Originally Posted by
Justin026
One thing that has been mentioned in the press is that the methods for containment of debris after an engine failure didn't work here/haven't worked, etc. But did I had once read that the main turbine blades, if they fail, cannot be contained -- too big and powerful when they break away? And that, since their failure could not be contained or controlled, there was an extra-cautious philosophy for their manufacture and maintenance. How much of that do I have right?
Also there has been reporting of the age of the plane. But don't the engines get moved from plane to plane? Isn't the age of that engine/its amount of use the more important point?
First off: containment of the turbine blades is critical to the certification of the engines. This is what the test looks like. It’s hard to just fathom how much kinetic energy one of these things has when it’s running.
And a computer simulation (don’t know how accurate it is, but it looks like a reasonable depiction of a blade shedding event):
Second: you’re correct. Motors are moved around routinely and the motors that were delivered with the original airframe are likely on a different airframe within the WN fleet. Just like airframes, the motors have an overhaul schedule, where they’re taken off the plane and either overhauled in house or shipped to a third party MRO facility.