Engine Problem on 767

Aviation Airlines
1

I was on Delta today on a 767-300 between ATL and MCO. A couple minutes after reaching 350, the seatbelt sign came on and we descended a few thousand feet. When we arrived, we were greeted by a parade of fire trucks.

I could not get it answered whether it died in flight or if it had to be shut down in flight. The look of the pilot as he left the cockpit said it died in flight. All that training paid off apparently…

How common is something like this? I know enough to know that it’s not a huge safety issue-not something you WANT to happen, but survivable…anyone have any insight?

2

What flight # and where did the pilot land? I’m guessing MCO, since it appears that none of DL’s 763s diverted yesterday on that route.

3

He said he traveled today which would leave only flight 1585and 1800.

Neither of which diverted. I would assume an engine failure in flight would result in a diversion to the nearest suitable airport which would probably not be the destination. I also noted that all 767’s on that route climb to an initial altitude of FL 350 and descend shortly there after to FL 270 or 250 before making their final descent into MCO. I would also assume that an inflight engine failure would warrant an announcement to the passengers of the pending situation.

My conclusion. Not an engine failure. Even if it was a flight yesterday. Its still unlikely.

4

For the record: He posted shortly after midnight EST, so I must assume that he flew on Tuesday.

5

Gotcha, i saw the date, but didn’t look at the time.

6

A look at the track logs for all Delta flights do the same thing. Level off for a few moments then begin down for FL270. Nothing interesting about it. Probably driven by ATC. Seatbelt sign also not interesting. Perhaps they recieved reports of turbulence in the descent. The parade of fire trucks could be any number of things including a retirement flight.

I wasn’t there so I can’t say what did or did not happen but the little bits of info you gave are not compelling.

7

If the Captains appearance seemed like he just had an engine failure and fire trucks were near the aircraft as it went to the gate, it is possible that the Captain was on his retirement flight. :slight_smile:

8

Since the issue of retirement flights has been brought up, what do they do if, say your final flight arrives in KCLE in January? Obviously, spraying an a/c down with water in 10-degree weather is not the best idea. Do they spray de-icing fluid? :laughing: I’m just curious.

BTW: The poster didn’t say the firetrucks sprayed the plane at all, just that they were out to “greet” it when it arrived at ATL, so I’m not so quick to put it to bed as a retirement flight just yet.

9

They do exactly that, they parade the airplane to the gate. No snowmaking.

10

They don’t spray during the winter months. In most northern climates, it is October through May that they will not do the water cannon on a retirement flight. If requested, they will dispatch a couple firetrucks that will simulate a water cannon salute and then follow the jet to the gate during the winter months. Typically, the firetruck personnel will come up the jetbridge to congratulate the captain.

The water cannon salute is not something that is automatic either. In years past, I was asked to fly copilot for two captains on their retirement flights. In each case, I stopped by the firehouse when I started my trip to give them the flight number and ETA of the return flight. This gave them a couple days to mark it on the schedule. The CFR guys are always looking for a reason to exercise the trucks and fire the cannons.