Looking at the video again: (Fast forward to 02:25-02:26) http://6abc.com/live-southwest-plane-makes-emergency-landing-at-phl/3356147/ At 02:26 of the video the view out of a forward port side window and rearward to the #1 engine shows a portion of the fan blades and seemingly stable hub. Looks as if the cowling ripped loose. (Again) on yet another SW bird. How can such a reliable aircraft be allowed to fail like this incident?

(Written on 2018年 04月 17日)(Permalink)

Going forward, will uncontained failures be an ongoing issue for aging fleets? I hope not, but hope doesn't count at V1 or V2 on the takeoff roll with a heavy aircraft. I say this not sardonically: no matter whether a 767 has the balls to climb through V2 on one engine or not and execute a successful go around... Safety and performance is the goal here. IMHO the 767-300 is an invaluable aircraft for American and various fleets. It is known that the older CF6 series are susceptible to failure. (Note: N330AA at LAX) https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/pictures-ge-investigates-cause-of-american-airlines-boeing-767-200-uncontained-cf6-80a-engine-207118/ Perhaps these valuable dash 300 aircraft can be retrofitted with the 767-400's GECF6-80C2B8F engines. Also, in seeking a long-term performance solution for dash 300s couldn't airlines use the General Electric GEnx for the 767-300? Wouldn't the lower fuel burn and MX costs on the newer engine subsidize the upgrade?

(Written on 2016年 10月 28日)(Permalink)

Going forward, will uncontained failures be an ongoing issue for aging fleets? I hope not, but hope doesn't count at V1 or V2 on the takeoff roll with a heavy aircraft. I say this not sardonically: no matter whether a 767 has the balls to climb through V2 on one engine or not and execute a successful go around... Safety and performance is the goal here. IMHO the 767-300 is an invaluable aircraft for American and various fleets. It is known that the older CF6 series are susceptible to failure. (Note: N330AA at LAX) https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/pictures-ge-investigates-cause-of-american-airlines-boeing-767-200-uncontained-cf6-80a-engine-207118/ Perhaps these valuable dash 300 aircraft can be retrofitted with the 767-400's GECF6-80C2B8F engines. Also, couldn't airlines seek a long-term solution for dash 300s in the use of the General Electric GEnx? Wouldn't the lower fuel burn and MX costs on the newer engine subsidize the upgrade?

(Written on 2016年 10月 28日)(Permalink)

Question: Is it true that SWA has a bit of its heavy MX done in Central America? Thought that I read - several years ago - about their C checks being done down south by subcontractors. I don't mean to spread conjecture because this event is a near-tragedy. Thank God that the pilots broke the chain of events and landed safely. Indeed, if that cowl had taken out the port stab or the rudder on (that) SW bird, this conversation would have been a lot different. While I admire SWA the company, I believe that they owe the public a forthright explanation including what they're going to do to prevent this "nacelle excursion" problem from occurring again. We don't need another jack screw scenario happening in the industry where bad MX practices knock out a complete aircraft and ruin lives. Major kudos to Sparkle624 for putting your foot down, standing up for best practices, and demanding excellence. Thank you sir, and to all A&Ps and pilots that do their jobs by the book.

(Written on 2016年 08月 28日)(Permalink)

How many thousands of pounds does a fly by wire system save versus the cable and yoke system of yesteryear? What if Boeing goes to an all fly by wire cockpit? I kinda miss that old reliable 727 right about now.

(Written on 2015年 01月 31日)(Permalink)

I've kept my mouth shout for a long time on this. Continental's paint job on a United jet. It's like super-glam lipstick on a pig. A really worn-out rode hard and put away wet pig. People if United wasn't such an effed-up dog before the merger they would have never used the Continental branding, website, operational cert or leadership.

(Written on 2012年 07月 13日)(Permalink)