The left engine of British Airlines Flight 2276, which burst into flames Tuesday at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, showed multiple breaches in the metal casing surrounding it and parts of the engine’s high pressure compressor were found on the runway, according to an initial examination by aviation experts.
Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board said they don’t know yet what caused the engine failure during takeoff shortly after 4 p.m. (7 p.m. ET) Tuesday.
But CNN has learned that the Federal Aviation Administration issued an airworthiness directive in 2011 to airlines using this GE90-85B engine.
It warned of possible “uncontained engine failure,” which means parts of the engine can break and fly out . The FAA mandated repetitive inspections of the high pressure compressor rotor spool for cracks.
The NTSB said it is too early to draw any conclusions, but the part of the plane’s engine that was heavily damaged is the same part mentioned in the FAA’s airworthiness directive.
A source close to the investigation said a physical inspection of the plane will be key in the case and may provide more clues than the black box, which can’t tell investigators if a part of the engine broke off.
A thud, then an evacuation order
Jay Jennings was one of the 157 passengers, along with 13 crew members, on the London-bound jet when he heard a big thud as the flight was about to takeoff. He lifted his window shade and “just saw flames on the engine,” he said.
For a few frenetic minutes, frightening plumes of black smoke engulfed the jetliner.
The plane stopped and sat for what felt like a minute, Jennings said. Then the captain came on the intercom and told the passengers there was an emergency and they needed to evacuate.
When one of the emergency doors opened, smoke poured in. “Not safe, not safe,” someone said, Jennings recalled.
Paul Berberian, who had just landed on a flight from Denver, said that he didn’t know anyone was on the plane until “the slides popped up.”
“Five seconds later people were just flying down … and running away,” said Berberian, who estimated firetrucks were on the scene within two minutes.
A few passengers suffered minor injuries during the evacuation and were treated at a local hospital.