Southwest 1380

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
04/18/2018 at 09:36 • Filed to: planelopnik, southwest airlines

The Seattle Times has a very good article about the engine failure that led to the death of a passenger on SWA 1380 yesterday. Note the missing turbine blade near the NTSB inspector’s elbow in this photo. Other than that, hub looks mostly intact, but that NTSB guy has a much better view.

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H/T to f86sabre for the link

DISCUSSION (27)

WilliamsSW > ttyymmnn
04/18/2018 at 10:10

I’m sure that they’ll learn more on how to reduce/prevent this type of engine failure going forward, but it’s amazing and impressive to me that this was the first US airline fatality in 9 years. And impressive streak - hopefully the next one is far longer.

Vlachen > ttyymmnn
04/18/2018 at 10:17

Check out the NTSB B Roll video:

I’ve seen a lot of discussion regarding a containment failure during the blade off event. but take a look at where the busted window is: nowhere near the plane of the fan hub. It looks to be aft of the wing, which would be aft of the engine body. That tells me that the blade off was contained.

I’m willing to bet that the NTSB investigation shows that parts detached from the casing and nacelle due to the large impact and subsequent imbalance vibration, and those items impacted the wing and fuselage, causing the leading edge damage shown, and impacting a window hard enough to blow it out.

As for what caused the blade-off, they’ve probably got a good idea already. Fatigue failure has some very specific and obvious indicators.

Rico > ttyymmnn
04/18/2018 at 10:40

How did the passenger die? There is literally no information on this person that I could find. Were they killed by the explosion? Shrapnel? Heart attack?

ttyymmnn > Vlachen
04/18/2018 at 10:40

Interesting video, thanks for posting. I would love to be able to hear what those guys are saying. There are a lot of players involved here. CFM made the engine, Boeing made the nacelle, SWA was responsible for inspection of the blades. This was kind of a freaky accident, but the last time SWA lost a cowling like this debris pierced the fuselage, just not in the pax cabin.

ttyymmnn > WilliamsSW
04/18/2018 at 10:42

Exactly. Despite the high profile of accidents like this, air travel remains extremely safe.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Vlachen
04/18/2018 at 11:02

Wut? Check the date.

Kinja'd!!!

WilliamsSW > ttyymmnn
04/18/2018 at 11:05

Yes - but this ‘first fatality for Southwest’ BS has gotta stop. It comes with an enormous asterisk and the words have to be twisted (“passenger”, “onboard” etc) in order for it to be true. Their first fatality was in December 2005 at Midway. Still a fantastic safety record that they should be proud of, however, and condolences to that woman’s family and friends.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Rico
04/18/2018 at 11:05

From what the news is saying the woman was partially sucked out of the plane through the window.

ttyymmnn > Rico
04/18/2018 at 11:09

There’s a lot we don’t know. We don’t know how far she was sucked out (I’ve heard “half way”), the extent of her injuries, how much blood she lost and where it was coming from (passengers report “blood everywhere”). She could have had serious shrapnel wounds from the explosion and bled out, she could have been beaten to death against the side of the aircraft. We don’t know how long she was outside. Once back in the plane, she was given CPR by passengers and crew for 20 minutes as the plane descended, so her heart had already stopped. There have been at least two cases ( BA 5390 , US Navy B/N Keith Gallagher ) where people were partially sucked out of a plane and lived. But I can’t imagine the odds are in your favor if this happens.

ttyymmnn > WilliamsSW
04/18/2018 at 11:12

I was telling my older son about this and said, “It’s SWA’s first passenger fatality. They have killed some people on the ground, though.” Really, that one should count against SWA in their ledger, since it was their plane that overran and went through the fence.

So that leaves just Qantas, right? They’ve come close , but no cigar.

ttyymmnn > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
04/18/2018 at 11:14

Oops.

WilliamsSW > ttyymmnn
04/18/2018 at 11:22

AFAIK, it’s only 1 person on the ground, unless there have been other incidents.

Qantas carries an asterisk, too - they’ve never had a fatal *jet* crash.

Aerolineas Argentinas deserves some credit, too— only 1 fatality since 1970, and that person was actually killed by bad seafood (no, really).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerol%C3%ADneas_Argentinas_Flight_386

Vlachen > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
04/18/2018 at 11:25

Apparently someone has been signing their checks (hashtag whostilldoesthat) wrong for a while.

WilliamsSW > Vlachen
04/18/2018 at 11:30

I just love the fact that the one guy looks like Bruce Campbell to me.

Rico > ttyymmnn
04/18/2018 at 11:36

Thanks for the info. I could not find this while looking this up yesterday.

Rico > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
04/18/2018 at 11:37

Terrible way to go.

ttyymmnn > Rico
04/18/2018 at 11:47

Absolutely.

ttyymmnn > WilliamsSW
04/18/2018 at 11:49

Kinja'd!!!

I guess they had the fish.

wafflesnfalafel > Vlachen
04/18/2018 at 11:56

yeah - I noticed that too, damage to the window is not where you would have expected the blade to go unless it maybe violently tumbled around the intake nacelle first or something... Honestly, I figure she must have been hit in the head with the debris that completely busted the window out... likely never felt anything...

Vlachen > wafflesnfalafel
04/18/2018 at 12:06

I haven’t heard that whatever took out the window came into the cabin. Debris wouldn’t have had to hit her head for an injury, just bust the window and let Delta P do the rest.

Grindintosecond > Rico
04/18/2018 at 12:36

32000 feet is near vacuum for a human when this happened and sucked her out. Took 2 men to hold her and drag her back in.. The effects on the lungs and shock to the system can be terrible not to mention the beating 400+ mph air will do. Well hear more but it saddens me knowing this happened. Kudos to the CREW for working hard to get it on the ground.

For Sweden > ttyymmnn
04/18/2018 at 13:00

Everyone’s discovering that something as seemingly apolitical as an AD is extremely political.

P.S. check out the size and font weight of the FAA and NTSB jacket logos.

For Sweden > ttyymmnn
04/18/2018 at 13:02

I would love to be able to hear what those guys are saying.

Why can’t this happen when it’s warm outside?

Shh the camera’s rolling.

ttyymmnn > For Sweden
04/18/2018 at 13:18

They had warmer jackets, before the dark times. Before the Empire.

CompactLuxuryFan > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever
04/18/2018 at 13:31

Philidelphia

Battery Tender Unnecessary > ttyymmnn
04/18/2018 at 16:26

A good possibility would be hemorrhagic stroke from a “redout” if her head or upper half were out of the window.

ttyymmnn > Battery Tender Unnecessary
04/18/2018 at 16:31

Yup. 520 mph makes for a hell of a lot of wind.