Longtail Aviation Flight 5504
VQ-BWT, the Boeing 747-400(BCF) involved, seen in March 2021 after its return to service
Incident
Date20 February 2021
SummaryEngine failure with parts detached from aircraft
SiteNear Meerssen, Netherlands
Aircraft
Aircraft typeBoeing 747-412(BCF)
OperatorLongtail Aviation
ICAO flight No.LGT5504
Call signLONGTAIL 5504
RegistrationVQ-BWT
Flight originMaastricht Airport, Maastricht, Netherlands
DestinationJohn F. Kennedy International Airport, New York, United States
Injuries0
SurvivorsAll
Ground casualties
Ground fatalities0
Ground injuries2

On February 20, 2021, Longtail Aviation Flight 5504, an international cargo flight operated by Longtail Aviation from Maastricht, Netherlands, to New York, United States, suffered an engine failure shortly after departure that caused debris to fall to the ground near the Dutch town of Meerssen. Two people on the ground were slightly injured and there was property damage to buildings and cars. The Boeing 747-400(BCF) cargo plane diverted to Liege Airport with the failed engine shut down and landed there safely.[1][2]

A criminal investigation was launched to determine if there was criminal negligence involved, but it was closed a month later with no finding of negligence. A separate aviation safety investigation was also launched by the Dutch Safety Board (OVV).

Accident

Failed PW4056 #1 engine after landing (Dutch Safety Board photo).

On 20 February 2021 at 16:11 local time,[3] coincidentally only a few hours before the similar United Airlines Flight 328 parts departing aircraft incident,[4][5][6] a Boeing 747-400BCF registered in Bermuda (VQ-BWT),[7] operating as Longtail Aviation flight LGT-5504, experienced a nominally contained engine failure shortly after departing Maastricht Aachen Airport in the Netherlands in a southerly direction.[3] Nevertheless, two people were injured by debris that also fell in a residential area.[8] An elderly woman suffered a head injury that was treated at a hospital, and a child suffered burns after touching a piece of debris on the ground.[9]

The converted freighter aircraft, originally delivered in 1991,[10] was powered by four Pratt & Whitney PW4056-3 engines,[11] a version of the earlier PW4000-94 engine.[12][13][14][15][16][17] "A few seconds after the plane took off, air traffic control noted an engine fire and informed the pilots. They then switched off the engine concerned and sent out an emergency signal," according to Maastricht Aachen Airport.[7] Metal parts of engine #1 (s/n P727441), believed to be turbine blades, came down in the Sint Josephstraat area of the village of Meerssen, approximately 2 km past the end of the runway.

The crew declared an emergency and diverted to land on the longer runway at Liège, Belgium, about 19 miles (31 km) south of the Dutch border.[4] After entering a holding pattern over the Belgian Ardennes to dump fuel, the aircraft made a precautionary 3-engine landing without further incident.[18][19]

Screenshot from local 1Limburg TV press interview, with damaged car and emergency response vehicle in background.[20]

A local fire department representative reported that multiple witness on the ground saw the aircraft flying with an active engine fire. Video of a 747 in flight with smoke trailing from one engine was also posted to Twitter. Falling debris damaged parked cars,[21] and press accounts of the incident included a widely circulated photo of the destruction showing what appears to be a part of an engine blade wedged in the roof of a car like a knife stuck in a block of butter.[22] Maastricht Airport spokesperson Hella Hendriks told Reuters: "Several cars were damaged and bits hit several houses. Pieces were found across the residential neighbourhood on roofs, gardens and streets."[23] Meerssen police publicly requested that possible fragments be left in place to aid the investigation, but later asked residents to turn in the parts. Local residents reportedly collected over 200 pieces of the engine after what some described as a "rain of debris."[24][25] The blade-like parts were approximately 5 centimetres (2 in) wide and up to 25 centimetres (10 in) long.[5]

Investigation

The Dutch Safety Board (OVV) immediately started an exploratory investigation where researchers initially collect evidence to determine whether an extensive investigation is necessary.[21] A spokeswoman for the OVV stated "We immediately started collecting debris on Saturday and are now also going to look at the aircraft itself." The Aviation Team of the Dutch national police also started an investigation to determine if there was criminal negligence, but they did not travel to Belgium to examine the aircraft, instead asking for assistance from their Belgian counterparts.[26] The criminal negligence investigation was closed a month later finding no negligence or guilt.[27]

Martin Amick, the CEO of Longtail Aviation, said, "we are now in the process of working closely with the Dutch, Belgian, Bermuda and UK authorities to understand the cause of this incident."[28] CNN reported that Boeing technical advisers are supporting the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board with its investigation.[7] The NTSB would be involved in the investigation since the Boeing 747 is built in the U.S.

