Narrative:
A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-7H4 (WL) operating flight WN3472 suffered an in-flight loss of an engine air inlet cowl near Biloxi, Mississippi. A safe diversion was carried out.
The airplane departed New Orleans International Airport, Louisiana at 09:10 hours local time for a flight to Orlando International Airport, Florida. While climbing through FL310, about 26 km south off Biloxi, the air inlet cowl of the nr.1 engine broke away. The flight contacted Houston Center about 09:22, stating: "engine failure...we've lost number one engine, we're descending". Initially the flight was cleared down to FL260. The flight then radioed "472 we need get down below ten". The flight was then cleared down to FL240 and the flight again stated that they needed to get down to 10000 feet.
While descending the crew made two unintentional transmissions to Houston Center in which they can be heard working the related emergency checklist with a sound indicating the possible use of oxygen masks by the crew.
The flight then diverted to Pensacola were it landed about 09:40. After landing damage was observed to the left hand wing root, a 5-inch by 16-inch hole in the fuselage and dents in the left hand horizontal stabilizer leading edge.
The NTSB on September 12 reported the following initial findings from the engine examination include:
- One fan blade separated from the fan disk during the accident flight and
- The root of the separated fan blade remained in the fan hub; however, the remainder of the blade was not recovered.
- The fracture surface of the missing blade showed curving crack arrest lines consistent with fatigue crack growth. The fatigue crack region was 1.14-inches long and 0.217-inch deep,
- The center of the fatigue origin area was about 2.1 inches aft of the forward face of the blade root. No surface or material anomalies were noted during an examination of the fatigue crack origin using scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy.
Probable Cause: A low-cycle fatigue crack in the dovetail of fan blade No. 23, which resulted in the fan blade separating in flight and impacting the fan case. This impact caused the fan blade to fracture into fragments that traveled farther than expected into the inlet, which compromised the structural integrity of the inlet and led to the in-flight separation of inlet components. A portion of the inlet struck the fuselage and created a hole, causing the cabin to depressurize.
Forced landing on runway
» WDSU
» Southwest Airlines
accident date: 27-08-2016
type: Boeing 737-7H4 (WL)
registration: N766SW
accident date: 27-08-2016
type: Boeing 737-7H4 (WL)
registration: N766SW
accident date: 27-08-2016
type: Boeing 737-7H4 (WL)
registration: N766SW
accident date: 27-08-2016
type: Boeing 737-7H4 (WL)
registration: N766SW
| Status: | Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
| Date: | Saturday 27 August 2016 |
| Time: | 09:22 |
| Type: |  Boeing 737-7H4 (WL) |
| Operator: | Southwest Airlines |
| Registration: | N766SW |
| MSN: | 29806/537 |
| First flight: | 2000-04-12 (16 years 5 months) |
| Total airframe hrs: | 58344 |
| Engines: | 2 CFMI CFM56-7B24 |
| Crew: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 5 |
| Passengers: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 99 |
| Total: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 104 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Aircraft fate: | Repaired |
| Location: | 26 km (16.3 mls) S of Biloxi, MS ( United States of America)
|
| Phase: | En route (ENR) |
| Nature: | Domestic Scheduled Passenger |
| Departure airport: | New Orleans International Airport, LA (MSY/KMSY), United States of America |
| Orlando International Airport, FL (MCO/KMCO), United States of America | |
| Flightnumber: | WN3472 |
A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-7H4 (WL) operating flight WN3472 suffered an in-flight loss of an engine air inlet cowl near Biloxi, Mississippi. A safe diversion was carried out.
The airplane departed New Orleans International Airport, Louisiana at 09:10 hours local time for a flight to Orlando International Airport, Florida. While climbing through FL310, about 26 km south off Biloxi, the air inlet cowl of the nr.1 engine broke away. The flight contacted Houston Center about 09:22, stating: "engine failure...we've lost number one engine, we're descending". Initially the flight was cleared down to FL260. The flight then radioed "472 we need get down below ten". The flight was then cleared down to FL240 and the flight again stated that they needed to get down to 10000 feet.
While descending the crew made two unintentional transmissions to Houston Center in which they can be heard working the related emergency checklist with a sound indicating the possible use of oxygen masks by the crew.
The flight then diverted to Pensacola were it landed about 09:40. After landing damage was observed to the left hand wing root, a 5-inch by 16-inch hole in the fuselage and dents in the left hand horizontal stabilizer leading edge.
The NTSB on September 12 reported the following initial findings from the engine examination include:
- One fan blade separated from the fan disk during the accident flight and
- The root of the separated fan blade remained in the fan hub; however, the remainder of the blade was not recovered.
- The fracture surface of the missing blade showed curving crack arrest lines consistent with fatigue crack growth. The fatigue crack region was 1.14-inches long and 0.217-inch deep,
- The center of the fatigue origin area was about 2.1 inches aft of the forward face of the blade root. No surface or material anomalies were noted during an examination of the fatigue crack origin using scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy.
Probable Cause:
Probable Cause: A low-cycle fatigue crack in the dovetail of fan blade No. 23, which resulted in the fan blade separating in flight and impacting the fan case. This impact caused the fan blade to fracture into fragments that traveled farther than expected into the inlet, which compromised the structural integrity of the inlet and led to the in-flight separation of inlet components. A portion of the inlet struck the fuselage and created a hole, causing the cabin to depressurize.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Classification:
Uncontained engine failureForced landing on runway
Sources:
» Flightradar24» WDSU
» Southwest Airlines
Follow-up / safety actions
EASA issued 1 Airworthiness Directive
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Photos
accident date: 27-08-2016
type: Boeing 737-7H4 (WL)
registration: N766SW
accident date: 27-08-2016
type: Boeing 737-7H4 (WL)
registration: N766SW
accident date: 27-08-2016
type: Boeing 737-7H4 (WL)
registration: N766SW
accident date: 27-08-2016
type: Boeing 737-7H4 (WL)
registration: N766SW
Video, social media
Map
This map shows the airport of departure and the intended destination of the flight. The line between the airports does not display the exact flight path.
Distance from New Orleans International Airport, LA to Orlando International Airport, FL as the crow flies is 880 km (550 miles).
Accident location: Approximate; accuracy within a few kilometers.
Distance from New Orleans International Airport, LA to Orlando International Airport, FL as the crow flies is 880 km (550 miles).
Accident location: Approximate; accuracy within a few kilometers.
This information is not presented as the Flight Safety Foundation or the Aviation Safety Network’s opinion as to the cause of the accident. It is preliminary and is based on the facts as they are known at this time.
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