Quote:
Originally Posted by Commander Wallace
This is very true and the issue was not the air frame itself but the Pratt and Whitney engines that power this model aircraft. I saw footage where the engine was on fire, in flight. I'm thankful it didn't explode and the pilot was able to land on one engine. I also noticed the compressor blades remained relatively intact. The cowling and other pieces came off the engine. Maybe you and / or our other members would know why the engine wasn't shut off and how safe the wing tanks are in the event of an engine fire like this. I know we have members here in aviation field.
|
I'm assuming that the fire suppression system might have been damaged, preventing full extinguishment.
Engines generally don't "explode." There may be a catastrophic blade failure where the turbine tears itself apart, sending shrapnel through the engine and mechanically separating it, but jet fuel is actually really hard to ignite, let alone explode, unless it is vapor, and I'm sure they isolated fuel to that engine. The danger would have been if the fire consumed the engine at which point it more likely could have structurally weakened the pylon and dropped the engine, like a bomb rather than catching the rest of the plane on fire - the frigid wind blowing across the engine with no fuel likely kept the engine from catching everything else on fire. I'm guessing the parts that were on fire probably contained flammables such as insulation, hydraulic fluid, or magnesium.