Today a Japan Airlines Boeing 777-200 suffered an In-Flight engine failure, 20 minutes after take-off from Naha, Okinawa, Japan.
The 23 year old aircraft, with registration JA8978, was performing flight 904 between Naha to Tokyo when the left Pratt & Whitney engine suffered a failure. The pilots stopped their climb at about 14,000 ft and returned to Naha, landing safely 30 minutes later.
The below video shows the aircraft being towed to the tarmac; you can also see that the engine cover is damaged and that some of the engine blades are missing.
Mainichi website has stated that a passenger explained how they suddenly heard an explosion sound from out of nowhere. Next, the captain announced “Please calm down. I will return to Naha Airport”.
According to the airline, there were 178 passengers and 11 crew members on board and nobody was injured.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan have considered it as a “serious incident” that could have led to a major accident.
Cover photo by: Mainichi.Jp