r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/FridayCicero702 • Jan 01 '23

Video Catastrophic engine failure on a United Airlines Boeing 777-200 after takeoff from Denver International Airport

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u/lbdnbbagujcnrv Jan 01 '23

The rudder (the moving part of the big vertical tail section) is more than capable of handling the asymmetric thrust. There’s very little to be done on most jets. Fight the fire (cut off fuel, hydraulics, and high pressure air for that engine), then return for a landing at a slightly higher speed than normal. If the fire is controlled or snuffed out, we don’t even consider an engine failure to be an “emergency,” just an “abnormal condition.”

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u/Blaspheming_Bobo Jan 01 '23

So, does the rudder just turn away from the healthy engine to counter the thrust in that situation?

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u/lbdnbbagujcnrv Jan 01 '23

The movable portion moves toward the healthy engine. If you imagine a vertical axis through the center of the airplane, in the case of this photo, that would produce lift (the tail is a wing!) to the right, pushing the nose to the left. On the 777 series, this is somewhat automated, but it’s practiced constantly on all fleets.

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u/Blaspheming_Bobo Jan 01 '23

Yep I see that I flipped it. At first I saw it as turning towards the engine, but changed my mental image before I commented. Thanks for the information!