Today a Longtail Aviation Boeing 747-400F suffered an inflight engine failure soon after take off; as a consequence, its turbine blades fell over the village of Meerssen in the Netherlands.
According to the AvHerald, the 30 year old aircraft, with registration VQ-BWT and performing flight LGT-5504 from Maastricht (Netherlands) to New York JFK (USA), was in its initial climb out of runway 21 when the trouble started; one of the right-hand engines had suffered severe damage (cause currently unknown) and began to distribute engine parts over Meerssen village.
A resident in Meerssen reported that he heard a loud bang, he then spotted the aircraft with streaks of flames coming from one of the right hand engines; metal then began raining from the sky. The next video shows black smoke coming from one of the right hand engines.
“Many people are shocked in Meerssen, because they saw the plane fly over with a burning engine.”
said fire service spokesperson to The Telegraaf
The aircraft stopped its climb at FL100 and then entered into a hold, to dump its fuel and divert to Liege, Belgium, before heading for a safe landing on runway 23L, about one hour after departure.
Meerssen village is located about one to two nautical miles past the runway end, several cars have been damaged and an elderly woman has sustained minor injuries. The Dutch Safety Board (OVV) has already started an investigation.