SEE!!! They do fly JUST FINE!

[Passenger Mark]

One of my big worries was... what would happen if the engine fell off! Completely lost it. My vivid imagination had us plunging to the ground. However, I have since learned that nothing will happen, other than you will make an unscheduled landing.

Back in 2004 a 747 Cargo Plane had a problem with it's #1 engine. They landed to have it checked out, only to find out it had fallen off! The pilots did not even know it was gone, just was not working. AND LOOK!!! The plane landed just fine!

Understand that this is a Cargo Plane, and the owner is someone I have never heard of... so you are unlikely to every fly on an aircraft like this, but it does show just how safe they are...


747 Air Cargo Plane Loses Engine Over Michigan





Kalitta Air Cargo Plane Lands Safely in Detroit After Losing Engine



October 21, 2004 03:29 PM US Eastern Timezone



YPSILANTI, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 21, 2004--On October 20, 2004, Kalitta Air operating a Boeing 747 N709CK left Chicago's O'Hare International Airport bound for New York's Kennedy International Airport when it experienced mechanical difficulties with one of the four engines. Five crewmembers were aboard the airplane when it landed safely at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. No injuries were sustained. It is believed that one of the four engines separated from the airplane while in flight over Lake Michigan.



The airplane originally departed Hong Kong with a full load consisting of general merchandise cargo. From Hong Kong the airplane stopped in Khabarovsk, Russia for fuel and then continued to Anchorage, Alaska for fuel before stopping at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois bound for Kennedy International Airport in New York.



Kalitta Air received Part 121 Air Carrier Certification by the Federal Aviation Administration in November 2000. Kalitta Air is based in Ypsilanti, Michigan at Willow Run Airport and flies cargo internationally. Kalitta Air operates eleven (11) Boeing 747 airplanes to transport cargo worldwide. The Boeing 747 is equipped with four Pratt and Whitney JT9D engines and they are recognized for their safety and reliability record.



The Company is working with the FAA officials and National Transportation Safety Board to determine the cause of the incident. The Company's Safety Department is diligently inspecting all maintenance and airplane records and will continue to investigate the cause of this incident.



The Director of Operations for Kalitta Air would like to commend the actions of Detroit Metropolitan Airport in handling this emergency. The Company appreciates the support and swift response of the Detroit Metropolitan Airport and all of those who assisted in the safe landing of the aircraft. Their actions and the well trained experienced crewmembers ensured that the airplane landed safely and no one was injured.





747 crew lands to check engine only to find it gone



Herald news services



Published: Friday, October 22, 2004



CHICAGO - Even minus a little engine that could, this Boeing 747 did.



The Kalitta Air cargo plane from Chicago landed safely at Detroit Metropolitan Airport after dropping an engine somewhere over Michigan.



The jet took off from O'Hare International Airport late Wednesday and was bound for New York's Kennedy International Airport when it reported mechanical problems with one of its engines, a Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman said.



The 747 was able to fly but was diverted as a safety precaution to Detroit, where it landed without incident, FAA officials said. No one was injured.



After the landing, airline personnel found that the engine, one of four Pratt and Whitney JT9D models, was completely gone, FAA officials said.



Michigan authorities searched Thursday for the missing engine, which may have fallen into Lake Michigan, the FAA said.



Kalitta Air operates 11 Boeing 747 airplanes to transport cargo worldwide.





Plane lands in Detroit after engine falls off



Associated Press



Published October 22, 2004



ROMULUS - A cargo plane landed safely at Detroit Metropolitan Airport early Thursday after losing an engine that may have landed in Lake Michigan.



Federal Aviation Administration officials say a Kalitta Air LLC jet took off from O'Hare International Airport late Wednesday.



It was bound for New York's Kennedy International Airport when it reported mechanical problems with one of its four engines when it was about 15 miles east of Battle Creek.



The Boeing 747 was diverted to Detroit Metro in Romulus, where it landed without incident. No members of the five-person crew were injured.



When the plane landed, flight officials discovered the engine not only was a mechanical loss but was physically gone, the FAA said.



