A United Airlines Airbus A320 returned to Hartford after a piece of the engine–the sound-dampening outer liner–reportedly fell off and was found on the runway.
United Airlines Airbus A320 Flight Diverts After Sound-Dampening Outer Liner Falls Off Engine
The incident occurred on United flight 325, operating from Bradley International Airport (BDL) in Hartford, Connecticut to Denver (DEN). The flight was operated by an Airbus A320 with registration number N490UA. That A320-232 is about 22 years old, taking its first flight in February 2002.
A piece of the engine’s outer liner, which helps to regulate volume, was found on the runway after takeoff.
Onboard, the flight crew noticed an “abnormal noise” emanating from the engine, which was explained by the missing liner. The flight turned around and returned to BDL, arriving about an hour later.
The aircraft remains on the ground in Bradley, with United placing passengers on alternate flights to get them to their final destinations.
124 passengers were onboard, there were no injuries, and the diversion did not impact airport operations at BDL. The US Federal Aviation Administration says that it will investigate the incident.
This is a developing story.
If the A320 in question is 22 years old, it would not have taken its first flight in February 2022 but rather in 2002, perhaps?
United clearly has maintenance issues and also has some relatively old planes, across the 757-200, 767-300ER, A319 and A320 fleets.
What a difference a numeral makes!
@lavanderialarry … I’d rather be in a 50 year old C-130 .
Me too. Probably because they made me wear a parachute every time I got on a 130.
@JohnA … +1 . Your post reminds me that C-130 riders have many take-offs and no landings .
Does this incident mean the duct tape holding the parts together failed?
Given that UA is having issues with so many aircraft, it’s hard to believe that pointing fingers at say, Boeing, is anything more than passing the buck.
@Corwin … the root issue is a school system wherein the students do not learn maths , reasoning , not responsibility . Those are whom the companies employ . And after they are employed , they need to keep up with their mobile phone messaged . A generation of morons is coming .
“Maths” and “messaged,” but THEY’RE the morons…
Poor maintenance again. These airlines need to be grounded for everyones safety
OMG! Another “Airbus” incident!!!
Actually, people who freak out about this kind of stuff have little concept about how many flights a day are operated by large airlines.
These aircraft are not Magic Carpets. They are complex collections of thousands of parts, assembled and maintained by humans.
Incidents are going to happen every day, somewhere. With the bored media pouncing on each one, it will sound like a continuing catastrophy.