Airlines

Preliminary inquiries indicate that the Nationwide Airlines Boeing 737-200 which shed its starboard engine on take-off from Cape Town two days ago had suffered ingestion resulting in catastrophic engine failure.

Nationwide states that the ingestion of an object, the nature of which is still unclear, led the Pratt & Whitney JT8D engine to fail and generated forces strong enough to fracture the retainers which attach the powerplant to the wing.

“We are currently working with authorities and investigators to establish what exactly the unidentified object was,” says the carrier, which claims: “The engine-to-wing supporting structure is designed to release the engine when extreme forces are applied, to prevent any structural damage to the wing that may impair the aircraft’s ability to fly.”

South Africa’s civil aviation administration has identified the aircraft as a 26-year old jet registered ZS-OEZ. It was previously operated by carriers including Lufthansa and Croatia Airlines.

Nationwide fleet includes 11 737-200s, most of which are leased. Flight’s ACAS database lists the aircraft’s owner as Aviation Systems International.

During the take-off roll from Cape Town at 15:50 on 7 November the crew of the aircraft, operating as flight CE723, heard a loud noise as the 737 rotated. The aircraft subsequently yawed to the right.

Cockpit indications suggested an engine failure and the crew carried out the appropriate emergency procedure. But Nationwide says: “It was observed by some passengers on board, as well as people at the airport, that the engine had separated and detached from the wing.”

The aircraft returned to the airport to make an emergency landing but the 737 touched down without further incident, and none of the passengers or crew members was injured.

Nationwide, which points out that it is on the register of carriers which have passed the IATA operational safety audit, says the engine had accumulated 3,806hr since its last major overhaul, conducted in the USA in March 2005.