Comments on: Delta Engine Failure

By: Teresa Y.

Teresa Y. — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 03:04:20 +0000

I was just on a Delta flight from SFO to JFK and we experienced “engine failure” at 30,000 feet about half way into out flight. The same thing happened…a loud sound, the engine puttered and died, and then the plane lost thrust. I was concerned at first, but then freaked out when the 2 flight attendants in front of me RAN to their seats, strapped themselves in, and then held hands and PRAYED! Shouldn’t they have more experience than that in situations like this?! We ended up landing in Omaha with $14 food vouchers and an 8 hour delay.

We were on a 737 plane…do you know if they are also equipped with the “bad” engines?

By: Steve D

Steve D — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 19:25:59 +0000

I was actually on the Aug 6, Delta flt out of LAS,
and was sitting, window seat right behind the engine.
The plane got about 100 yds or so down the runway, full engine throttle when a large boom sounded, along with an explosion, and flames shooting out of the engine. the plane quickly came to a stop. The fire appeared to go out within seconds, and after about 1 hour on the runway, the plane made it back to the gate. Apparently i was the only one who witnessed the exposion (which was basically the turbines breaking apart and shooting out the back of the engine), because when i told alot of the other passengers what i saw, they were horrified. This was later backed up when the pilot deemed it a catostrofic engine failure.
A new plane arrived 3hours later, but there was no crew to fly it. so a total of 9 hours later, we took off. for the 9 hours we each recieved a $7 food voucher, and were told on the new flight that we were required to pay for our dinners.
i guess an engine failure + 9 hour delay only = $7 food voucher. we did get a $100 crdit toward a future delta flt, which i probably won’t use after reading all the safety issues Delta has.

By: Yorkshire Pud

Yorkshire Pud — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 12:29:09 +0000

Jesus, scary stuff! I have never experienced anythig like that on a plane although I have a friend who once took off, had to turn around, get off the plane whislt a team of mechanics messed with the engine then got back on the same plane for an 8 hour flight! There is no way I would have gotten on the same plane without a ton of booze in me!

By: Poker Cats

Poker Cats — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 01:37:51 +0000

I think this AP story from the October incident fills in some of the details you are wondering about, particularly the part about inspecting the planes on scheduled service, not pulling all of them from service.

Delta to inspect 757s after engine failure
18-10-2008 – 06:43
Delta Air Lines Inc. said Friday it will inspect the engines on its 132 Boeing 757 jetliners after one engine failed and another on an American Airlines plane developed cracks.

The National Transportation Safety Board has asked the Federal Aviation Administration to order the inspections, citing “serious concerns that warrant immediate action by the FAA.”

As of Friday the FAA had not made a decision. It has said it needs to determine if all Pratt & Whitney PW2037 engines need inspections, or just those made during a certain time period.

Delta spokeswoman Betsy Talton said Delta will inspect its planes during scheduled maintenance, rather than pulling the planes out of service to do the checks.

The NTSB began examining the engines after Delta pilots heard a bang and lost engine power during the takeoff roll at the Las Vegas airport on Aug. 6. The plane returned to the parking area and no one was hurt.

Investigators found that four turbine blades had broken loose and hurtled into the jet’s engine. They also found several broken, cracked or missing lugs that hold turbine blades.

The NTSB said the engine’s case is designed to contain one broken turbine blade, but not the four that came loose on the Delta flight. And it was just good luck that the blades flew down, because if they had flown left they “would have been directed at the fuel tank in the wing, which could have resulted in a fuel leak and fire,” the NTSB wrote.

Delta told the NTSB that it had discovered damaged lugs while doing work on an American Airlines jetliner with the same PW2037 engine. It was not clear when the work was done, but American no longer flies 757s with those engines, a spokesman said. The NTSB also said damaged lugs have been found in four other PW2037 engines. It said Pratt & Whitney has not shared information about those other four incidents.

American got 19 Pratt-powered 757s when it bought TWA, but it returned those planes to leasing companies because the engines differed from those in the rest of its 757 fleet, making them more expensive to maintain and operate, spokesman Tim Smith said. The last 757 with that engine left American’s fleet in October 2007. He said American, a unit of AMR Corp., did not get rid of the TWA planes because of concerns about the engines.

The PW2037 engines are used on 289 aircraft at airlines that also include UAL Corp.’s United and Northwest Airlines Corp. United spokeswoman Megan McCarthy said on Friday that it is not doing immediate inspections but will work with the FAA “until something is determined” about what is needed.

By: Nancy

Nancy — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 22:54:00 +0000

Nat –

Michael’s brother (my stepson) works for Delta. If you give me the flight info, I bet I could find out what kind of plane that was.