Broken A340 Engine
Someone with intimate knowledge of that flight told me that the engine lost enough oil during the initial climb that the quantity indicator showed amber X's.
Subsequently, the ECAM required a shutdown. But every time the thrust lever was pulled back to idle, the ECAM disappeared. So they continued across the Pacific with the ECAM playing peek-a-boo all the way. It was mentioned at an equipment meeting that it appeared 15 times.
An A340 captain is supposed have a tiny bit of technical knowledge about jet engines.
50,000 rpm + no oil = trouble. D-uh!
A good used CFM56 costs between 5 and 7 million USD. If the crew collected per diems everyday for about 50 years and saved all of it, they would have enough to buy a cheap one.