Dutch investigators recommend changes to Boeing 747 engines

The Dutch Safety Board (OVV) has issued several recommendations in its final report on a contained engine failure on a Longtail Aviation Boeing 747-400 freighters (B747-400BCF) that occurred on February 20, 2021, while the aircraft was departing from Maastricht Aachen Airport to New York.

The engine failed shortly after departure, causing parts to fall on a village in the Netherlands, injuring two people and damaging cars and houses.

The OVV found that the contained engine failure was caused by deterioration of the high-pressure turbine and an outer air seal in the Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engine.

The board recommended that Longtail Aviation keep complete records of the implementation of service bulletins for leased engines, the FAA reconsider whether a service bulletin should be mandatory through an airworthiness directive, and the Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management assess residential areas around airports for the risks of parts departing the aircraft and accidents with aircraft.