NTSB investigating reported Delta engine failure

A Delta Air Lines Boeing 757-232.

A Delta Air Lines Boeing 757-232.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating a reported uncontained engine failure on a Delta Air Lines flight Wednesday evening.

NTSB announced the investigation in a tweet Thursday afternoon, saying the incident occurred as the Delta Boeing 757-200 departed Atlanta for Orlando.

Flight 1418 had 127 people on board, including 121 passengers and six crew members. The crew shut down the engine and safely returned to Atlanta, and there were no injuries.

Passengers, who were originally scheduled to depart at 10:30 p.m., were put on another Delta flight at 2:30 a.m. and continued onto their destination, Delta said.

The incident involved a Pratt & Whitney engine on the right side of the plane, according to the airline.

“Delta is currently cooperating with NTSB on their investigation of the engine,” the company said.

Planes can fly with a single engine. But an uncontained engine failure -- in which debris from a blown engine is not contained and can hit and damage the plane -- is rare and potentially more dangerous than a contained engine failure.
An uncontained engine failure on a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 earlier this year left one woman dead after parts from the engine smashed a window on the plane.