|
Ah, a good story, but probably an aviation urban
legend. I seriously doubt the engine was intentionally flown in
that condition, especially on a revenue flight, although I suppose it could have
been a ferry flight to get to a maintenance base. For one thing those are
not seatbelts; they're ratchet straps, commonly used to secure items during
shipping. For another these pictures were taken when the engine was on a
stand, not on an operational airplane. According to snopes.com these
same pictures have been circulated with the accompanying text citing various
airlines.
In any event it does look like one heck of a case
of foreign object damage. I'll bet it was an attention
getter.
Tom Gourley
|