Oddly a similar engine incident happened on the same United flight route back in 2016. Apparently it was a bird strike back then. Link: http://avherald.com/h?article=4999bec5
United B772 at Denver on Feb 20th 2021, engine inlet separates from engine
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Re: United B772 at Denver on Feb 20th 2021, engine inlet separates from engine
#62Earlier quoted context omitted.
They could go faster with a single larger engine. Why do you think they went with two engines instead of a single larger engine? Redundancy.
Citation needed. It's not at all obvious that a single huge engine is in any way better than two for a given speed.
> Citation needed.
Look up 'ETOPS'.
Re: United B772 at Denver on Feb 20th 2021, engine inlet separates from engine
#63Re: United B772 at Denver on Feb 20th 2021, engine inlet separates from engine
#64Earlier quoted context omitted.
How do you account for oceans?
Generally transatlantic jetliners have more than 2 engines, although I suppose that’s beginning to change.
The vast majority of transatlantic airliners today are two engine aircraft. For four engines, you’re basically looking at 747s and maybe the odd a340 that has somehow escaped retirement. The last large four engine airliner will go out of production next year.
Re: United B772 at Denver on Feb 20th 2021, engine inlet separates from engine
#65I worked at a Large Internet Infrastructure Company for a long time, and saw software development practices that made my hair curl. All I could think was, "Gee, I'm glad we're not working on aviation software!" Seriously, though: software "engineering" could actually earn the name, if we had rigorous professional standards, regulatory oversight, and product liability.
One thing that sets software apart from other engineering disciplines is that they are grounded in physics (bits running on a semiconductor doesn't matter for this discussion) and have been around (in some form) for thousands of years. How do we know if a design is sound? We can check it by doing the math. How do we know if a program is sound (what does that even mean? There's our first problem)? Well, we rely on a l…
I'm wading into waters that are way over my head here, but my understanding is that it is possible for software to be provably correct, in the mathematical sense of "proof."
I'm well aware of the admixture of folklore, experience, and caffeine-fueled inspiration that constitutes much of the software that runs our world.
Re: United B772 at Denver on Feb 20th 2021, engine inlet separates from engine
#66This is quite timely, I was just looking at similar incidents yesterday.
It is somewhat similar to a BA A319 flight where the engine covers weren't latched. They immediately ripped off, taking out one of the engines. Similar footage of exposed engine internals. Safely landed after dumping fuel. That one led to a redesign of the latches.
Another very interesting one I found was a prop going through the fuselage of a DC-8 in Edmonton in 2014. A passenger was inches from being killed.
Re: United B772 at Denver on Feb 20th 2021, engine inlet separates from engine
#67Earlier quoted context omitted.
Uncontained engine failures are a big deal. Exactly because they're a risk to the plane, as debris can cause other failures, and a risk to people on the ground. Engines are specifically tested to see if they can contain these failures. This doesn't seem routine at all.
Yes, hence why I said the press will focus on this because of parts raining down. An airliner having an engine issue and returning single engine though is a routine thing... usually without missing parts.
When you say things like ”the press will make a big deal out of this”, one might take it to be implied that they shouldn’t. I hear you that returning with one engine might be fairly routine, but isn’t it fair to make a thing out of large chunks of metal falling from planes over populated areas?
Re: United B772 at Denver on Feb 20th 2021, engine inlet separates from engine
#68Earlier quoted context omitted.
How do you account for oceans?
Generally transatlantic jetliners have more than 2 engines, although I suppose that’s beginning to change.
That really hasn't been true since 747s started to be retired so it started to change years ago and 2-engine is now essentially the norm.
Re: United B772 at Denver on Feb 20th 2021, engine inlet separates from engine
#69Earlier quoted context omitted.
What, you don’t like the anchor people on TV asking each other how they feel about every piece of news and making horrible puns at every opportunity? Or having expected announcements be reported as BREAKING NEWS?
As a European who tuned in to US News for the US election I thought that was crazy. I'd watch a few of the right media orgs to see what they were saying and then stay on CNN/MSNBC etc for most of it. It's mad how so much of it every hour was essentially people just regurgitating stuff to fill the time. I mean OK what's happening is important but if you can't fill the airtime why not shift to other news (as in everyth…
I tried to do that, but even MSNBC these days seems to have fallen to hyperpartisan agitprop.
I check nyt and cnn (both with a large grain of salt) periodically (~1x per week, for 5-10 minutes?) but unfortunately neither of those are quite as reliable as one would hope.
Re: United B772 at Denver on Feb 20th 2021, engine inlet separates from engine
#70I have wondered in the past if the benefits of a 'jettison damaged engine' feature would outweigh the risks.
I’m trying to imagine a scenario where that would be beneficial. Maybe uncommanded thrust reverser deployment. Although I think in that case it’s likely to “self-jettison” anyway!