767 Engine came apart at full power

[dallasfan971]

Originally Posted by S2Design

Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7R4D/E

I was told by a freind that works at pratt in east hartford that it was an GE engine. i myself cannot tell i only worked on the compresser section of turbine engines. that would include the JT9D engine and i also saw someone posted about LM2500 turbine.also worked on those but only the weld repair of the HPC and LPC blade tips. what a pain in the arse they are.

[Hardware]

Originally Posted by EZridr1

I'm not an engine guy either, which is why I posted the question. I'm an airfield guy. AFAIK, even after extensive testing, design weaknesses can come up after production. As living documents, regs and T.O.'s should be periodically updated to address weaknesses and improve processes. I'm not much for speculation, but I'll agree with Pete as the most likely cause would be the human factor. I also wonder if foreign object damage (FOD) may play a role as well. For instance, a tool inadvertently left in the engine nacelle. Not sure about the civilian side, but AF mechanics are expected to account for all of their tools prior to the end of their shift.

I think civilian mechanics have to be just as picky about not leaving tools lying around in aircraft. They maybe enforce it differently than the air force but if they slack off in that regard, airliners would fall out of the sky more often.

I work with a retired AF mechanic and he mentioned that on the hangar line, it's so strict that they weren't allowed to use any "personal" tools or even carry them in their pockets.

They would be in deep crap if they were found carrying, say, a Gerber multi-tool in their pocket because if it doesn't come out of an issued toolbox or off a shadow board, it's easy to leave it in an engine and forget about it until it's too late.

Remember that the engine may have been FODed by something other than a tool left behind.

[wookie]

I was wondering what that loud bang was.