Boeing 767 engine: Firm told to 'prove planes are safe' after engine blade shattered mid-air during flight setting wing on fire

The Delta Airlines flight was travelling from Edinburgh Airport to New York carrying 211 passengers. The incident occurred in February 2023 with the flight suffering a contained engine failure leading to a fuel leak, according to a report published yesterday (Thursday 18 July) by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB).

Within half an hour of the plane taking off, an emergency was declared and crew diverted the plane to Prestwick Airport on the west coast of Scotland. Footage shot by one of the passengers on board shows flames enveloping the right-hand wing.

A reporter for BBC Scotland, Laura Pettigrew, happened to be on the plane and gave her account of what happened. She said: “The plane took off and there was a loud engine noise, similar to the noise normally during take-off and landing, but it seemed to continue once we were in the air.

“The captain walked up the length of the plane and then there was a Tannoy announcement - although no-one could hear it. When the plane touched down we could see fire trucks and firefighters with hoses rushing towards us.”

She added: “We were told to leave all our belongings and get off as quickly as we could. There was no real panic among passengers, more just confusion. However some families with kids were pretty distressed. The pilots seemed to do a smooth job of getting us down safely. Apparently the cabin crew were preparing for a crash landing.”

The Air Accidents Investigation branch found that a high-pressure turbine blade had fractured in the right engine during take-off from Edinburgh Airport, causing damage to a further five blades. The out of balance turbine caused vibrations sufficient enough to fracture a slat track housing drain tube and allow fuel from the right wing tank to escape.

Once at Prestwick Airport, the fire service began to capture the leaking fuel before it ignited again on the hot engine or brakes. All passengers were quickly disembarked and no injuries reported.

A Safety Recommendation has been made to the Federal Aviation Administration that requires the Boeing to demonstrate that the design of the slat track housing drain tube on the Boeing 767 family of aircraft continues to comply with the certification requirements for large transport aircraft. The report also revealed that crew members had no idea the engine had burst into flames.

It said that at around 11am, while the aircraft was taxiing to the runway at Edinburgh Airport, two members of the cabin crew recalled hearing “rattling” as though something was loose in the cargo compartment. Nothing abnormal was seen or heard by the pilots, but the noise continued during takeoff.

A temperature indicator for the right engine began fluctuating. The flight commander walked the length of the aircraft but could not locate any specific issues. He decided to divert the plane to Prestwick as a precaution. En route to Prestwick, the flames were filmed by a passenger.