cross-posted from: https://quokk.au/post/3561775
American Airlines plane engine catches fire after landing in Denver
Glad everyone survived. I’m pretty sure it’s mandatory in Europe (and Canada?) that all airliners have built-in engine fire extinguisher bottles. These are routed inside the engine itself and there’s a switch inside the cockpit that activates them. The switch shuts off fuel to the engine and sprays it. If US airliners are flying around with no means of combatting an engine fire in flight (implied here since they had to wait for outside help) then that is very concerning.
(Just don’t fly, atleast in western europe the Bus / Train system mostly makes short haul flights obsolete)
whats is short to you?
Tbf, American aviation has been a shitshow for a long time, now it’s just completely falls apart. It’s mind boggling that Boeing currently has two orbital spaceplanes in use.
An engine fire isn’t necessarily an issue of the aircraft itself. Engines are quite disconnected from the aircraft they are propelling, many aircraft do have multiple engine options, and jet engines are often not even owned by the aircraft’s owner, but leased directly from the engine manufacturer in a separate contract, because they are so damn expensive.
And it turns out in this case, the plane is an 737-800 which uses engines from CFM International (partly French, partly US) specifically CFM56 series engines. Engines in this series are used by Boeing, Airbus and McDonnel Douglas. So don’t buy American and you can still end up with an engine from the same manufacturer and series.
A plane also has a very long life and is used as much as possible during that life. This means the actual production is only a small part of the life of the plane and a lot happens after that. So until it’s investigated and clear what the issue was, blaming the manufacturer of the plane seems especially far fetched. The problem could have been with the manufacturer of the engine, it could have been a mistake in maintenance or bad replacement/refurbished part, it could be lack of maintenance, improper maintenance procedures. It could als have been something ingested into the engine, which happens all the time. The plane in question has been flying perfectly fine for over 10 years, so I doubt Boeing is at fault in this one.
It’s all well and good to jump on the hype train of blaming Boeing and the US for everything. But these sorts of things happen all the time with all types of airplanes, it’s a normal part of life. Boeing has made some terrible mistakes, but not all bad things that happen to Boeing planes are their fault.
a plane also has a very long life
This plane specifically (tail number N885NN) was built in September 2011, and first registered for flight in March 2012.
And it’s easily not anyone’s direct fault. You can have a good plane model, spotless maintenance, and something still fails. This plane kept things intact long enough to divert and land safely. That’s the requirement that is absolute, anything more is extra.
Careful, Boeing will send their goons between muting whistleblowers if you say that too loud.
As an American: Buy European, or Asian, or anything else please. My country needs to crash and burn on this path of stupidity.
You should be boycotting plane travel in general not american plane travel. Just saying.
Why’s that?
Have you heard about that climate change thing?
Turns out having billions of people take trips in airplanes wasn’t exactly thought out.
Hmm according to Wikipedia, modern planes use about 2.25L of fuel per 100km per seat.
According to reddit, trains get about 2.5L of fuel per 100km per occupied seat.
Average SUV gets 15L/100km highway. Assuming high occupancy on a road trip of 4 people, we can say 4L/100km per occupied seat.
So assuming people will want and deserve to take vacations and go somewhere instead of sitting at home, encouraging them to take more flights seems like the most environmentally friendly option compared to the alternatives?
You are forgetting that 2 or so billion fortunate people aren’t entitled to a vacation in a warm region simply because they have the means. Tourism in its current shape is the polar opposite of sustainable.
Did you know that rice produced nearly as much greenhouse gases as aviation in 2020? Are you going to call on people to stop eating rice? Same goes for fish. And shipping. And landfills. And crop burning. And a bunch more other things.
Did you know that chocolate is in the top 5 of GHG emitters for food? Now only that, chocolate is collected most often by kids in developing countries. Are you going to call for a chocolate boycott? What about people’s precious iPhones and Macs? Those unrepairable things that end up on the landfill when a Apple slows then down artificially after a few years? Boycott those, right?
Aviation is a small problem. Cars are a much bigger one. Take a friggin bus, cycle, or walk more. Residential heating is a big problem too. You don’t need 25C during the winter in your home. You don’t need a 10-20 minute shower. All of those will have a bigger impact than skipping on one or two holidays.
Vanity trips I agree thousands of miles to stand in line to take a soulless selfie in front of a thousand year old temple and get food from an evil American corporate fast food restaurant in the same afternoon. Just stay at home it’s pathetic.
How do you prefer to vacation? What brings you joy?
let people do what they want!
Take safety labels and requirements off first. Also I don’t want to hear you removed when it finally directly effects you.
It really is a third world country with a Gucci belt.
You want to fly EU and also not find yourself on a flight dependent on our traffic control. The Fitzgerald is going down.
Fellas it’s been good to know ya
A only European plane is not for tomorrow. There are plenty of part that European don’t manufacture in the A320 like electronic and engine.
And the engine in the stories is half American Half french.
Boycotting aircraft will be a harder process. Airbus is in a strong position as Boeing struggle with QA and production rate. Every body is looking to buy a A320. They buy a Boeing because Airbus have such a waiting list that your plane won’t be delivered before 2030.
So maybe let just ask Airbus or the Europeans Commission to invest and plan for a 100% European part plane.
The American half burned down, the French half made sure there was a safe landing. 😃
If the engines on fire why are they all out on the wing??
Everyone wants to see and make a video.
Because one of the emergency exits is over the wing? I guess the engine fire is on the other side, though.
