The news that a Boeing 777 had an engine fire over the United States over the weekend has brought back horrific memories for one Japanese man. Last December, he was aboard the same type of airliner that also suffered an engine failure over Japan and had to fly on one side of the engine.
Reuters reported that on Dec. 4 last year, Naru Kurokawa, 40, was aboard a Japan Airlines (JAL) Boeing 777 from Okinawa to Tokyo when the plane was forced to turn back and make an emergency landing about 40 minutes after takeoff because of a left-side engine failure.
Kurokawa said, “My mind was in a panic, thinking about how I might die. I thought I would go crazy if I accepted the thought of death, so I focused on recording the situation on the spot.” Kurokawa uploaded the video to his Twitter feed.
The engine of a United Airlines Boeing 777 caught fire in the air on the 20th, scattering the wreckage in Denver, prompting Boeing to call on airlines to stop flying 777s with the same Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engine.
Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism yesterday ordered JAL and All Nippon Airways (ANA) to suspend the use of Boeing 777s with the same engine while authorities consider whether to take additional measures.
Kurokawa, a website director and musician from Okinawa, said, “Seeing the film of the United Airlines flight and the engine fire reminded me of the fear I experienced.”
Kurokawa heard a loud rupture followed by a violent shaking when the incident occurred, and had been sitting in the window seat on the left to shoot the video.
“Okinawa Times employee Minako Kuroshima was also on board The Japanese flight. She wrote later that the pilot had told the passengers that the plane was flying on the right engine only.
Japanese media reported that 11 crew members and 178 passengers were not injured after the flight made an emergency landing.
Japan’s Transportation Safety Board said Dec. 28 that two fan blades on the left engine were damaged, one of which was damaged because of a fatigue fracture. Other parts of the aircraft, including the engine fairing and fuselage, were also damaged.
A spokesman for the Transportation Safety Board said today that it is still investigating JAL’s accident last year.
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