Originally Posted by
atakacs
Now that's really impressive.
I really wonder if it is worth the effort and expense. Is the BEA footing the bill? Sure it would be interesting to understand the circumstances of the failure but I was not expecting so much energy into it.
Most of you probably remember the crash of United Airlines Flight 232 in Sioux City, Iowa, USA on 19/07/1989. That crash was caused by the uncontained failure of the tail-mounted No.2 engine. This failure disabled all three hydraulic systems, resulting in the loss of all conventional controls, leaving control only by engine nos. 1 and 3 throttles. Key to determining the cause of the uncontained engine failure was examination of the fan disk, which unfortunately departed the aircraft at 37,000 ft. above the Iowa cornfields. The manufacturer of the engine (CF6-6), General Electric, offered a reward of $50,000 for finding the disk, and it was found in an Iowa cornfield some 3 months after the crash. Examination of the fractured disk revealed a metallurgical flaw which occurred during production; however, it was further determined that the cracks which consequently developed, should have been detected in the course of subsequent operational inspections.
So, in short, the finding of the fan disk of the A380 engine was well worth the effort and may lead to a clear understanding of the cause of the uncontained engine failure.
Cheers,
Grog