Pilots for Delta Air Lines are being advised to slow down slightly on takeoffs to reduce engine stress after a jet's engine blew apart, killing two passengers.
Delta made the suggestion Tuesday, a day after federal investigators said an inch-deep crack in a recycled metal part may have caused Saturday's accident, which happened as the plane accelerated for takeoff.How slow pilots should go on takeoffs depends on runway length, temperature and other variables.
Delta and other carriers that use Pratt & Whitney JT8D-type engines are awaiting the outcome of a National Transportation Safety Board probe to determine what caused the crack and what other steps should be taken.
As a Delta MD-88 jet bound for Atlanta began its takeoff roll at Pensacola Regional Airport, an engine fan hub broke in two.
Flying metal fragments gouged a 4-foot-long hole in the cabin, instantly killing Anita Saxton, 39, of Scottville, Mich., and her 12-year-old son, Nolan. Another son and a daughter survived.
Since the accident, Delta has used electric current testing on engine fan hubs, a more sensitive method for detecting small, internal cracks by gauging any interruption of current.
In addition, maintenance crews are scrutinizing the hubs on Delta's fleet of 120 MD-88s during daily inspections. The policy change comes even though the crack would have been difficult to see without disassembling the engine, Berry said.
Pieces of the 100-pound titanium hub - which has 34 blades attached to form the fan that sucks air into the engine - were sent Tuesday to the NTSB laboratory in Washington, D.C., for analysis.
NTSB officials also will examine maintenance records to determine if Delta maintenance personnel should have discovered the crack.
The hub originally was part of another engine Delta purchased from Pratt & Whitney in 1989. Last December or January it was reinstalled on a 1993 engine being repaired for an oil leak in a front bearing.