Expert: Capt Paul - 1/15/2007

Question
Is it possible for an engine to explode in flight? For example, one of the 747 engine's. What would be the most likely cost?

Answer
Hello Kevin,
 Yes, it is possible.  However, the most likely time for an engine to explode (or fail in some other way) is during the take-off phase of flight.  The reason is simply, because this is the time when the engine is making the greatest amount of power.

The causes can include:

Defects in the engine due to design flaws (Unlikely), and damage caused during a flight days, weeks or even months before.  For example, if the pilots during a flight in June caused the engine to operate at a higher than allowed temperatures, and didn't admit this fault to the Aircraft Engineers, it could be that the engine would fail possibly in December.

Otherwise, the engine ingesting some form of object on the ground, or in flight (A bird), could cause the engine to fail, or explode.

Finally, to answer your last question regarding the cost.  It depends.  The cost could be a few thousand US dollars for a small engine and a small amount of damage, up to several million US dollars for a larger engine and substantial damage.

Cheers, and I hope this answered your question.

Captain Paul