![]() VQ-BWT, the Boeing 747-400(BCF) involved, seen in March 2021 after its return to service | |
Incident | |
---|---|
Date | 20 February 2021 |
Summary | Engine failure with parts detached from aircraft |
Site | Near Meerssen, Netherlands |
Total fatalities | 0 |
Total injuries | 2 (on ground) |
Aircraft | |
Aircraft type | Boeing 747-412(BCF) |
Operator | Longtail Aviation |
IATA flight No. | 6T5504 |
ICAO flight No. | LGT5504 |
Call sign | LONGTAIL 5504 |
Registration | VQ-BWT |
Flight origin | Maastricht Airport, Maastricht, Netherlands |
Destination | John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York, United States |
Occupants | 3 [1] |
Crew | 3 |
Fatalities | 0 |
Survivors | 3 |
Ground casualties | |
Ground fatalities | 0 |
Ground injuries | 2 |
On February 20, 2021, Longtail Aviation Flight 5504, an international cargo flight operated by Longtail Aviation from Maastricht, Netherlands, to New York, United States, suffered an engine failure shortly after departure that caused debris to fall to the ground near the Dutch town of Meerssen. Two people on the ground were slightly injured and there was property damage to buildings and cars. The Boeing 747-400(BCF) cargo plane diverted to Liege Airport with the failed engine shut down and landed there safely. [2] [3]
A criminal investigation was launched to determine if there was criminal negligence involved, but it was closed a month later with no finding of negligence. A separate aviation safety investigation was also launched by the Dutch Safety Board (OVV).
On the same day, United Airlines Flight 328, a Boeing 777-222, suffered similar circumstances over the United States. All 241 occupants onboard survived without injuries.
At 16:11 local time, [4] [5] [6] [7] a Boeing 747-400BCF registered as VQ-BWT, [8] operating as Longtail Aviation Flight 5504, experienced a nominally contained engine failure shortly after departing Maastricht Aachen Airport in the Netherlands in a southerly direction. [4] Nevertheless, two people were injured by debris that also fell in a residential area. [9] An elderly woman suffered a head injury that was treated at a hospital, and a child suffered burns after touching a piece of debris on the ground. [10]
The converted freighter aircraft, originally delivered in 1991, [11] was powered by four Pratt & Whitney PW4056-3 engines, [12] a version of the earlier PW4000-94 engine. [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] "A few seconds after the plane took off, air traffic control noted an engine fire and informed the pilots. They then switched off the engine concerned and sent out an emergency signal," according to Maastricht Aachen Airport. [8] Metal parts of engine #1 (s/n P727441), believed to be turbine blades, came down in the Sint Josephstraat area of the village of Meerssen, approximately 2 km past the end of the runway.
The crew declared an emergency and diverted to land on the longer runway at Liège, Belgium, about 19 miles (31 km) south of the Dutch border. [5] After entering a holding pattern over the Belgian Ardennes to dump fuel, the aircraft made a precautionary 3-engine landing without further incident. [19] [20]
A local fire department representative reported that multiple witness on the ground saw the aircraft flying with an active engine fire. Video of a 747 in flight with smoke trailing from one engine was also posted to Twitter. Falling debris damaged parked cars, [22] and press accounts of the incident included a widely circulated photo of the destruction showing what appears to be a part of an engine blade wedged in the roof of a car like a knife stuck in a block of butter. [23] Maastricht Airport spokesperson Hella Hendriks told Reuters: "Several cars were damaged and bits hit several houses. Pieces were found across the residential neighbourhood on roofs, gardens and streets." [24] Meerssen police publicly requested that possible fragments be left in place to aid the investigation, but later asked residents to turn in the parts. Local residents reportedly collected over 200 pieces of the engine after what some described as a "rain of debris." [25] [26] The blade-like parts were approximately 5 centimetres (2 in) wide and up to 25 centimetres (10 in) long. [6]
The Dutch Safety Board (OVV) immediately started an exploratory investigation where researchers initially collect evidence to determine whether an extensive investigation is necessary. [22] A spokeswoman for the OVV stated "We immediately started collecting debris on Saturday and are now also going to look at the aircraft itself." The Aviation Team of the Dutch national police also started an investigation to determine if there was criminal negligence, but they did not travel to Belgium to examine the aircraft, instead asking for assistance from their Belgian counterparts. [27] The criminal negligence investigation was closed a month later finding no negligence or guilt. [28]
Martin Amick, the CEO of Longtail Aviation, said, "we are now in the process of working closely with the Dutch, Belgian, Bermuda and UK authorities to understand the cause of this incident." [29] CNN reported that Boeing technical advisers are supporting the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board with its investigation. [8] The NTSB would be involved in the investigation since the Boeing 747 is built in the U.S.
