Safety checks required from Boeing after engine fire on Delta Airlines flight from Scotland

A contained engine failure led to a fuel leak on a Boeing 767-332(ER), N197DN on February 10, 2023. Photo / Air Accidents Investigation Branch

• Boeing has to conduct safety checks on one of its aircraft following a “serious incident” on a flight from Scotland in 2023
• During takeoff, a high-pressure blade in the right engine fractured, leading to a fuel leak and the wing catching on fire
• The plane was diverted safely and no passengers were reported to have been injured

A US government agency is mandating Boeing to perform safety checks after one of its aircraft experienced a fuel leak and caught fire while carrying passengers on a flight from Scotland.

On February 10, 2023, a Delta Airlines flight departed from Edinburgh Airport and headed for New York. But soon after it took off, a high-pressure turbine blade in the right engine of the Boeing 767-332(ER) got damaged, according to a report released Thursday by the UK Air Accidents Investigations Branch (AAIB), which investigates aviation issues.

The flight, carrying 211 passengers, diverted to Prestwick Airport 55km southwest of Glasgow when the crew noticed a high vibration in the engine and fuel leaking from the wing. Shortly afterwards, the plane’s wing caught on fire, which a passenger managed to capture on video. The flight crew did not know there were flames during the flight, The Times reported.

The AAIB report stated that a “Safety Recommendation” has now been made to the US Federal Aviation Administration requiring Boeing to “demonstrate that following this serious incident, the design of the slat track housing drain tube on the Boeing 767 family of aircraft continues to comply with the certification requirements for large transport aircraft.”

It’s another kick for the US aerospace company, which has come under heavy scrutiny following several serious errors.

Boeing recently agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud charge following two fatal crashes involving a 737 Max, which left 346 people dead.

The first deadly crash happened on October 29, 2018, when a plane departed from Jakarta, Indonesia, and the second occurred on March 10, 2019, when a flight took off from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The US Justice Department said that Boeing will also pay a criminal fine of $243.6 million ($396.6m).