All
← Back to Squawk list
What would've happened if United flight 328 experienced its scary engine failure over the ocean
A United Airlines flight from Denver to Honolulu successfully executed a safe emergency landing on Saturday after suffering an fiery engine failure shortly after takeoff. Though debris spewed across Denver suburbs, the aircraft was able to quickly turn around and land back at Denver International Airport with no injuries or lives lost. The entire ordeal lasted less than 30 minutes since the failure occurred just miles from a major international airport. But as this aircraft was heading to… (www.businessinsider.com) More...
Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
Not sure why there is disbelief as this site has participation ranging from seasoned pilots and AMEs through to enthusiasts and trolls. It is what it is mate.
You stated "how would this we OK for ETOPS...The right engine was on fire after the pilots used the fire suppression."
An engine fire is an engine fire, the impacts are virtually the same even if you have 4 engines. If the fire spreads it can cause catastrophic damage.
In the case of a massive engine fire that burns up the plane, number of engines and ETOPS operations are of no consequence in the final outcome.
Looking at the video, the fire appeared to be contained in/on the engine, in my non professional guess, residual oil and fuel were burning and in an extended ETOPS situation likely would of burned out before too long.
An engine fire is an engine fire, the impacts are virtually the same even if you have 4 engines. If the fire spreads it can cause catastrophic damage.
In the case of a massive engine fire that burns up the plane, number of engines and ETOPS operations are of no consequence in the final outcome.
Looking at the video, the fire appeared to be contained in/on the engine, in my non professional guess, residual oil and fuel were burning and in an extended ETOPS situation likely would of burned out before too long.
Wasn't it not already proven that the "Engine Fire" was actually in-fact due to damage of the Hydraulic / Fuel lines to that engine even though both Hydraulic and Fuel lines WERE shut off / and valves closed after the catastrophic "Blade-Off" Event during high power climb out phase,,, and that Fire Suppression WAS actually used, and successful as after the engine was shut down and the Fire Warning Sounds and Notifications/Warnings actually went away? (Similarly but also obviously very different,,, to a situation such as the Front Wheel of your Car / Truck somehow having caught fire, you than putting out that fire with a portable extinguisher or something similar,,, but the Brake / Hydraulic lines have already been melted-damaged so now as your driving to a garage or home, Although the entire wheel is no longer on fire because you put it out,,, you still have highly flammable hydraulic brake fluid leaking and dripping onto VERY hot brake Disk / Rotor as your driving to safety which is going to of course cause smoke / even a small fire on the metal disk itself,,, NOT to be confused as being the same as the original "entire wheel on fire" situation that originally caused the damage resulting in the now unavoidable 2nd "on fire" looking situation?)
I was with some friends and their safety pilot that evening. The safety pilot said the fire ex would have been on the cowling and so would not have been used. If that’s not true, I’d love to be corrected so that my understanding improved.
Maybe an actual pilot can enlighten me, but I assume the procedure in such a scenario would be more involved than just "Turn back if < halfway, continue on if > halfway."
If you have a headwind, for example, wouldn't it be better to turn back, even if you were slightly past the halfway point, distance-wise?
If you have a headwind, for example, wouldn't it be better to turn back, even if you were slightly past the halfway point, distance-wise?
Also how could anyone think this would have been okay over the ocean, especially in an ETOPS scenario. The right engine was on fire after the pilots used the fire suppression (unless the NTSB say otherwise). Thank goodness the crew was able to get the aircraft back to DEN before the fire spread beyond the engine. Also with the amount of buffeting going the fuselage and wing could have suffered damage or failure over an extended period of time.
Also something must be said for what an amazing aircraft the 777 is to suffer such a severe event and fire and still land safely, the same goes for the excellent airmanship by the UA crew.