Bird remains were recovered from the engine of a Ryanair Boeing 737 NG after a component broke loose and shattered a cabin window, partially pulling a passenger from the aircraft shortly after it departed Greece in July, according to the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
The NTSB is examining how part of the engine came away from the plane and struck the window, seriously injuring one passenger.
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The aircraft was flying to Germany when it lost cabin pressure and was diverted for an emergency landing.
Investigators said they found bird remains, including feathers, on “the forward face of IDG oil cooler, one of the thrust reverser blocker door drag links and the lower (6 o’clock position) of the engine fan case near the thrust reverser split flange”.
“Bird remains were reportedly found in two of the cases,” the agency said, although later maintenance inspections found no damage in those areas.
An image shared by the US NTSB showing damage to the Ryanair plane
The cockpit voice recorder captured a loud bang approximately nine minutes and 20 seconds after the takeoff roll began, the report said.
Inspectors examining the engine found fractured fan blades and recovered three loose fragments from inside it.
Read more: ‘Chaos broke out’, says wife as man almost sucked out of Ryanair plane
The CFM engine, produced by a partnership between France’s Safran and US-based General Electric, had undergone an inspection in May without any findings, according to the NTSB.
Ryanair declined to comment. A CFM spokesperson said the company was supporting the investigation.
Boeing referred questions to the NTSB, citing the agency’s requirements and international regulations governing air accident investigations.
The independent US government agency, which investigates accidents involving civil transportation, is leading the inquiry into the Ryanair flight.
Investigators are also assessing whether the incident shares characteristics with earlier events, including the April 2018 engine failure on a Southwest Airlines flight in the US that killed a passenger who was partially pulled through a window.
“The investigative team is aware of previous … events with similar engine models that resulted in damage to engine inlets or cowlings and fuselage structures,” the report said.
“Determination of any relevant similarities or details between this accident and previous events remains under investigation.”
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said in an interview last month: “I don’t think the early indications are that (the recent Ryanair problem) mimics what the Southwest incident was.”
