# SWA ENGINE FAILURE!



## FLYBOYJ (Dec 5, 2007)




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## evangilder (Dec 5, 2007)

Yikes!


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## ccheese (Dec 5, 2007)

What'd it do Joe, swallow "something" ?

Something like that could ruin your whole day !!

Charles


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## FLYBOYJ (Dec 5, 2007)

Don't know what exactly happened but it looked like 3/4 of the engine canned!


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## Glider (Dec 5, 2007)

A blade failure should have been contained within the engine. If it did come out then they are very lucky that it didn't head towards the aircraft. Nasty


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## Gnomey (Dec 5, 2007)

Yeah really nasty. Totally knackered at least the first half of the engine by the looks of things - would say that it is time for a new one...


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## T4.H (Dec 5, 2007)

Something like this should never happen.
If the debris parts would have broken out on the other side...
If it could land with many big shrapnel holes?


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## FLYBOYJ (Dec 5, 2007)

T4.H said:


> Something like this should never happen.


Actually this is a very uncommon occurrence but it does happen.



T4.H said:


> If the debris parts would have broken out on the other side...
> If it could land with many big shrapnel holes?


Yes, I believe this happened on climb out and the plane did come around and land (I hope to have more info on this in the next few days)


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## Matt308 (Dec 5, 2007)

That's not supposed to happen. 

Kevlar protection and turbine blade design is supposed to minimize the risk of a rotorburst. You won't see that often, I assure you.

Southwest Airlines 737.


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## Matt308 (Dec 5, 2007)

Ooops. Sorry. I guess the SWA statement was the bleeding obvious.


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## FLYBOYJ (Dec 5, 2007)




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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Dec 6, 2007)

Uncommon yes but accidents happen. Kudos to the flight crew.


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## Matt308 (Dec 11, 2007)

If you are to lose a rotor blade, that's the side to lose it on.


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## wilbur1 (Dec 11, 2007)

Stupid Pidgeon, i told you no more turbines, you will just hurt yourself. seriously, my father worked for psa and gd he would see damage way beyond this just from a finch or or dove. If the impellors decide that a mass will be solid then that mass will act like a solid......especialy at 80,000 rpm. no matter whats in its way, steel, aluminum, titanium,or unobtanium. Check the testing, they could drive a 1 pound pidgeon through concrete.


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Dec 11, 2007)

We had several birds fly into our engines in Iraq in flight. One time it pretty much tore the whole engine apart. Sparks were flying. It was pretty hairy at 50 feet.


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## Konigstiger205 (Dec 11, 2007)

We had a few Mig21 crashing because of birds...one crashed near a gas station (thank God it didn't "land" on it) and another hit someones house...fortunately nobody was home at the time...the rest crashed on fields.


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## wilbur1 (Dec 11, 2007)

Here in San diego we have people that use hawks at the airport just to keep them away, i will try to find some pics of the engines that suckrd them up


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## Thorlifter (Dec 11, 2007)

wilbur1 said:


> they could drive a 1 pound pidgeon through concrete.



What do you mean? After the bird came out the other end it could go through concrete?

Sorry, but I'm a turbine/jet. I know .01% about them and that's it. Let's see....they are loud. They go fast. Yep, that's about it.

If birds do this, I'm really surprised this doesn't happen more often.


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## FLYBOYJ (Dec 11, 2007)

wilbur1 said:


> Check the testing, they could drive a 1 pound pidgeon through concrete.



Only if it was frozen or going Mach 3.


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## SoD Stitch (Dec 11, 2007)

Looks like the first stage of the compressor came apart; I'd say one or two blades broke loose, and the imbalance caused the rest of the stage to come apart.

And, yeah, it's a good thing the blades came out on the opposite side of the engine; they would've punched a hole right through the airframe.


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## Matt308 (Dec 11, 2007)

wilbur1 said:


> Stupid Pidgeon, i told you no more turbines, you will just hurt yourself. seriously, my father worked for psa and gd he would see damage way beyond this just from a finch or or dove. If the impellors decide that a mass will be solid then that mass will act like a solid......especialy at 80,000 rpm. no matter whats in its way, steel, aluminum, titanium,or unobtanium. Check the testing, they could drive a 1 pound pidgeon through concrete.



