Engine Trouble Forces American Airlines Flight Back To O'Hare

[smallprint]

UPDATED: 3:00 pm CDT September 16, 2004

CHICAGO -- No injuries were reported after an American Airlines flight headed for Philadelphia was forced to return to O'Hare International Airport because of engine problems. NBC5 received calls from witnesses on the ground who said they could see "orange flames" shooting out of the engines. Witnesses said the plane then turned around and headed back. A police dispatcher said parts from the plane also fell to the ground.

It was American Airlines flight no. 1374, with 107 passengers aboard, according to NBC5. Witnesses told NBC5 they heard an explosion before spotting the fire near the engines on the plane. A woman calling from the airport said the plane was surrounded by emergency vehicles as it landed. The woman said the engine area of the plane appeared to be blackened.

http://www.nbc5.com/news/3736848/detail.html


(Tipped off by this thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x831941 )

[Jacobin]

1. What kind of jet was it?

Sounds like the compressor blades came apart, which happens infrequently

[smallprint]

3. I don't know, but here's some pics:

http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/local_story_260154812.html

click on slideshow.

[LastDemocratInSC]

15. It's a McDonnell-Douglas (now Boeing) MD-88 (no more text)

[fudge stripe cookays]

2. Holy shit!

Sounds bad!

I just watched something a couple weeks ago about Flight 191, which crashed at O'Hare in 1979.

They lost an entire aileron and engine as they were taking off, taking the front portion of the wing with it. It flipped over and killed everyone on board.

I was too young to know any of the details of it, but I do remember them grounding the DC-10 for awhile. Turned out that improper maintenance procedures were putting hairline cracks in the ailerons; 200 something people dead. Why were they skimping on maintenence?

To save money of course. Why aren't I surprised?
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[smirkymonkey]

6. I knew someone on Flight 191 out of O'Hare

she was an "older" girl (18) in town that all of us admired and wanted to be like. She was on her way to Disneyland in CA to work there for the summer and couldn't wait.

To this day, it haunts me. I am terrified of airplanes even though I fly (heavily medicated) and her story gave me a lasting impression that whenever any thing good is about to happen, life comes along to cut you down.

I just flew out of O'Hare a few weeks ago on AA (un-medicated, short flight)through one of those awful storms and was never so happy to see the ground in my life.

These stories freak me out! I have always expected that maintenance would suffer due to unhealthy bottom lines, most likely due to mismanagement. The entire US Airline industry is an accident waiting to happen, imo. :scared:

[napi21]

12. You are wrong about maintenence suffering at most airlines.

There have been cuts in almost every other area...ticketing, flight attendants, food service, etc, but NOT maintenence. Believe me, I know. My son works for one of the biggies, and info like that travels through the industry faster than a story on the internet!

You have to remember, a plane is a machine, and even with the best care, sometimes has a problem. Safety is the primary concern of any airline.

[fudge stripe cookays]

14. 191 was a case of...

cutting corners to repair engines.

There was supposed to be one step where the engine was removed out of the aileron.

Then another step where the aileron itself was removed to be put back on later.

The maintenance people at American (against the advisement of the maker-- I forget which one) were doing this whole procedure in one step.

On this particular plane, they used a forklift that had to be perfectly weighted to remove the aileron with no adverse effects. The first guy had started removing it, and then there was a shift change.

Before the second shift guy got to it, they think there was a slight pressure change in the forklift, and the lift dropped a tiny bit. This slight drop caused a hairline fracture inside the aileron. There was no trouble for months, but countless takeoffs and landings caused extra stress.

It finally broke loose the day 191 crashed.

The airlines may not think they are cutting important corners, but I'll bet it's being done-- however small they think the procedures might be, they could put people's lives in danger. If they were doing it in 1979 when the airline industry was flying high, they're doing it now. Bet on it.

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[Nashyra]

18. No they are not doing it today

Bet on it!!!!!!!!!

[fudge stripe cookays]

19. I know they're not doing THAT.

But what ARE they doing that could be harming us that we won't know about until the next crash?

[smirkymonkey]

17. That's good to know...

[fudge stripe cookays]

13. God, smirk I'm so sorry.

My aunt lived right around the corner from O'Hare. I always worried about something like that happening.

I used to be such a great flyer when I was younger-- no worries at all. But as I've gotten older I've realized that those planes, many of them, are as old as I am. Or older.

When we flew out of Toronto last year in the middle of a storm, I was a complete wreck. Crying, clutching reprehensor's arm...I was losing it. He had never seen me like that.

I've just read too much and heard too much to be able to think about it logically anymore. I consider myself lucky anytime I reach the ground in one piece.

The thought of crashing is bad enough. The thought of the plane completely flipping over upside down (like 191 did) and you knowing there's virtually no chance of you making it causes me to nearly black out from fear.

I'm so sorry about your friend.
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[smirkymonkey]

16. I am exactly the same way -

NOTHING horrifies me more than flying straight (no sedatives). I really did not think it was possible to experience that level of fear without dying.

People say it's about control, but when you start thinking about things, it can really freak you out. I understand the physics behind flight, I guess I just have very little faith in machinery and human beings. Oh, and gravity.

Thank you for your condolences. She was the girlfriend of my best friend's brother, but she was beautiful, sweet & kind (honestly, not saying that just because she died)and at a young age like that it just seemed so impossible that she could go like that. I always wondered what her last thoughts were - the time between the knowledge that you are going to crash and die, and the actual moment when you lose consciousness. I can't imagine the horror.

[HereSince1628]

4. First reported here by peurco-belli...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x831941

Hey good job PB your story is confirmed! And thank you for the infor smallprint

[smallprint]

7. Just took puerco-belli's tip and Googled it

Just wanted to make sure nothing really bad happened.

Plus, early details in any unusual "incident" are crucial. Sometimes the story changes later.

[puerco-bellies]

8. Thanks, it was of concern in my office because it was an AA Flight

We now trade single stock futures, though the markets are so thin that I nor none of the brokers that I work with trade them (at least that I'm aware of). Though I'm in L.A. we trade mostly on both the Chicago Board of Trade, and the NY Merc. One of our floor brokers in Chicago told one of our back office guys about it almost in real time. If your a info junkie like me, this is an industry to work in. We get the news on the floor almost faster then most news organizations get in their desks.

[DemoTex]

5. It was a McDonnell-Douglas MD-88

http://images.viacomlocalnetworks.com/images_sizedimage_260155450/xl

[Octafish]

9. Looked like both engines were damaged.

Evidence of fire port and starboard.

Very lucky flight.

Very good crew.

[NoBorders]

10. one or both engines?

The linked article mentions one engine going out, which would not threaten it's ability to fly; if both engines went out on take-off, it would fall like a brick.

[DS1]

11. This is why I don't sit by the engines, too many fan blades

that could break loose and take my head off - and while that would be the preferable way to go if something happened at altitude - during takeoff and landing I'd rather some other chump played the role of enginesponge.