Incident · 2018-02-13
What the record says
- Event date
- 2018-02-13
- Event type
- Incident
- Highest injury level
- No injuries
- Aircraft
- BOEING 777 222 (N773UA)
- Operating rule
- Part 121
- Operator
- UNITED AIRLINES, INC. Operator named in NTSB report
- Operated by (per NTSB report)
- UNITED AIRLINES INC
Probable cause
the fracture of a fan blade due to P&W's continued classification of the TAI inspection process as a new and emerging technology that permitted them to continue accomplishing the inspection without having to develop a formal, defined initial and recurrent training program or an inspector certification program. The lack of training resulted in the inspector making an incorrect evaluation of an indication that resulted in a blade with a crack being returned to service where it eventually fractured. Contributing to the fracture of the fan blade was the lack of feedback from the process engineers on the fan blades the inspectors sent to the process engineers for evaluation of indications that they had found.
Source: NTSB case DCA18IA092Flight crew
Certification and experience as recorded in the NTSB accident database for this event. The NTSB records these facts about the crew's flying history; GroundCheck shows them as filed, without names or identities.
| Role | Certificate | Instrument rating | Age | Medical | Flight hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pilot pilot flying | Airline transport pilot | Airplane | 57 | Class 1 (2017-11-27) | 13,592 total · 360 in this make/model |
| Co-pilot pilot flying | Airline transport pilot | Airplane | 60 | Class 1 (2017-10-05) | 11,318 total · 10,087 in this make/model |
Facts as the NTSB records them — GroundCheck adds no judgement. Preliminary records may be revised as the investigation proceeds.