You make this stuff up as you go or just delusional?


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## wilbur1 (Dec 12, 2007)

What i was saying is that when it hits that blade it is instantly propelled to speed, usiing the pidgeon as a metaphor. my dad use to test the turbines for Solar and they would throw all sorts of things in them. He told me a guy once left a wrench in the test cell and it was picked up at full throttle and punctured the blast plate. ( what was left of the wrench, the only way they could identify what it was, was by the stamping of the manufacturer) completey destroyed everything in the cell, even the frame that held the eng.


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## Matt308 (Dec 12, 2007)

I think the Rockwell Hardness of a wrench is a bit different than a room temperature bird.


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## wilbur1 (Dec 12, 2007)

Thanks Matt. You should come over and try my sisters turkey, they have a new rockwell just for it......ckr5000000000000.89995. They are looking at for a new source of depleted Uranium


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## wilbur1 (Dec 12, 2007)

By the way Matt iam not being crass i'm sorry if i sounded rude, i dont mean to be. my typing is terrible i know, i just a dumb mechanic.


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## HealzDevo (May 1, 2008)

I think what is being said is that as the bird goes in the air is spinning it really fast. When objects are spun really fast at ultra high revolutions some of the normal laws of physics go a bit crazy and therefore a bird at that speed does a lot more damage than it normally would because it is going faster than normal. It is like the principle of take a 1 cent coin or a 5 cent cent Australian up to the top of a building like the Empire State Building and it will accelerate to have enough force to kill a pedestrian when it hits the pavement below. That is my understanding of how it works- correct me if I am wrong please...


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## Graeme (May 1, 2008)

HealzDevo said:


> It is like the principle of take a 1 cent coin or a 5 cent cent Australian up to the top of a building like the Empire State Building and it will accelerate to have enough force to kill a pedestrian when it hits the pavement below. That is my understanding of how it works- correct me if I am wrong please...



Disproved on a Mythbusters episode Healz. Terminal velocity of the coin is limited such that even from a 'great' height the injury inflicted by the coin is merely superficial.


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## fly boy (May 1, 2008)

could have been pice of space rock


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## FLYBOYJ (May 1, 2008)

fly boy said:


> could have been pice of space rock



Please just pull the trigger!!!!


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## fly boy (May 1, 2008)

what dang trigger?!?!?!?


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## FLYBOYJ (May 1, 2008)

fly boy said:


> what dang trigger?!?!?!?


Look at your avatar and pull...PLEASE!


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## HealzDevo (May 2, 2008)

Okay, I missed that episode of Mythbusters. I didn't know they busted that myth. I always thought it was real physics. 
Healz.


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## fly boy (May 2, 2008)

FLYBOYJ said:


> Look at your avatar and pull...PLEASE!



oh ok i was thinking of changing it anyway


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## FLYBOYJ (May 2, 2008)

fly boy said:


> oh ok i was thinking of changing it anyway



OK - now you're learning - how would you like a nice pink bunny rabbit as a permant avatar?????


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## fly boy (May 2, 2008)

FLYBOYJ said:


> OK - now you're learning - how would you like a nice pink bunny rabbit as a permant avatar?????



no way dude i'd rather not.


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## FLYBOYJ (May 2, 2008)

fly boy said:


> no way dude i'd rather not.



right answer.....


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## SoD Stitch (May 2, 2008)

FLYBOYJ said:


> Please just pull the trigger!!!!



LOL!

It just gets better and better, doesn't it . . . . .


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## Matt308 (May 2, 2008)

...and I thought there was going to be some pertinent update to this post. Give him the pink bunny.


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## solo (May 17, 2008)

I have a question.............. Aren't the engine are design to stop forgein object going through it?

(for me in this case it seem that damage had been done out side)


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## FLYBOYJ (May 17, 2008)

solo said:


> I have a question.............. Aren't the engine are design to stop forgein object going through it?
> 
> (for me in this case it seem that damage had been done out side)


NO........


