Three Words You Never Want To Hear : “Uncontained Engine Failure”
Yesterday morning an incident involving a Qantas Boeing 747-438 flying from San Francisco to Sydney caused Julie Johnsson, the Chicago Tribune’s aviation reporter, to Tweet “3 words you never want to hear: “uncontained engine failure” from her Twitter account.
While the incident involving Qantas Flight 47 left the flight crew a number of options, including shutting down the affected engine about 45 minutes after departing San Francisco International Airport and requesting a priority route and and clearance back to SFO, the incident its self is quite scary for both the crew and passengers.
So … what does an uncontained engine failure look like? A passenger captured video of the incident from their mobile phone.
While this incident ended well for the passengers and crew with no injures in the air or on the ground … and even the no significant damage to the aircraft, aside from an engine replacement … I know this is something I’d not want to experience as a passenger.
Below is a SkyNews story including video of the engine surge flaring back from the engine past the fuselage.
Happy Flying!
(Click Image To Launch Video)
This is neat that a passenger got it on his phone. The miracle of cell phones these days. I am a flight attendant and have been on an aircraft that blew it’s engine. I have to admit though that I kind of knew what had happened since it sounded like a great big tire blow out, which in the air was impossible, and so I wasn’t scared. That’s what the other engine is for! We actually landed incredibly smooth which is not something that I expected. Just know that your pilots are highly trained professionals.
I am glad that the results were as well for this group!