Europe's EASA aviation regulator said it was aware of the two Pratt & Whitney jet engine incidents, and was requesting information on the causes to determine what action may be needed. [6] After receiving more information, EASA said the Longtail and United incidents were unrelated: "Nothing in the failure and root analysis show any similarity (between the two incidents) at this stage." [30]
The aircraft and cargo were released two days after the incident, but the OVV retained the damaged engine and the "black box" recorders. Longtail Aviation dispatched a replacement engine on another of their 747 freighters to facilitate the repairs necessary for return to service. [31] The aircraft was returned to service and has been seen servicing Maastricht Airport. [28]
The OVV's "Shortened Investigation" report concluded on April 19, 2023, with reports released in both Dutch and English, that the engine failure was caused by elevated gas temperatures that existed for an extended period of time in the turbine of the engine causing wear and deformation of outer transition duct panels. A service bulletin aiming to resolve this issue was not incorporate by the operator. [1]
In its news story on this incident, British newspaper The Guardian used a stock image of an Air China 747F cargo aircraft as its lead image. Chinese media reported that Air China demanded a formal public apology through its lawyers for the alleged negative impact on the company's image, and the Chinese Embassy in the UK requested that the newspaper make an immediate correction and apologize to the Chinese company. [32] The Guardian changed the picture and left a note at the end of the report: "The photograph used to illustrate this article was changed on 23 February 2021 because an earlier image showed a Boeing 747 belonging to a carrier unrelated to events; it has been replaced with a generic image of a Boeing aircraft." [33]
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Dit weekeinde ontploften kort achter elkaar motoren van twee oude Boeings. De vliegtuigen landden veilig, maar op de grond in Meerssen (Limburg) en in Denver (Colorado) regende het brokstukken. Vormen oude vliegtuigen een risico? (This weekend the engines of two old Boeings exploded in quick succession. The planes landed safely, but it was raining on the ground in Meerssen (Limburg) and in Denver (Colorado). Are old planes a risk?)
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)In de omgeving van Meerssen kwamen stukken metaal van het toestel naar beneden. Twee mensen zijn gewond geraakt: een oudere vrouw moest met een hoofdwond naar het ziekenhuis, een kind liep brandwonden op door het oprapen van een van de brokstukken. (Pieces of metal from the aircraft fell in the vicinity of Meerssen. Two people were injured: an elderly woman had to be taken to hospital with a head injury and was treated at a hospital, a child suffered burns from picking up one of the debris.)
Een inwoner van Meerssen wist zaterdagmiddag niet wat hij zag: 'We hoorden een knal, keken naar boven en zagen vlammen uit de motor van een vrachtvliegtuig komen. Dertig seconden daarna kwamen er stukken ijzer uit de lucht vallen.' (A resident of Meerssen did not know what he saw on Saturday afternoon: 'We heard a bang, looked up and saw flames coming from the engine of a cargo plane. Thirty seconds later pieces of iron fell from the sky.')
MAASTRICHT - Een vrachtvliegtuig dat zaterdagmiddag is vertrokken vanaf Maastricht Aachen Airport is na het opstijgen onderdelen van de motor verloren als gevolg van een explosie in een van de motoren. Dit meldt een woordvoerder van de Veiligheidsregio. Voor zover bekend is er één persoon gewond geraakt door vallende brokstukken. (MAASTRICHT - A cargo plane that took off from Maastricht Aachen Airport on Saturday afternoon lost parts of the engine after take-off as a result of an explosion in one of the engines. This is reported by a spokesperson for the Security Region. As far as is known, one person was injured by falling debris.)
Inwoners van de Limburgse plaats Meerssen hebben tot dusver zo'n tweehonderd gevallen vliegtuigonderdelen ingeleverd bij de luchtvaartpolitie, meldt een woordvoerder woensdag in gesprek met NU.nl. Het dorp werd zaterdag opgeschrikt nadat de onderdelen vanuit de lucht in het dorp vielen. (Residents of the Limburg town of Meerssen have so far handed in about two hundred fallen aircraft parts to the aviation police, a spokesperson reported on Wednesday in conversation with NU.nl. The village was shaken on Saturday after the parts fell from the air into the village.)
Naast de Onderzoeksraad is ook het Team Luchtvaart van de nationale politie een onderzoek gestart. 'Maar wij kunnen niet naar België omdat het mogelijk kan uitlopen op een strafrechtelijk onderzoek en dan zijn wij niet bevoegd in België te opereren. Daarom hebben we nu onze Belgische collega's gevraagd enkele eerste onderzoeksvragen voor ons te beantwoorden. Mocht daaruit blijken dat de oorzaak zou kunnen liggen in verwijtbaar handelen, dan dienen wij een rechtshulpverzoek in.' (In addition to the Dutch Safety Board, the Aviation Team of the national police has also started an investigation. 'But we cannot go to Belgium because it could possibly lead to a criminal investigation and then we are not authorized to operate in Belgium. That is why we have now asked our Belgian colleagues to answer some initial research questions for us. can lie in culpable acts, then we will submit a request for legal assistance.')
SCHIPHOL - Er komt geen strafrechtelijk onderzoek naar het voorval met een Boeing 747-vrachtvliegtuig van Longtail Aviation, waarbij vorige maand na een motorstoring meer dan 200 brokstukken op het Limburgse plaatsje Meerssen vielen. Van grove nalatigheid of schuld is geen sprake, zo heeft de politie na uitgebreid onderzoek aan diverse media laten weten. (SCHIPHOL - There will be no criminal investigation into the incident with a Boeing 747 freighter from Longtail Aviation, in which more than 200 pieces of debris fell on the Limburg town of Meerssen last month after an engine failure. There is no question of gross negligence or guilt, the police informed various media after an extensive investigation.)
De Boeing 747 die zaterdagmiddag motorproblemen kreeg boven Meerssen, kort na de start vanaf Maastricht Aachen Airport, is maandag vrijgegeven door de Onderzoeksraad voor Veiligheid. De OVV behoudt de geschonden motor en de zwarte doos met daarin de vluchtinformatie voor verder onderzoek, licht een woordvoerster van de Onderzoeksraad toe. (The Boeing 747 that had engine problems over Meerssen on Saturday afternoon, shortly after take-off from Maastricht Aachen Airport, was released on Monday by the Dutch Safety Board. The OVV keeps the damaged engine and the black box containing the flight information for further investigation, a spokeswoman for the Dutch Safety Board explains.)