Speedbird 2276 Las Vegas.

[workingpoor]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3227162/British-Airways-plane-bursts-flames-Las-Vegas-McCarran-Airport-off.html

Hero BA pilot had already cheated death once before when his sports car crashed and his face was dragged along road leaving him needing reconstructive surgery.

He is due to retire next week this was his penultimate flight.

[dgul]

Good to see half the passengers took their time to get their hand luggage prior to jumping down the slides as their plane was on fire.

If the **** in front of me did that they would receive an elbow in the face as they prepared to get on the slide.

Quite - lots and lots of evidence shows that the ones that survive are the ones that quietly get out of the seat as soon as the plane stops and walk to the exit (away from flames if any)

[other fairly morbid tip - learn the right brace position. You shouldn't be 'bracing yourself', ie, holding yourself in a rigid position. It is all about letting the seat belt take the impact forces and stopping your limbs / head from flailing around. Make sure your ankles are behind your knees (not braced in front). Hope you never have to use the info]

[evictee]

Looking at the pic he appears to have brought the plane to a standstill with the affected engine downwind of the fuselage, I thought following the Manchester airport disaster the 'textbook' response to this situation was to bring the plane to a stop with the affected engine upwind.

Haven't you got that the wrong way round?

[dgul]

Good to see half the passengers took their time to get their hand luggage prior to jumping down the slides as their plane was on fire.

If the **** in front of me did that they would receive an elbow in the face as they prepared to get on the slide.

Noted in the press here. They should put locks on the overhead-lockers activated by the seat-belt signs or the air-masks.

[Riedquat]

Best ground them as well.

Of course this does mean grounding 90%+ of all commercial aircraft but think of the children etc....

You're quite right. Safety must be the priority after all. In fact ban air travel altogether. Safety must be the priority, and no planes are always going to be safer than planes no matter how careful you are. And whilst we're at it do the same with roads, railways, boats, horses, camels, and whatever other forms of travel you can think.

Never quite figured out how the safety brigade draw the line but they're another bunch with their heads usually stuck too far up their own backsides to notice. Pity they've been listened to really, a bit more danger and they might've been wiped out and we'd be well rid of them.

[LiveinHope]

Haven't you got that the wrong way round?

Glad it's not just me trying to get my head around advice that would leave me faced with flames both blowing at me and supported by a constant supply of new oxygen.

[Bloo Loo]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3227162/British-Airways-plane-bursts-flames-Las-Vegas-McCarran-Airport-off.html

Hero BA pilot had already cheated death once before when his sports car crashed and his face was dragged along road leaving him needing reconstructive surgery.

He is due to retire next week this was his penultimate flight.

smacks of the Titanic in that respect....

[geezer466]

More pictures this morning in the Mail showing severe damage to the engine cowling...

The official narrative now looks correct.

They are saying the fire suppression equipment in the engine failed which probably means it's just as well the thing never got into the sky otherwise we would have another French Concorde on our hands.....

[workingpoor]

Multiple breaches of the engine case, around the high compressor area apparently, bits of the compressor spool found all over the runway.

http://news.sky.com/story/1550436/ba-jet-fire-multiple-breaches-of-engine-case

They must ground all aircraft running these engines. This engine exploded!

A UK-bound plane which burst into flames at Las Vegas Airport suffered multiple breaches of the engine case, investigators have found.

Parts of the high pressure compressor were also found on the runway, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

An initial examination of the British Airways jet revealed the left engine, fuselage and wing of the plane were substantially damaged in the fire.

The aircraft's flight data recorders are now being examined by experts.

The plane's 157 passengers, 10 crew and three pilots all escaped safely.

The report said there were several minor injuries as a result of the evacuation, mostly abrasions.

It added: "Initial examination of the left engine revealed multiple breaches of the engine case in the area around the high pressure compressor.

"Examination of the material recovered from runway found several pieces of the high pressure compressor spool (approximately 7-8 inches in length).

[happy_renting]

Multiple breaches of the engine case, around the high compressor area apparently, bits of the compressor spool found all over the runway.

http://news.sky.com/story/1550436/ba-jet-fire-multiple-breaches-of-engine-case

They must ground all aircraft running these engines. This engine exploded!

A UK-bound plane which burst into flames at Las Vegas Airport suffered multiple breaches of the engine case, investigators have found.

Parts of the high pressure compressor were also found on the runway, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

An initial examination of the British Airways jet revealed the left engine, fuselage and wing of the plane were substantially damaged in the fire.

The aircraft's flight data recorders are now being examined by experts.

The plane's 157 passengers, 10 crew and three pilots all escaped safely.

The report said there were several minor injuries as a result of the evacuation, mostly abrasions.

It added: "Initial examination of the left engine revealed multiple breaches of the engine case in the area around the high pressure compressor.

"Examination of the material recovered from runway found several pieces of the high pressure compressor spool (approximately 7-8 inches in length).

Just think - if you had been sitting in a window seat, you could have quenched the flames with your Tizer.

[workingpoor]

I think we are going to get a grounding.

Blast was not contained and possibly taken out the wiring for the controls to the engine and punctured the fuel tank in the wing.

As for the part that appears to have broken, the high-pressure compressor spool, Dr Colin Brown from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers told me that it's "most likely" to be from a "fatigue crack".

