The Onderzoeksraad voor Veiligheid (Dutch Safety Board) has issued several recommendations in its final accident report into a contained engine failure on a converted Boeing 747-400 freighter (B747-400BCF) in which engine parts dropped on a village in the Netherlands.
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On Saturday, February 20, 2021, a cargo plane (Boeing 747-400) suffered an engine failure shortly after takeoff. Due to the engine failure, the engine lost debris that landed in the village of Meerssen. The impact on the ground was great.
The falling debris injured two people and damaged homes and cars. The aircraft was able to continue flying and diverted to Liège Airport (Liege Airport) in Belgium, where the aircraft landed safely.
The investigation shows that the maintenance of the engine was carried out in accordance with the maintenance schedule.
Installing extra cooling facilities in the engine to prevent wear and deformation was not done. This installation was recommended by the engine manufacturer, but not required. The Council therefore recommends making these additional cooling facilities mandatory.
The airline that operated the aircraft for three months at the time of the incident was unable to provide maintenance documentation to demonstrate why the cooling facilities had not been installed in the past.
An adequate administration of maintenance documentation is of great importance for an airline to be able to make the right decisions with regard to the maintenance of an aircraft. The Council therefore recommends that the records should always be complete and adequate.
The engine failure did not seriously endanger the aircraft. The aircraft continued to fly to a nearby airport. However, the lost debris from the turbine posed a danger to persons on the ground.
To date, no risk assessment of falling aircraft parts, such as engine debris, has been made for residential areas around Maastricht Aachen Airport. The Dutch Safety Board therefore recommends that a decision be made on the acceptability of these local risks based on a risk assessment. ■