Wednesday, February 14, 2018

United Airlines, Boeing 777-200, N773UA: Incident occurred February 13, 2018 at Honolulu International Airport (PHNL), Hawaii

The National Transportation Safety Board traveled to the scene of this incident.

Additional Participating Entity:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Honolulu

Aviation Incident Preliminary Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf

United Airlines Inc: http://registry.faa.gov/N773UA

Location: Honolulu, HI
Incident Number: DCA18IA092
Date & Time: 02/13/2018, 1302 HST
Registration: N773UA
Aircraft: BOEING 777 222
Injuries: 378 None
Flight Conducted Under:  Part 121: Air Carrier - Scheduled 

On February 13, 2018, about 12:00 PM HST, United Airlines flight 1175, a Boeing 777, N773UA, experienced an in-flight separation of a fan blade and subsequent loss of the inlet and fan cowls of the right engine, a Pratt & Whitney PW4077 during descent into Daniel K. Inoyue International Airport (KHNL), Honolulu, Hawaii. Shortly after initial descent, passing through about flight level 327, the flight crew received warnings of an engine compressor stall, and shut down the engine. The crew declared an emergency and proceeded to KHNL without further incident. There were no injuries to the 363 passengers and 10 crew members and the airplane received minor damage. The airplane was operating under 14 CFR Part 121 as a regularly scheduled passenger flight and had originated from San Francisco International Airport (KSFO), San Francisco, California. 

Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information

Aircraft Manufacturer: BOEING
Registration: N773UA
Model/Series: 777 222 222
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Amateur Built:
Operator:
Operating Certificate(s) Held: Flag carrier (121) 

Meteorological Information and Flight Plan

Conditions at Accident Site:
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Wreckage and Impact Information

Crew Injuries: 15 None
Aircraft Damage: Minor
Passenger Injuries: 363 None
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 378 None
Latitude, Longitude:


SAN FRANCISCO, California --  United Airlines plans to fully refund each passengers' ticket after the plane's engine failed over the Pacific during a flight that began in San Francisco.

The plane was headed to Honolulu after taking off from San Francisco International Airport just after 9 a.m. and landed safely at 2:42 p.m. Pacific time after the pilots called for an emergency landing.

The damaged engine is seen in video a passenger tweeted from United Flight Airlines Flight 1175.

The aircraft involved is a Boeing 777. It has two engines and is designed to fly on just one engine for more than three hours over water.

United Airlines released a statement about the incident:

"Our pilots followed all necessary protocols to safely land the aircraft. The aircraft taxied to the gate and passengers deplaned normally. United is fully cooperating with the NTSB and FAA investigation of the event. We are currently reaching out to all of our customers on this flight, and plan to fully refund every ticket."

Story, video and photo gallery  ➤  http://abc13.com

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) -  Passengers on board a flight from San Francisco to Honolulu got quite a scare Tuesday when an engine covering apparently came off mid-flight.

United Airlines flight 1175 was met with fire trucks when it made an emergency landing at Honolulu International Airport about 1:02 p.m.

The plane was able to land safely and there were no reports of injuries. 

But passengers said there were some tense moments after the engine problem, which happened about 40 minutes before the plane was due to land.




"There was a loud bang ... and then the plane really started shaking," said passenger Allison Sudiacal. "It was like rattling and the plane was kind of shaking like boom, boom, boom."

 The good news: Sudiacal said despite the scary moments mid-air, the plane landed fairly smoothly.

"They kept us informed," said Sudiacal, who was traveling with her husband, 4-month-old son and parents-in-law.

"They let us know that we had to brace for impact in case there was a rough landing. It was scary. But they did a really good job."




Sudiacal's husband, Tim, called the flight "absolutely terrifying."

He said he couldn't see the problem engine — engine no. 2 — from where he was sitting.

"I think sometimes ignorance is bliss," he quipped.

Video posted online also showed the moments before the landing: Passengers chanted "Brace! Brace! Brace" as they neared the runway, then cheered when the plane landed without incident. 

It wasn't immediately clear what went wrong, but photos appear to show the plane with a missing engine cowling, or covering.

In a statement, United Airlines said its pilots "followed all necessary protocols to safely land the aircraft," which had 363 passengers and 10 crew members on board. 




The airline also said it is cooperating with NTSB and FAA investigations of the incident.

Audio of the pilot's discussions with air traffic control in Honolulu illustrate the tense moments just before landing.

Pilot: "If you haven't already, roll the fire trucks."

Air traffic control: "They will be standing by."

In a statement, the state Transportation Department said the United flight landed safely with Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting personnel standing by as a precaution. The plane has been taken to a hangar, the department said, and the incident didn't spur any delays at the airport.

Story, video and photo gallery ➤ http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com

9 comments:

  1. What happens when ground crews take too many burrito breaks and don’t speak English.

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  2. I foresee a really bad day coming up for the last employee to sign off on the maintenance report on that engine.

    Someone most likely didn't double check their pre-flight list. All the cowlings should be double checked before flight as well as all the exterior removable panels and landing gear doors etc.

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  3. I'll be blown away if the cause ends up being shrouded in mystery. I hope the federal investigators don't wing it. The cause should be plane as day... (okay, I'll stop here).

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  4. Engine is a missing fan blade and half of the one next to it. That might account for #UA1175 missing its cowlings.

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  5. The complication arises, when the engine ingests part of the inlet cowling, causing it to no longer do it's intended function of providing thrust to keep the aircraft happily flying through the air, OR part of the cowling flies off and damages a part of the wing, a flight control, or the horizontal stabilizer, causing other inflight structural failures that could negatively impact the aircraft's flight characteristics.

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  6. Very similar: https://www.ntsb.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/PR20160912.aspx

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  7. Yes Sir - there would have been a brown spot in the middle of my seat!

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  8. https://app.ntsb.gov/pdfgenerator/ReportGeneratorFile.ashx?EventID=20180213X95634&AKey=1&RType=HTML&IType=IA

    ReplyDelete