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## Milos Sijacki (May 18, 2008)

What the hell happened? Applaud the crew for their being able to land with that kind of engine failure. Bird??


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## FLYBOYJ (May 18, 2008)

I believe it "threw" a compressor blade.


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## solo (May 18, 2008)

Ah I see.....this is the first time I see anything like this


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## Henk (May 18, 2008)

Thats nothing. Last year a engine of one of the airlines here in SA, a B-737 200 fell off wile taking off. The pilot mannered to turn and land the plane safely. It was one for the history books since it has not been done a lot.


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## solo (May 18, 2008)

I can say that he is a very good pilot.


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## Henk (May 20, 2008)

Yup, here is some pictures of the plane and the engine.

Nationwide emergency landing































The airline went bankrupt this year and it is all due to BEE. (Black Economic Empowerment)

From airliners.net.


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## FLYBOYJ (May 20, 2008)

Pretty Wild!


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## Henk (May 20, 2008)

Welcome to Africa mate. LOL


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## eddie_brunette (May 20, 2008)

Henk said:


> Thats nothing. Last year a engine of one of the airlines here in SA, a B-737 200 fell off wile taking off. The pilot mannered to turn and land the plane safely. It was one for the history books since it has not been done a lot.



and look where is the airline company now!!!!
   done dusted rusted broken


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## fly boy (May 20, 2008)

solo said:


> I have a question.............. Aren't the engine are design to stop forgein object going through it?
> 
> (for me in this case it seem that damage had been done out side)



i think so i don't know


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## Henk (May 20, 2008)

eddie_brunette said:


> and look where is the airline company now!!!!
> done dusted rusted broken



He he he... That is BEE for you mate, nothing else.


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## FLYBOYJ (May 20, 2008)

Actually I think there was at least one over 737 that lost an engine like that. That's an old -200 and it has no pylon. Having flown both in a full motion sim I could tell you "The Guppy" is a pretty easy flying and rugged aircraft.


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## buzzard (May 20, 2008)

Hmmm...Quite obviously the result of a space rock-fed pigeon thrown by an economically empowered black S. African.

On the subject of jettisoned engines, didn't a DC-10 or two, dump one? I vaguely remember something about bolts failing due to metallurgical flaws.


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## FLYBOYJ (May 20, 2008)

buzzard said:


> On the subject of jettisoned engines, didn't a DC-10 or two, dump one? I vaguely remember something about bolts failing due to metallurgical flaws.


Yep - in 1979 - that was due to the maintenance personnel removing the engine and the pylon together utilizing a forklift for the process - when reinstalling it they were cracking the pylon thus the end result.


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## Henk (May 20, 2008)

FLYBOYJ said:


> Actually I think there was at least one over 737 that lost an engine like that. That's an old -200 and it has no pylon. Having flown both in a full motion sim I could tell you "The Guppy" is a pretty easy flying and rugged aircraft.



So you say FlyboyJ that the older version is better?


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## FLYBOYJ (May 20, 2008)

Henk said:


> So you say FlyboyJ that the older version is better?


Simpler to maintain IMO but I do know it burns way more fuel than the later models.


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## Henk (May 21, 2008)

Ok, I see what you mean.

The pilot and the crew all got awards for bringing the plane back safely to the ground.


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## solo (May 21, 2008)

That's a good thing.

Now we all know that there's a good pilots out there to save our days.


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## Henk (May 21, 2008)

If we get a airline crash in SA or something related it is big news. Out pilots are very well trained.


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## Matt308 (May 22, 2008)

Unfortunately Africa is on the watch list of virtually every world regulatory authority. And for good reason. Africa with its minimal ATM infrastructure has the greatest potential to embrace modern technologies (i.e., GNSS, ADS-B, CDTI, CPDLC, RNP, SatVoice, etc) since there is little legacy ground architecture requiring long term return on investment. It sure would be nice to see African nation states get their act together and formulate a ATM plan and infrastructure similar to EUROCONTROL or ASIA to maximize this potential. But alas, not likely to happen.


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