A fuel leak and several poorly installed parts were found inside the engine of an American Airlines which Has fire After the plane landed in Denver in March, according to a report Released Thursday.
The National Transportation Safety Board said that part inside the right engine of the Boeing 737-800 was loose and had been installed in the wrong direction and that the fuel flees the adjustment of another part which was also incorrectly fixed.
The preliminary results do not identify the cause of the fire because the NTSB will not succeed in this conclusion before having finished its investigation probably next year.
But the former investigator of the NTSB and the FAA, Jeff Guzzetti, said that the problems that the investigators found in the engine seem to be the source of the fuel that caught fire.
“For me, it looks like poor maintenance in the right engine leading to a fuel leak,” said Guzzetti after reading the NTSB report.
Photos and videos published online have shown smoke and passengers standing on the wing of the plane after tackling a door at Denver International Airport. Twelve people were taken to hospital with minor injuries.
The plane was carrying 172 passengers and six crews. The NTSB said that the door workers have extinguished the fire in one minute even before the firefighters arrived and aspired persistent hot spots on the plane.
American Airlines said in a statement that “the security of our customers and team members is our top priority, and we cooperate with the National Transportation Safety Board in its investigation.”
The images included in the NTSB report show streaks outside the fuel engine engine, and the airport video has shown a trace of fluid that leaks under the right engine while the plane taxed to the door.
Guzzetti said he thought these sequences were probably made while the plane was flying. After landing, he said, the fuel probably gathered inside the engine and caught fire.
The American Airlines flight had left Colorado Springs airport and was to Dallas-Fort Worth when he turned to Denver on March 13 after the crew reported high engine vibrations. The right engine of the plane caught fire after his arrival at the door.
The passengers began to shout “fire” and “smoke” shortly after the plane stopped to the door, and the on -board agents saw the smoke start to fill the cabin, according to the NTSB report.
The on -board agents tried to call the flight team and knock on the cockpit door, but did not receive an answer. The report therefore indicates that the on -board agents initiated the evacuation.
The passengers were able to use the drop to the left front door and the escape slide at the right rear door as well as the left excessive doors to evacuate. But the left back door did not open, and the maintenance staff later discovered that the escape slide had fled into the door.
The defective slide was sent to the manufacturer for a more in -depth investigation.
The country has seen a Recent spaters of aeronautical disasters and nearby calls Setting fears regarding plane trips even if theft remains a very safe mode of transport.