Europe's EASA aviation regulator said it was aware of the two Pratt & Whitney jet engine incidents, and was requesting information on the causes to determine what action may be needed.[5] After receiving more information, EASA said the Longtail and United incidents were unrelated: "Nothing in the failure and root analysis show any similarity (between the two incidents) at this stage."[29]

The aircraft and cargo were released two days after the incident, but the OVV retained the damaged engine and the "black box" recorders. Longtail Aviation dispatched a replacement engine on another of their 747 freighters to facilitate the repairs necessary for return to service.[30] The aircraft was returned to service and has been seen servicing Maastricht Airport.[27]

The OVV's "Shortened Investigation" is officially concluded on April 19, 2023, with reports released in both Dutch and English.[31] The report concluded that this engine turbine failure was caused by elevated gas temperatures that existed for an extended period of time in the turbine of the engine causing wear and deformation of outer transition duct panels. A service bulletin aiming to resolve this issue was not incorporate by the operator.

In its news story on this incident, British newspaper The Guardian used a stock image of an Air China 747F cargo aircraft as its lead image. Chinese media reported that Air China demanded a formal public apology through its lawyers for the alleged negative impact on the company's image, and the Chinese Embassy in the UK requested that the newspaper make an immediate correction and apologize to the Chinese company.[32] The Guardian changed the picture and left a note at the end of the report: "The photograph used to illustrate this article was changed on 23 February 2021 because an earlier image showed a Boeing 747 belonging to a carrier unrelated to events; it has been replaced with a generic image of a Boeing aircraft."[33]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Vliegtuig verliest onderdelen na start vliegveld Maastricht: twee gewonden" [Plane loses parts after Maastricht airport departure: two injured]. RTL Nieuws (in Dutch). 2021-02-20. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  2. ↑ "Vallende brokstukken in Meerssen: vliegt de luchtvaart te lang door met oude toestellen?" [Falling debris in Meerssen: does aviation continue for too long with old aircraft?]. de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Netherlands. Retrieved 29 June 2021. Dit weekeinde ontploften kort achter elkaar motoren van twee oude Boeings. De vliegtuigen landden veilig, maar op de grond in Meerssen (Limburg) en in Denver (Colorado) regende het brokstukken. Vormen oude vliegtuigen een risico? (This weekend the engines of two old Boeings exploded in quick succession. The planes landed safely, but it was raining on the ground in Meerssen (Limburg) and in Denver (Colorado). Are old planes a risk?)
  3. 1 2 "Maastricht Aachen Airport comments on the engine failure of Longtail Aviation Boeing 747-400". Aviation24.be. Belgium. 2021-02-21. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
  4. 1 2 Brown, Lee (2021-02-22). "JFK-bound plane's engine caught fire, dropped debris over Netherlands". New York Post. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
  5. 1 2 3 "Boeing 747 cargo plane drops engine parts in Netherlands, investigation launched". Reuters. 2021-02-22. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
  6. ↑ "USA und Niederlande: Flugzeugteile stürzen über Denver und Maastricht herab" [USA and Netherlands: Aircraft parts fall over Denver and Maastricht]. SPIEGEL Panorama (in German). SPIEGEL Group. 2021-02-21. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
  7. 1 2 3 Frater, James; Vera, Amir (2021-02-21). "Cargo plane's engine catches fire, dropping debris that injures two people in a Dutch town". CNN. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
