NTSB: Communication problems after American engine fire

Federal investigators said Tuesday that communication problems that left flight attendants unable to talk to the pilots in the moments after an American Airlines plane caught fire on the runway in Chicago in 2016 put evacuating passengers at more risk of serious injury. At a hearing, the NTSB said flight attendants did not know how to use the intercom system to speak with pilots before they directed passengers to use an emergency exit behind an engine that was still running. One passenger was hurt after being knocked down by a blast from the engine after evacuating the plane as he was directed to do by a flight attendant. It was the only serious injury during the incident at O'Hare International Airport. The NTSB also said the investigation concluded the explosion was caused when a turbine disc failed in a way that had never been seen before and shattered. One 57-pound chunk of the disc pierced a fuel line with such force that it was later found more than a half-mile away. The board concluded that the flaw in the disc was not something that was likely to have been seen during an inspection but additional study is needed to determine if ultrasonic inspection methods should be required both during manufacturing and subsequent inspections.<br/>NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt seemed to anticipate fear the public might have as result of learning of the cause of the fire. "The fact is, this is a very, very rare failure," he said. Still, the fact that an engine exploded into flames as a jet was rolling toward takeoff and the problems with communication in the immediately aftermath of the explosion, Sumwalt suggested that it was very fortunate that only one of the 161 passengers and nine crew members was seriously injured. Story has more details.<br/>