An American Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner was badly damaged on Tuesday afternoon after it ‘ingested’ a cargo container into its right-hand engine shortly after landing at Chicago O’Hare Airport, following a seven-hour flight from London Heathrow.
Dramatic photos of the aftermath, which were shared on social media, showed severe damage to the General Electric GEnx high-bypass turbofan jet engine, which powers AA’s fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliners.
The incident is believed to have happened when a cargo tug crossed a taxiway in front of American Airlines flight AA47 as it was taxiing to the gate. The jet blast from another plane blew the container off the tug’s trailer, and it ended up being sucked into the engine of the six-year-old Dreamliner.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the damaged aircraft remains on the ground in Chicago and has been taken out of service while engineers assess the damage and work out what repairs will be required.
Sources claim that the container involved in the accident is a standard Unit Load Device, which is commonly used to transport luggage. It appears that the container was empty at the time of the accident, which made it a lot more susceptible to jet blasts, although at least no luggage was shredded in the accident.
A spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) said it would investigate the incident.
“The crew of American Airlines Flight 47 reported an engine issue while taxiing to the gate at Chicago O’Hare International Airport around 4 p.m. local time on Thursday, Oct. 17. The passengers deplaned normally,” the agency said in a statement.
A spokesperson for American Airlines noted: “Safety is our top priority, and we thank our team members for their professionalism and our customers for their understanding.”
