Get off my LAWN! "Grumpy Old Farts"

[Al Kraft]

IME, the flying metal coming through the window and fuselage that would have been a problem for people inside the cabin would have likely been from the engine failure itself - the kinetic energy of those fragments would have been undeterred by the pressure differential.

The flying debris (loose items) headed for the window/fuselage opening from inside the plane could have done some serious damage to anyone sitting in their path. My guess (and it's purely a guess) is that even a seat belt would not have kept a person's head from striking the window area when the decompression occurred. Explosive decompression is aptly named.

As with any aircraft mishap, a lot of investigation needs to be done to tell the story with a high degree of confidence. However, what does seem to be clear at this point is that both passengers and crew (especially the pilot) showed calm and professionalism that unquestionably saved lives.

 

[BassmanPaul]

I remember a case where the cockpit window departed the aircraft and the captain was sucked out. His feet and legs were still in the aircraft with crew members hanging on to them for dear life. miraculously he survived and went on to fly again.

 

[agedhorse]

It's easily forgotten or overlooked that the angular velocity contains a squared factor in the energy equation. Especially significant when the turbine is spinning at over 20k RPM!

 

[RoadRanger]

There's a Kevlar (or maybe something newer?) scatter shield to contain the debris. Dunno why that failed? Friend of mine had a summer job at P&W working at the spin pits (woo!) and bird strike testing (nasty).

 

[BadExample]

There's a Kevlar (or maybe something newer?) scatter shield to contain the debris. Dunno why that failed? Friend of mine had a summer job at P&W working at the spin pits (woo!) and bird strike testing (nasty).

I'm guessing not on that aircraft or not strong enough. If one blade goes, either nothing happens, or all of them go The jets I worked on had a danger zone painted on to avoid during turn up, but after she lights up, everyone was all over it. Modern fighters don't need much ground support, if at all.

 

[agedhorse]

Like in amplifiers, no protection method is ever going to be perfect.

 

[BadExample]

Plus amps and flying are still way safer than driving!

 

[Al Kraft]

I'm not sure which engine was on that aircraft, but am assuming it was a CFM56 variant. IIRC typically N1 (the fan and low-pressure compressor and related turbine speed) is around 5000 RPM and N2 (high-pressure compressor and related turbine speed) is closer to 15,000 RPM.

My guess is that the fan blade failure was associated with metal fatigue as this is not unheard of in these engines, although I would argue that the CFM family of engines has an outstanding record of safety and reliability in general. The fact that the aircraft was not lost and that loss of life/injuries were minimal is a testament to how robust aviation systems are despite their need to be extremely light weight.

 

[BadExample]

I generally get my news from the GOF thread. If it's important, it's here. So when I heard about this, I googled it and the latest news was BBC. It said one of the blades was metal fatigued, and the poor thing that got sucked out, pulled in and rushed to the hospital woke up dead. I passenger said there was blood everywhere. If this is not accurate, I blame the BBC and Sir Paul, The Brit.

 

[Ken Morgan]

Abstinence is the perfect protection...

Wait...was that a segue or do we need to keep on about a really sad topic?

 

[BadExample]

Abstinence is the perfect protection...

Wait...was that a segue or do we need to keep on about a really sad topic?

I would argue, I'm a good truck driver. I can pull out without loosing my load.

 

[beans-on-toast]

Human error is sometimes responsible for problems. Parts are changed and procedures are sometimes not followed. Every part needs to have paperwork and errors can be made there. Incorrect parts can be installed, inspections can be performed improperly and details missed. Using something as simple as the wrong fastener in an engine can lead to a hose rubbing which can bringing down a plane.

At the same time, everything can be done above board and a failure can occur. This promps inspection orders after the fact. Improving safety can come at a tragic cost. Remember the Aloha Airlines 737 that did a lot of short hops and lost part of the fusealage due to metal fatigue.

 

[BadExample]

Human error is sometimes responsible for problems.

Not allowed in Naval Aviation. Even inspections are inspected by QA.

 

[beans-on-toast]

Not allowed in Naval Aviation. Even inspections are inspected by QA.

Flying on a wing and a prayer should be the exception.

 

[BadExample]

Yes sir. Often in military operations, failure is not an option. It's too bad that life and death civilian situations are not held to the same level of responsibility.

 

[beans-on-toast]

The US military needs that promised large infusion of funding to keep to keep the aircraft in the air.

Invalid Link Removed

Dozens of F-35 fighter jets grounded in US due to oxygen deprivation

The list goes on....

More tragic is the high and increasing number of training deaths.

 

[BadExample]

The US military needs that promised large infusion of funding to keep to keep the aircraft in the air.

Invalid Link Removed

Dozens of F-35 fighter jets grounded in US due to oxygen deprivation

The list goes on....

More tragic is the high and increasing number of training deaths.

History repeats itself!

 

[RoadRanger]

I'm not sure which engine was on that aircraft, but am assuming it was a CFM56 variant.

Yeah, buddy of mine (I live in P&W/UnitedTech land) said it was a CFM56 and they are recently problematic and had a FCC inspection order out on their blades before this.

 

[BadExample]

IDK how much NDI they can do now for the blades. During my time is was a boroscope (camera), a mech and QA. Other parts had different tests, like some bolts were coated with a dye, then inspected under UV light to check for cracks. We never lost a blade in flight or on deck. We also clocked 100,000 flight hours without any incidents on those old birds (under pretty extreme conditions). FLY NAVY!

 

[agedhorse]

I was thinking the high pressure compressor/turbine assy. spun faster than 15k RPM. I was sure the low pressure section was much slower simply due to the diameter.

Still supremely impressive given the heat and loading.