How not to test an aircraft engine


a long shot of a metal object

Or, perhaps more appropriately, WHERE to not test an aircraft engine.

Apparently some technicians at Sialkot international Airport (SKT) in Pakistan needed to perform a test on the engine of a Shaheen Air International Boeing 737-4Q8 (registration: AP-BJR). So they put the plane on a remote area and spun up the engines. Except they didn’t take in to account that the area they parked the plane was basically built of paver stones WITHOUT mortar between them. Essentially it was a big back yard deck with an airplane parked on it. And when the engines spooled up they blew the paver stones away. Invalid request error occurred. Even worse is that they caused serious damage to the plane. The aft portion of the fuselage and the horizontal stabilizer were hit by debris. Some of the bricks managed to end up on top of the stabilizer. Invalid request error occurred. Some more photos are available on the Facebook feed of Aircraft Maintenance Engineers. They show punctures of the aircraft skin and other issues. So I’m guessing that plane isn’t going to be flying again very soon.

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Seth Miller

I'm Seth, also known as the Wandering Aramean. I was bit by the travel bug 30 years ago and there's no sign of a cure. I fly ~200,000 miles annually; these are my stories. You can connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

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