  8. ↑ Frost, Jamie; Freed, David; Shepardson, Laurence (2021-02-23). "Boeing engine blowouts investigated as older 777s are suspended". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-02-23.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ↑ "Boeing verliest stukken metaal bij Maastricht, twee lichtgewonden" [Boeing loses pieces of metal at Maastricht, two slightly injured]. nos.nl (in Dutch). 20 February 2021. Retrieved 2021-02-20. In de omgeving van Meerssen kwamen stukken metaal van het toestel naar beneden. Twee mensen zijn gewond geraakt: een oudere vrouw moest met een hoofdwond naar het ziekenhuis, een kind liep brandwonden op door het oprapen van een van de brokstukken. (Pieces of metal from the aircraft fell in the vicinity of Meerssen. Two people were injured: an elderly woman had to be taken to hospital with a head injury and was treated at a hospital, a child suffered burns from picking up one of the debris.)
  10. ↑ Kaminski-Morrow, David (2021-02-21). "Dutch probe shedding of 747 freighter engine parts over Maastricht". Flight Global. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
  11. ↑ "ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 248036". Aviation Safety Network. 2021-02-20. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
  12. ↑ "PW4000-94 Engine". Pratt & Whitney. Retrieved April 16, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Live Flight Tracker: Real-Time Flight Tracker Map". Flight history for aircraft : VQ-BWT. Flightradar24. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
  14. ↑ "Vliegtuig verliest metaaldelen boven Meersen". 1Limburg (in Dutch). 2021-02-20. Archived from the original on 2021-06-29. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
  15. ↑ "LONGTAIL 747 Rains Engine Parts in Dutch Town!". Mentour Pilot. 2021-02-20.
  16. ↑ "ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 248036". Aviation Safety Network. 2021-02-20. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
  17. ↑ "Longtail Aviation Boeing 747-412(BCF) VQ-BWT flight # LGT5504: Engine 1 failure/ lost metals parts" – via www.youtube.com.
  18. ↑ "Serious incident to the Boeing 747 registered VQ-BWT operated by Longtail Aviation on 20/02/2021 at Maastricht". Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA). Retrieved 2021-06-26.
  19. ↑ "Plane lands in Liège after losing bits of its engine in explosion". The Brussels Times. Belgium. 2021-02-21. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
  20. ↑ "Meerssenaren over vliegtuig: 'Gaat ie vallen of niet'?". 1Limburg (in Dutch). 2021-02-20. Retrieved 2021-06-27. Een inwoner van Meerssen wist zaterdagmiddag niet wat hij zag: 'We hoorden een knal, keken naar boven en zagen vlammen uit de motor van een vrachtvliegtuig komen. Dertig seconden daarna kwamen er stukken ijzer uit de lucht vallen.' (A resident of Meerssen did not know what he saw on Saturday afternoon: 'We heard a bang, looked up and saw flames coming from the engine of a cargo plane. Thirty seconds later pieces of iron fell from the sky.')
  21. 1 2 "Vliegtuig verliest motoronderdelen bij Maastricht Aachen Airport - Binnenland" [Plane loses engine parts at Maastricht Aachen Airport]. De Telegraaf (in Dutch). 2021-02-20. Retrieved 2021-06-26. MAASTRICHT - Een vrachtvliegtuig dat zaterdagmiddag is vertrokken vanaf Maastricht Aachen Airport is na het opstijgen onderdelen van de motor verloren als gevolg van een explosie in een van de motoren. Dit meldt een woordvoerder van de Veiligheidsregio. Voor zover bekend is er één persoon gewond geraakt door vallende brokstukken. (MAASTRICHT - A cargo plane that took off from Maastricht Aachen Airport on Saturday afternoon lost parts of the engine after take-off as a result of an explosion in one of the engines. This is reported by a spokesperson for the Security Region. As far as is known, one person was injured by falling debris.)
  22. ↑ Long, Katherine Anne (2021-02-22). "Boeing 747 engine catches fire, drops parts over the Netherlands, injuring 2". Seattle Times. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
  23. ↑ Sly, Eleanor (2021-02-22). "Boeing 747 engine bursts into flames and showers metal parts over Dutch town". The Independent. U.K. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
  24. ↑ "Limburg village residents collect 200 pieces of cargo plane's motor". DutchNews.nl. 2021-02-24. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
