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Engine Failure Accidents

7 investigationsFrom the official reportsUpdated Sep 2026

Modern turbine engines are extremely reliable, and multi-engine transport aircraft are certified to continue a takeoff and climb away safely after the failure of one engine at the most critical point. That is why, in accident reports, the engine failure itself is rarely the whole story.

The reports describe uncontained failures whose debris cut fuel lines, hydraulic systems or structure; failures of several engines at once, caused by fuel problems, volcanic ash, bird strikes or ice crystals; and, above all, crews who identified the wrong engine or mishandled the aircraft after the failure. In twin-engine aircraft, shutting down the good engine has caused more than one accident, which is why procedures insist on confirming the failed engine before any action is taken. In light twins, loss of control after an engine failure at low speed, close to the minimum control speed, is a classic hazard. The investigations below cover both sides of the problem: the machine, and the human response to its failure.

The investigations

A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 registered N772SW on the ground at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
NTSB · 2018

Southwest Airlines Flight 1380

· Boeing 737-7H4 (737-700)
How a fatigue crack in one CFM56-7B fan blade led to a lost cabin window, a rapid decompression and an emergency landing at Philadelphia.
Engine failurePressurisationStructural failureSurvival
A Qantas Airbus A380 registered VH-OQA climbing away after take-off.
ATSB · 2010

Qantas Flight 32

· Airbus A380-842
How a manufacturing flaw in an oil pipe led to a turbine disc burst on an A380, and how a five-pilot crew worked through the damage and landed at Singapore.
Engine failureFireCRM
A US Airways Airbus A320, registration N106US.
NTSB · 2009

US Airways Flight 1549

· Airbus A320-214
Both engines of an A320 ingested Canada geese at 2,818 ft above ground; the crew glided to a ditching on the Hudson River and all 155 people on board survived.
Engine failureDitchingCRMSurvival
A British Airways Boeing 777-236ER registered G-YMMM at London Heathrow.
AAIB · 2008

British Airways Flight 38

· Boeing 777-236ER
How ice that built up inside a Boeing 777's fuel system on a cold flight from Beijing blocked the fuel flow to both engines on final approach to Heathrow.
FuelEngine failureApproach and landingSurvival
Air Transat Airbus A330-243 C-GITS.
GPIAA · 2001

Air Transat Flight 236

· Airbus A330-243
A fuel leak from a mis-installed engine tube, crossfed instead of isolated, left an A330 without fuel over the Atlantic; the crew glided it to a landing in the Azores.
FuelMaintenanceHuman factorsEngine failure
The United Airlines McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 registered N1819U, a three-engined wide-body airliner with one engine in the tail.
NTSB · 1989

United Airlines Flight 232

· McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10
A DC-10's tail engine fan disk burst in cruise and cut all three hydraulic systems; the crew steered it to Sioux City using engine thrust alone.
Engine failureFlight controlsMaintenanceCRMSurvival
The British Midland Boeing 737-400 G-OBME at London Heathrow.
AAIB · 1989

British Midland Flight 92 (Kegworth)

· Boeing 737-400
After a fan blade failure in the left engine, the crew of a Boeing 737-400 shut down the right engine; the damaged engine failed on final approach and the aircraft crashed beside the M1.
Engine failureCRMHuman factorsSurvival

The theory in the Library

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Picture credits

  1. Southwest Airlines Flight 1380: Werner Lehmann · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
  2. Qantas Flight 32: Adrian Pingstone ( talk ) · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
  3. US Airways Flight 1549: Edmund Seeger · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
  4. British Airways Flight 38: Aero Icarus from Zürich, Switzerland · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
  5. Air Transat Flight 236: Ken Fielding · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
  6. United Airlines Flight 232: Paul Seymour · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
  7. British Midland Flight 92 (Kegworth): Leslie Snelleman · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Crash Investigations pages summarise official investigation reports for study and exam preparation. The investigating body's report is the authoritative account and prevails wherever it differs from this page. Under ICAO Annex 13, an investigation exists to prevent accidents, not to apportion blame or liability.