it looked like this...

 

[n1111z]

Pilot here. I have always refused to be seated beside the engine.

 

[adrianp89]

Pilot here. I have always refused to be seated beside the engine.

Sounds like good advice moving forward.

 

[BigN8]

I read that this is the second failure of that type, on the same engine, on the same side of the aircraft in a couple years. Coincidence?

 

[bronze_10]

It will be interesting to hear how many hours that engine has on it...

 

[gthh]

Every dual engine prop/turb0/jet is aircraft is capable of staying aloft with one engine operating but not so many with only a wing! It could have been a lot worse!

 

[bronze_10]

Every dual engine prop/turb0/jet is aircraft is capable of staying aloft with one engine operating but not so many with only a wing! It could have been a lot worse!


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I read about the f15.. If I remember it was a collision with another aircraft. Anytime the pilot slowed down the plane would roll violently.. If he was going fast enough the body of the plane generated lift... McDonald double sent engineers who thought the accident happened on the ground.. Super highly skilled pilot!

 

[txav8r]

Uncontained engine failures are rare, as are engine failures, considering the hundreds of thousands of hours that these engines amas wthiut serious incident. But they do happen. This failure caused a rapid decompression. And an emergency descent followed immediately. It will be investigated and they will determine how it happened, how quickly it happened, and whether in that split second, everyone did their job correctly, including the maintenance history, and the manufacture of the engine.

The last incident they southwest had with an engine brought FAA scrutiny and they wanted inspection of the fans for cracks. Southwest balked at getting it done in a year and wanted an 18 month window to comply. They then tried to bring CFM into the cost support of the inspections. And no inspections occurred. Do you think this incident will add additional motivation?

I could give you a scenario for making one part of the plane a safer place to be than another, but then another scenario will refute it and make the opposite end safer. The safest thing you can do is stay in your seats with your seatbelts fastened as much as possible. And if you have young children, question the safety an infant under the age of two, riding in their parents lap, as opposed to buying a seat and securely strapping them in. If an explosive or rapid decompression occurred near, what do you think would happen?

Flying in a commercial passenger jet is safer than your daily walk to Starbucks statistically. But accidents can happen, on the sea, the ground, and in the air. Knowing where you are at all times in an ocean liner or aircraft is a good start, listening to the briefing and understanding it is paramount for yours and those around you to act correctly in the event you have to. I have spent my life in on the flight deck, but I ride in the back occasionally. And today, everyone is glued to the screen of their phone, and I don’t see anyone paying attention to the flight attendant (or the safety video). And I don’t think I have ever seen a single person pick up the safety briefing card and review it. Keeping your seatbelt fastened, and these two things, are the first things in keeping you safe.

Don’t believe everything you hear in the press, or everything witnesses say. This airplane didn’t fall, it made an emergency descent. And it didn’t have smoke pouring in the cabin, the rapid decompression caused a fog (moisture condenses and becomes visible when the temperature and the dew point are within a few degrees of each other) to form.

This was indeed a freak accident and it will get reviewed. I have spent the last eight years flying the 737, and will finish my career in it more than likely. I will climb into it today again, and tomorrow, and next week. These are my thoughts alone, and I share them as such.

 

[bronze_10]

I saw the director of the ntsb press conference where they reviewed the flight data recorder. . He said when the engine blew the plane made a sudden left bank to 41.3 degrees where he said normaly a passenger plane max bank is around the 20 ish degree mark... He said the pilots acted immediately and corrected the bank and leveled the airplane. I listened to the ATC communication and it seemed like the pilot was calm and collected..

I am NOT a pilot so this is truley a novice interpretation but I have been a life long aviation fan!

 

[Papa]

txav8r is correct about the safety briefing and the cards in the seat. The guy doing a selfie with his oxygen mask on wrong is proof positive he paid little or no attention when the briefing was given. I have flown countless miles since I was 6 years old. I read the card and watch the safety briefing on every flight.

 

[BigN8]

Pretty sure this would be me in this instance, plus a selfie to boot!

 

[txav8r]

I pulled this off the web, but it is probably very close on “time of useful consciousness”. At altitude, with a cabin pressure altitude that all of a sudden equals your current flight altitude, there is a rapid change in atmospheric pressure and available oxygen concentration in the air. Over half of the breathable atmosphere is gone by the time you get above 18,000 ft. Note the temperature too at these altitudes. The flight was at 38,000 ft I believe. So also note the seconds of useful consciousness if you do everything right, your in good physical shape and health, and you aren’t severely incapacitated by the rapid decompression. This can hurt by the way, it isn’t as drastic as coming up too quick from scuba diving but it is still a major rapid change in pressure. Your immediate response should be getting your mask on. It may be harder than you think due to the chaotic nature of the event. Anyway, here’s the chart...

 

[bronze_10]

Wow..

 

[Coheeba]

I have several HAHO's from 25k and trust me it is cold

 

[Scottintexas]

and that's why you put your mask on first and then help your neighbor (see I was paying attention),

 

[Joshua Miller]

The issue with this is that Southwest is going to take a beating over this even though they are an extremely safe and efficient airline. Boeing as well because it's a 737--which is all that Southwest uses in order to keep maintenance costs down, but the engine is manufactured by CFM International, which is part General Electric. I spent 14 years as a helicopter mechanic in the military and I worked on GE and Rolls-Royce engines, both put in Boeing and Bell-Textron airframes. Had my fill of emergency landings, but wouldn't hesitate to get in one again.

Haven't watched any of the selfie's or video footage from the plane. Would rather stay away from media sensationalism..