It was believed to have been lost over Lake Michigan, but law enforcement officials were searching the Battle Creek area as well.



The National Transportation Safety Board was leading the investigation, and the FAA was lending support.



Kalitta is based in Ypsilanti and offers worldwide air freight service.





Cargo plane loses engine over Michigan



Detroit, MI, Oct. 21 (UPI) –



Authorities are searching a corridor from Lake Michigan to Battle Creek for a jet engine that fell off a Kalitta Air cargo plane early Thursday.



The Boeing 741-R was flying from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York when it declared an emergency and landed safely at Detroit Metropolitan Airport.



The flight crew had reported engine trouble after one of the freighter's four engines apparently fell off its wing mount.



Michigan State Police had received no reports of debris on the ground, WDIV-TV, Detroit, said.



A Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman said there were unconfirmed reports the engine fell into Lake Michigan.



A team from the National Transportation Safety Board was to inspect the plane on the ground in Detroit

[Passenger Mark]

Sorry about that Sean...

Didn't mean any disrespect. I am sure they are a fine airline.

What I was stressing to the folks is that they are not likely to find themselves aboard a cargo aircraft. These planes are very safe, but usually MUCH older than the passenger airliners.

The whole point of the thread was that EVEN with one engine gone... the plane flys and lands just fine!

My thoughts are about the poor people on the ground when an engine falls on their house! OUCH!!!

[Passenger Mark]

Thanks Sean! BTW here is a photo of that poor 747 who loss his engine...

http://www.airdisaster.com/photos/n709ck/2.jpg

[EditorASC]

I remember a case of the # 3 engine, on a 727, being knocked off by a big, blue ball of ice. Guess where that came from? :scratch: :blech:

BTW, it kept on flying, all the way to a safe landing too.

[Falcon]

Under certain stresses the engine bolts are designed to deliberatly shear off and dump the engine. Better that than an entire chunk of wing comming away. The lack of dead egine would probably make flight characterisitcs slightly better as less dead weight less drag on that wing. Heres hoping I never get to test that theory

[EditorASC]

"The lack of dead egine would probably make flight characterisitcs slightly better as less dead weight less drag on that wing. Heres hoping I never get to test that theory."

I hope so too.

Hard to say what the total difference in drag would be, with the jagged metal of the pylon hanging out in the airstream. Since the weight will be much more on one side of the plane than the other, that will affect how the spoilers, rudder and ailerons are used, to offset both asymmetrical thrust and drag, than would be the case if the weight was still balanced.

And, likely that at least one of the plane's hydraulic systems with be inoperative too, so that requires even more input to the remaining systems, to offset that loss.

At any rate, rest assured that the planes can fly well, even when an engine does break away. It is true that the shear bolts were designed to allow a break away, to protect the rest of the structure. Though on planes with wing engines, the main purpose was to keep the wing intact, enhancing the likelyhood of success, in the event of a water ditching. It helps in other situations too.

[LeslieDEN]

Capt. Bob and Royd, doesn't the simulator simulate changes in drag, weight, and handling characteristics when you play lose-an-engine during sim training? Or does it not simulate having an engine drop away?

[Falcon]

Hard to say what the total difference in drag would be, with the jagged metal of the pylon hanging out in the airstream. Since the weight will be much more on one side of the plane than the other, that will affect how the spoilers, rudder and ailerons are used, to offset both asymmetrical thrust and drag, than would be the case if the weight was still balanced.

And, likely that at least one of the plane's hydraulic systems with be inoperative too, so that requires even more input to the remaining systems, to offset that loss.

Good point but the engine was designed to go under certain circumstances so I think the cons would have been considered. Also the hydraulics would be amply covered by one engine. Some systems are affected but each hydraulic system has a beck up electric pump to pick up the slack.

Simulators can imitate this but an engine fire is far harder so that is what the trainers focus on. The simulator is not there to make our lives easy. The requirement is for engine failure at rotation when the aircraft is at its most vulnerable so thats what we practice.