Kudos to United Airlines for avoiding a disaster yesterday at HNL.
Picture this moment. You’re on HNL’s reef runway (the first of its kind), traveling high speed during takeoff roll, when a loud bang is heard. On the flight are 340 passengers and a great deal of fuel for the 4,250 mile flight to Chicago.
What would be going through your head? I think I’d like to be back at the beach.
Outcome: United’s crew successfully rejected take-off from runway 26L and brought the plane to a stop. HNL closed the runway for cleanup and the plane was towed back to the gate. It was later determined that the left engine had “blown.”
You can read more about United’s flight from Honolulu to Chicago and check our recent posts below for coverage of medical and mechanical issues in the air.
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Ed says
With so many things being outsourced to the lowest bidder, and the economy being the way it is, it makes me wonder about the safety of the airline fleet.
Sure, I know “things happen” but why did this engine “blow”?
Almost every flight leaving Hawaii for anywhere outside of Hawaii carries a lot of fuel! This is even more reason for airplanes traveling to and from Hawaii to have even more scrutiny when it comes to maintenance.
Sandra says
I’ve been on an UAL flight from HNL to Chicago O’Hare, THAT is alot of fuel on board. So glad that everything was OK. I just know that at that point I would NOT be myself and yes, I’d like nothing more than to be on land, preferable at the beach. KUDO’s to the flight crew.