On 4 December, a Japan Airlines Boeing 777 (registered JA8978) operated domestic flight JL904 between Naha Airport (Okinawa) and Tokyo Haneda, Japan. Into the flight, the 23-years-old aircraft experienced a left-hand uncontained engine failure forcing the pilots to return to Naha Airport.
The aircraft carried 178 passengers and 11 crew members. Nobody was injured. After landing, passengers took a replacement aircraft for their journey to Tokyo.
The Aviation Herald writes that the Japan’s Ministry of Transport rated the occurrence a serious incident, Japans TSB have dispatched investigators on site and opened an investigation. The ministry reported one of the fan blades of the left hand engine was damaged at the root.
Pictures and video’s appeared on social media, website ryukyushimpo.jp released the following pictures:
Japan Airlines Boeing 777-200 (JA8978, built 1997) experienced massive failure of its left PW4000 engine about 20 min after take-off from Naha, Okinawa on flt #JL904 to Tokyo. Returned to land safely. 178+11 on board safe.https://t.co/sCPsUvkr0Bhttps://t.co/BtGJYrevVE
— JACDEC (@JacdecNew) December 4, 2020
Bart, an uncontained engine failure would be one where the fan blades came out the side of the engine, breaching the containment systems (that orange/copper coloured stuff behind the inlet cowl). In the pictures, it looks as if that didn’t happen so, technically, it was contained. Are there any pictures of the right hand side of the engine?
It would seem, again just from the pictures, that the resulting vibration caused the fan cowls to come loose and then depart the aircraft.
In any case, not the best way to start a flight!!!!
It would seem, again just from the pictures, that the resulting vibration caused the fan cowls to come loose and then depart the aircraft.