Accident investigators demand that Boeing prove the safety of the 767 after the “serious incident” involving an emergency landing of a Delta Air flight

British air accident investigators have increased the pressure on struggling aircraft maker Boeing after asking the company to prove that its 767 aircraft meet certification requirements for large passenger aircraft following a “serious incident” involving a Delta Air Lines jet.

The call was made on Thursday following the publication of a safety recommendation bulletin by the UK Air Accident Investigation Board (AAIB) regarding an emergency landing on February 10, 2023.

The incident involved a 26-year-old Boeing 767-300 of Delta Air Lines, which was scheduled to fly from Edinburgh Airport to New York JFK with 211 passengers and 10 crew members on board.

During takeoff, a blade of the high-pressure turbine in the right engine broke, causing this blade to damage five other blades. Although the engine was still producing thrust, the damage caused severe vibrations that caused a fuel drain pipe in the right wing to break.

This rupture meant that after landing, fuel leaked from the wing onto the ground and very close to the hot brakes. Emergency crews rushed to the scene and were able to keep the fuel away from the brakes, but accident investigators fear that a serious fire could have broken out if the fuel had been blown onto the brakes.

The pilots did not initially notice that there was anything wrong with the aircraft, but the flight crew noticed a “persistent loud vibration” and a “rattling” noise during taxiing and takeoff.

The purser tried to call the pilots but was initially unable to reach them as they were busy with takeoff procedures. However, it was only after takeoff that the pilots received computer warnings that something was wrong with the right engine.

After speaking to the purser, a reserve pilot went into the cabin to check what was going on but noticed nothing unusual. Nevertheless, the captain decided to initiate a diversion and they flew towards Prestwick Airport in Scotland.

Because it was an overweight landing, the captain requested the airport fire department to meet him on arrival before noticing strong vibrations from the engine. At about the same time, a passenger filmed yellow flames shooting out of the engine.

The plane landed safely at Prestwick, but air traffic controllers noticed what appeared to be a fuel leak from the right wing. The wind was blowing the fuel towards the hot brakes.

Passenger stairs were quickly installed at the front of the aircraft and passengers were asked to exit the aircraft and leave all their luggage behind. It took about 5 minutes and 20 seconds for everyone to disembark while the airport fire service took action to prevent fuel from reaching the brakes.

“As a result of this serious incident, the aircraft manufacturer has implemented safety measures and launched a project to review the drain pipe design for possible reliability improvements,” the AAIB said on Thursday.

“At the time of publication of this report, the manufacturer had concluded that there was no increased risk of catastrophic consequences from a defective drainage tube.”

The AAIB has asked the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to review Boeing’s analysis that a defective drain hose could have catastrophic consequences. The engine manufacturer told accident investigators that there had been two similar incidents and in both cases the drain hose had broken.

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