Southwest 737 engine explosion, Florida

[24601]

BREAKING Southwest Boeing 737 #WN3472 loses part of left engine after inflight explosion | AIRLIVE.net

Southwest airlines 737 New Orleans - Orlando emergency landing in Pensacola after damage to left engine reported as an "explosion" by passengers. No injuries.

The report quotes a passenger who claims that the plane descended very rapidly and the oxygen masks dropped.

 

[turtlemichael]

I'm currently on an AA flight between DFW and PDX and just read of this on The Age site. Southwest Airlines plane's engine torn apart in mid-air, forcing emergency landing I suspect that those on board have had a bit of luck if debris was flying round the wing, tail and fuselage. Glad it wasn't me.

 

[under the radar]

gotta love clickbait (social)media headings

 

[turtlemichael]

gotta love clickbait (social)media headings

I suppose it depends on your definition of clickbait. To me it is factual and reporting a news item of interest to frequent flyers.

 

[eric2011]

I suppose it depends on your definition of clickbait. To me it is factual and reporting a news item of interest to frequent flyers.

specially nervous ones, and the likes of yourself who is in the air and myself who will be in a day or so. Makes us all just a little "jumpy"

 

[24601]

A passenger quoted in the article said the oxygen masks dropped and the plane rapidly descended. Is the engine related somehow to cabin pressurisation, or what might have caused that to happen?

 

[SFSC]

A passenger quoted in the article said the oxygen masks dropped and the plane rapidly descended. Is the engine related somehow to cabin pressurisation, or what might have caused that to happen?

Possibly debris from an uncontained turbine wheel failure impacting the fuselage?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Possibly debris from an uncontained turbine wheel failure impacting the fuselage?

Pictures on the news tonight showed damage to the fuselage in the gap where there's a missing window.

 

[jb747]

Southwest airlines 737 New Orleans - Orlando emergency landing in Pensacola after damage to left engine reported as an "explosion" by passengers. No injuries.

I sort of doubt that there was an 'explosion'. Nothing there to go bang. Which isn't to say that it wasn't noisy.

The report quotes a passenger who claims that the plane descended very rapidly and the oxygen masks dropped.

Masks drop automatically if the cabin exceeds roughly 14,000', or if selected from the coughpit.

specially nervous ones, and the likes of yourself who is in the air and myself who will be in a day or so. Makes us all just a little "jumpy"

Look at it another way. This is an unusual failure, which would seem to have been well handled by the pilots. It's the media's job to make an event bigger than it is...and the pilots' to make it smaller.

A passenger quoted in the article said the oxygen masks dropped and the plane rapidly descended. Is the engine related somehow to cabin pressurisation, or what might have caused that to happen?

Ignoring any pressurisation issues, the aircraft would have had to descend because of the engine failure. Max altitude with an engine out is most likely in the mid twenties. You can't hang around up high, as the speed will bleed rapidly.

Some of the debris has hit the fuselage, and looks to have made a small breach. I expect the cabin was climbing, but probably not terribly rapidly. But, once you find that you've lost control of the cabin, that becomes the primary problem...not the engine.

Possibly debris from an uncontained turbine wheel failure impacting the fuselage?

Debris for sure, but it is not an uncontained failure. All of the rotating bits are still in place. The failure is of the inlet. I don't think I've ever seen that before.

 

[Major]

There is a couple more photos on AV Herald

Accident: Southwest B737 near Pensacola on Aug 27th 2016, uncontained engine failure

 

[Quickstatus]

Looks like the engine air inlet cowling had broken off

Does not look like an uncontained engine failure - the main fan is still intact as are all the turbines behind it.

 

[dajop]

I suppose it depends on your definition of clickbait. To me it is factual and reporting a news item of interest to frequent flyers.

To me the AFF header is not clickbait, but this headline definitely is clickbait, given the current environment, I am referring to the bit "after inflight explosion", enough ambiguity to imply the T word, not an engine failure:

BREAKING Southwest Boeing 737 #WN3472 loses part of left engine after inflight explosion | AIRLIVE.net