AMSTERDAM — An event including a Boeing 747-400 freight airplane that dropped engine parts after a mid-air surge and fire over the southern Netherlands on Saturday is under examination, the Dutch Safety Board stated.
The Longtail Aviation freight airplane, flight 5504, spread little metal parts over the Dutch town of Meerssen, triggering damage and hurting a female quickly after liftoff, Maastricht Airport spokesperson Hella Hendriks stated.
The Bermuda-signed up airplane, which was headed from Maastricht to New York, was powered by Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines, a smaller sized variation of those on a United Airlines Boeing 777 associated with an occurrence in Denver, likewise on Saturday.
After that event, Boeing suggested airline companies suspend operations of specific older variations of its 777 airliner powered by Pratt & Whitney 4000-112 engines, versions presently zipped 5 airline companies.
U.S. regulators revealed additional evaluations and Japan suspended their usage while thinking about more action.
In the Dutch event, witnesses heard a couple of surges quickly after liftoff and the pilot was notified by air traffic control service that an engine was on fire, Hendriks stated.
“The photos indicate they were parts of engine blade, but that’s being investigated,” she stated. “Several cars were damaged and bits hit several houses. Pieces were found across the residential neighborhood on roofs, gardens and streets.”
Longtail Aviation stated it was “too early to speculate as to what may have been the cause of the problem” which it was dealing with Dutch, Belgian, Bermuda and UK authorities checking out the event.
Dozens of pieces fell, Hendriks stated, determining around 5 centimeters broad and as much as 25 centimeters long. The airplane landed securely at Liege airport in Belgium, some 19 miles south of the Dutch border.
Boeing referred concerns to Dutch authorities.
“Our investigation is still in a preliminary phase, it is too early to draw conclusions,” a spokesperson for the Dutch Safety Board stated on Monday.
Europe’s EASA air travel regulator stated on Monday that it knew the Pratt & Whitney jet engine events, and was inquiring on the causes to identify what action might be required.
