TG970 20 OCT 2019 engine failure
 

TG970 20 Oct 2019 operated by B777-300ER HS-TKL "Sunanda" ("สุนันทา") returned to Suvarnabhumi shortly after taking off due to engine failure.

TG arranged a replacement flight TG970D, using HS-TKK, leaving BKK at 1PM, a 12-hour delay, and arrived ZRH at 7:08PM. This will cause TG971 to be delayed by around 9-10 hours.

The damage on HS-TKL's engine seems to require lots of repair (photo from my friend who was on the flight).

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...146f5fb1dd.jpg
HS-TKL

Thanks for the intro and picture. Quite a lot of damage.
I have cleaned the picture up a little.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...229d5254c.jpeg

Do you know what was the cause for this damage?

It looks like an uncontained failure of a part of the rear turbine section, at the rear of the engine.

FlightRadar24 track shows the aircraft taxing to runway 01L, commencing the take off roll, but didnt get airborne. It looks like it rejected the takeoff at a low speed.

The map is oriented to face North. Runway 01L is actual heading 015 degrees magnetic

Some details on HS-TKL:

HS-TKL Boeing 777-300 Thai Airways International Oct 2012 C42Y306 2x GE GE90-115B Sunanda / สุนันทา
leased from (hidden), Ferried PAE-BKK 30-31 Oct 2012 on delivery, leased from (hidden) 2013

This incident on JAL 77W is interesting (I make no judgements in what happened , of course):

https://www.aviation-safety.net/wiki....php?id=199386

Incident: JAL B773 at Tokyo on Sep 5th 2017, engine shut down in flight following uncontained failure

My friend was told that it was a bird ingestion. However, I don't know who told her and how accurate that information may be.

https://www.airlive.net/breaking-tha...uring-takeoff/

Interestingly similar content and photo......:)

Some journos read FT it seems....

FAA has issued an emergency AD on GE115-90B engine based on this incident

https://news.aviation-safety.net/201...lure-incident/

The article says: "Debris impacted the aircraft fuselage and the other engine." That's pretty remarkable in itself.

TG970 777 swapped for 747
 

So am traveling this weekend on the 970 and was looking forward to a flat bed.... then all of the sudden discovered that it is now operated by 747s, without any notice.

Understandable as one 777 is taken out, but I do hate the decades old angles flats - sometimes consider them worst than economy!

Not too happy that TG didn’t give any notice on this. Worst is the on my return on a 777 (LHR route), I’ve been moved from window private seat to the aisle one!

So how long is the 747 staying?

Worse than economy, huh... Right...:o

You booked a J class seat, you got a J class seat - annoying as it may be, you have not been downgraded in that regard. Aircraft are swapped all the time on all airlines for operational reasons, and few gives advance notice of this (especially if the actual assigned seat number remains the same).

As for how long the 747s are staying, that is a good question that I think only TG knows the answer to (if they have firmly decided on it yet)

HS-TGF has been brought out of storage and is now undergoing D-check at U-Tapao maintenance center. I guess we shall see more 747-400 back in service since the plan to order new aircraft has been put on hold by the government.

BTW, HS-TKL is still out of service. I guess the damage requires lots of effort plus extra inspection to ensure no other hidden damages cause by the engine debris.

Ouch, that sounds like an expensive (yet necessary) temporary backup. If I remember correctly, TGF was withdrawn from service after sustaining minor(?) damage in a runway excursion upon landing last year. Add to that a D check and it could take a while before it is back in the air!

I agree with you to an extent but quite often when I book F (not always on Thai), I choose the flight based on Aircraft. As I am paying top dollar I would be peeved if I had booked an A380 only for them to substitute for a 747. It's a different (and IMHO lower) level of comfort. If on the other hand there was no mention of aircraft type when making the booking then so be it.