Dr Brown used to work at Rolls Royce and is an expert in fatigue crack growth.

Inspectors will now be looking at how new the part was and when it was last checked.

If it's relatively new, Dr Brown suggests they could ground aircraft with similar engines to check for similar problems.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34213996

[dgul]

I think we are going to get a grounding.

Blast was not contained and possibly taken out the wiring for the controls to the engine and punctured the fuel tank in the wing.

As for the part that appears to have broken, the high-pressure compressor spool, Dr Colin Brown from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers told me that it's "most likely" to be from a "fatigue crack".

Dr Brown used to work at Rolls Royce and is an expert in fatigue crack growth.

Inspectors will now be looking at how new the part was and when it was last checked.

If it's relatively new, Dr Brown suggests they could ground aircraft with similar engines to check for similar problems.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34213996

I'd probably agree. It wouldn't be an overreaction, even if the world's carriers would be significantly affected. I'd also add "If it's relatively old, Dr Dgul suggests they could ground aircraft with similar engines to check for similar problems."

[DEATH]

So there is no way this a bomb going off in the cargo hold upon pressurisation prior to take off then?

The engine looks fine to me and not to be the source of the fire...

[dgul]

So there is no way this a bomb going off in the cargo hold upon pressurisation prior to take off then?

The engine looks fine to me and not to be the source of the fire...

I don't think there is cargo at that location - that is where the central fuel tank should be.

[ccc]

My plane to benidorm didn't crash. Just for the record

[Gigantic Purple Slug]

My plane to benidorm didn't crash. Just for the record

That's only half the journey though.

[workingpoor]

Another BA 777 in emergency at heathrow this morning, flying from washington to london.

Fire crews scrambled, very little info and appears to be being played down.

http://news.sky.com/story/1550736/fire-crews-rush-to-ba-plane-after-emergency

[Gigantic Purple Slug]

I think we are going to get a grounding.

Blast was not contained and possibly taken out the wiring for the controls to the engine and punctured the fuel tank in the wing.

As for the part that appears to have broken, the high-pressure compressor spool, Dr Colin Brown from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers told me that it's "most likely" to be from a "fatigue crack".

Dr Brown used to work at Rolls Royce and is an expert in fatigue crack growth.

Inspectors will now be looking at how new the part was and when it was last checked.

If it's relatively new, Dr Brown suggests they could ground aircraft with similar engines to check for similar problems.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34213996

What's interesting is, despite what others on here have alluded to, is that the engine housing is designed to contain any failure in the engine. If you think about it the amount of energy in a spinning turbine is huge, especially at the speeds these things rotate at. That turbine is composed of hundreds of parts, in particular the turbine blades. I won't elaborate here, but you can easily find on the web the details of the tech that goes into manufacturing these, and the conditions they have to withstand. So it's not surprising that design standards demand that failure of the blades should not result in a breach of the engine housing. I don't know the design standards, maybe the housings are designed to withstand a breach by the blades but not by the spool, which might be considered less likely to fail. Tt raises some interesting questions.

[Bruce Banner]

What's interesting is, despite what others on here have alluded to, is that the engine housing is designed to contain any failure in the engine. If you think about it the amount of energy in a spinning turbine is huge, especially at the speeds these things rotate at. That turbine is composed of hundreds of parts, in particular the turbine blades. I won't elaborate here, but you can easily find on the web the details of the tech that goes into manufacturing these, and the conditions they have to withstand. So it's not surprising that design standards demand that failure of the blades should not result in a breach of the engine housing. I don't know the design standards, maybe the housings are designed to withstand a breach by the blades but not by the spool, which might be considered less likely to fail. Tt raises some interesting questions.

I believe that is the case.

[Gigantic Purple Slug]

I believe that is the case.

It's actually amazing to me that if the spool did fail that there was as little damage as there was. The housing may well not have contained the engine fail completely, but it did enough to prevent the cabin being breached.

[dgul]

It's actually amazing to me that if the spool did fail that there was as little damage as there was. The housing may well not have contained the engine fail completely, but it did enough to prevent the cabin being breached.

Looking at the pictures it does suggest that the hold was breached. I'd imagine that the only reason the cabin wasn't breached was because the wing was in the way.

[Errol]

Presumably an immediate inspection of all 777 engines will be required? At the very least.

[Bruce Banner]

Presumably an immediate inspection of all 777 engines will be required? At the very least.

Not all 777s are fitted with General Electric engines, Rolls Royce and Pratt & Whitney both supply engines for the type.

[Goat]

Not all 777s are fitted with General Electric engines, Rolls Royce and Pratt & Whitney both supply engines for the type.

You can't be too safe, ground them all!

[Gigantic Purple Slug]

Looking at the pictures it does suggest that the hold was breached. I'd imagine that the only reason the cabin wasn't breached was because the wing was in the way.

Well I would speculate that any additional shielding that the wing gives would be an inherent part of the design, as well as whether a hold breach or not was acceptable.

My guess is that it will take a long time to figure out what happened. It may be that a blade failed and that imbalanced the whole engine so much the spool destroyed itself in the process. Or maybe something got ingested into the engine.

But the bottom line to me is that all the people who got on that aircraft walked off it, and considering the nature of the failure and the forces involved, that's pretty impressive, irrespective of how spectacular the failure looked.