  25. ↑ "Inwoners Meerssen leverden tot dusver zo'n 200 gevallen vliegtuigonderdelen in" [Residents of Meerssen have so far handed in about 200 fallen aircraft parts]. NU (in Dutch). 2021-02-24. Retrieved 2021-06-26. Inwoners van de Limburgse plaats Meerssen hebben tot dusver zo'n tweehonderd gevallen vliegtuigonderdelen ingeleverd bij de luchtvaartpolitie, meldt een woordvoerder woensdag in gesprek met NU.nl. Het dorp werd zaterdag opgeschrikt nadat de onderdelen vanuit de lucht in het dorp vielen. (Residents of the Limburg town of Meerssen have so far handed in about two hundred fallen aircraft parts to the aviation police, a spokesperson reported on Wednesday in conversation with NU.nl. The village was shaken on Saturday after the parts fell from the air into the village.)
  26. ↑ "Onderzoeksraad naar Luik voor onderzoek vliegtuig" [Dutch Safety Board to Liège for aircraft investigation]. nl:1Limburg (in Dutch). nl:L1 (omroep). 2021-02-21. Retrieved 2021-06-26. Naast de Onderzoeksraad is ook het Team Luchtvaart van de nationale politie een onderzoek gestart. 'Maar wij kunnen niet naar België omdat het mogelijk kan uitlopen op een strafrechtelijk onderzoek en dan zijn wij niet bevoegd in België te opereren. Daarom hebben we nu onze Belgische collega's gevraagd enkele eerste onderzoeksvragen voor ons te beantwoorden. Mocht daaruit blijken dat de oorzaak zou kunnen liggen in verwijtbaar handelen, dan dienen wij een rechtshulpverzoek in.' (In addition to the Dutch Safety Board, the Aviation Team of the national police has also started an investigation. 'But we cannot go to Belgium because it could possibly lead to a criminal investigation and then we are not authorized to operate in Belgium. That is why we have now asked our Belgian colleagues to answer some initial research questions for us. can lie in culpable acts, then we will submit a request for legal assistance.')
  27. 1 2 "Geen strafrechtelijk onderzoek naar incident met Boeing 747 boven Meerssen" [No Criminal Investigation into Incident with Boeing 747 over Meerssen]. Luchtvaartnieuws (in Dutch). 2021-03-25. Retrieved 2021-06-26. SCHIPHOL - Er komt geen strafrechtelijk onderzoek naar het voorval met een Boeing 747-vrachtvliegtuig van Longtail Aviation, waarbij vorige maand na een motorstoring meer dan 200 brokstukken op het Limburgse plaatsje Meerssen vielen. Van grove nalatigheid of schuld is geen sprake, zo heeft de politie na uitgebreid onderzoek aan diverse media laten weten. (SCHIPHOL - There will be no criminal investigation into the incident with a Boeing 747 freighter from Longtail Aviation, in which more than 200 pieces of debris fell on the Limburg town of Meerssen last month after an engine failure. There is no question of gross negligence or guilt, the police informed various media after an extensive investigation.)
  28. ↑ "Two injured after Longtail Aviation 747 engine parts land on Dutch town". The Royal Gazette. Bermuda. 2021-02-22. Retrieved 2021-06-26.
  29. ↑ Freed, Jamie; Shepardson, David; Frost, Laurence (2021-02-22). "Boeing engine blowouts investigated as older 777s are suspended". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
  30. ↑ "Boeing weer vrijgegeven door Onderzoeksraad" [Boeing released by Dutch Safety Board]. nl:1Limburg (in Dutch). nl:L1 (omroep). 2021-02-22. Retrieved 2021-06-26. De Boeing 747 die zaterdagmiddag motorproblemen kreeg boven Meerssen, kort na de start vanaf Maastricht Aachen Airport, is maandag vrijgegeven door de Onderzoeksraad voor Veiligheid. De OVV behoudt de geschonden motor en de zwarte doos met daarin de vluchtinformatie voor verder onderzoek, licht een woordvoerster van de Onderzoeksraad toe. (The Boeing 747 that had engine problems over Meerssen on Saturday afternoon, shortly after take-off from Maastricht Aachen Airport, was released on Monday by the Dutch Safety Board. The OVV keeps the damaged engine and the black box containing the flight information for further investigation, a spokeswoman for the Dutch Safety Board explains.)
  31. ↑ "Engine failure, Boeing 747-412BCF, Meerssen". Onderzoeksraad. 2023-04-19. Retrieved 2023-12-18. Theme: Aviation, Investigation start date: 20.02.2021, Type: Shortened, Investigation Status: Completed
  32. ↑ "Why Is Air China Demanding An Apology From A Global Media House Based In The UK?". EurAsian Times. New Delhi. 25 February 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  33. ↑ "Engine parts drop from Boeing 747 cargo plane in Netherlands". The Guardian. 2021-02-22. Retrieved 2021-06-28.

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