A Venezolana Boeing 737-200 was in its climb sequence on the 30th of May, 2019 when one of its engines failed in an uncontained manner.
The aircraft, registered YV502T, was performing flight VNE1303 from Piarco to Caracas with 80 people on board when the incident occurred.
Emitting a loud bang and shaking the aircraft, the failure promoted the pilots to halt the climb immediately and return to their departure airport roughly 20 minutes later.
Upon inspection by ground crew, it was identified the left hand Pratt and Whitney JT8D engine had suffered from an uncontained engine failure, leaving its interior and exterior torn up and charred.
Further inspection also identified minor damage to the fuselage of the aircraft, which was built in 1978. Since the fuselage only sustained minor damage and the tear in the engine casing is on the belly, its clear the failure occurred in a position where it could be ejected downwards.
It’s unknown if Venezolana will repair or replace this aircraft. With the 737-200 showing its age and plenty of newer 737s available in the used market, the logical solution would be to upgrade, however it depends if the costs of retraining and maintenance support is worth it.
Information Source: The Aviation Herald
The estate of Venezuelan civil aviation is deplorable. When you consider that this airline is owned by oligarchs close to the government, it makes the whole thing even more ridiculous. They likely don’t have a decent safety culture or proper standards anymore.
Trust me- They have no resources to fix it.
Time for a 737-200NEO,I guess. 😊 Glad that everyone is ok.