Jet engine fault ‘in rear turbine’

Press, 18 February 1986, Page 4

Jet engine fault ‘in rear turbine’

Air New Zealand believes the cause of the Boeing 737 engine failure which forced an emergency landing at Palmerston North on Sunday is unrelated to the serious combustor problems inherent in some models of the Pratt and Whitney JTB engine. They have caused a number of incidents overseas, including the disastrous 737 fire at Manchester last year.

The problem, traced in each instance to failures in the combustor area, led to a world-wide check of the particular model. An Air New Zealand spokesman said last even-

ing that a preliminary inspection by engineers had shown that the fault on Sunday occurred in the rear turbine and not in the combustor area. “We won’t have a final analysis until the engine is stripped next week, but the damage was contained within the engine itself,” said the airline’s public affairs manager, Mr Bob Wallace.

He said that although the inbuilt fire extinguishers were triggered, there was in fact no fire in the engine. When the fault occurred, there was, according to passengers, a loud rumbling and the aircraft

began to vibrate and lurch.

A hostess immediately announced, “Emergency, emergency, everyone grab your ankles.”

The aircraft at this time was still about 20,000 ft up.

A few moments later a flight deck announcement told passengers to relax. They were instructed to brace themselves again a short time before landing. The four passengers who spent Sunday night in Palmerston North Hospital for treatment for shock were all discharged yesterday. Three were teen-age girls, and the other a woman, aged 55.