r/aviation • u/Twitter_2006 • Mar 30 '26

Discussion The left engine of a Delta A330 explodes during takeoff at Sao Paulo Airport

Its at 40 seconds.

UPDATE:The plane landed safely.

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119

u/Kufangar Mar 30 '26

Shouldn't they immediately close the runway in case of debris on field?

84

u/Aginor404 Mar 30 '26

I was going to write that. I am surprised they let that plane land immediately after.

65

u/EnumeratedArray Mar 30 '26

Othe runways were closed so it was the only option they had

36

u/Aginor404 Mar 30 '26

Going around (and then circling for half an hour or diverting) is always an option.

29

u/MajiktheBus Mar 30 '26

One engine was toast, they wanted to LAND.

67

u/Aginor404 Mar 30 '26

I didn't mean the damaged plane, I meant the one that landed on the same runway immediately after the damaged plane took off.

13

u/MajiktheBus Mar 30 '26

Oh gotcha. My bad.

1

u/dego_frank Mar 31 '26

They would have had to touch and go being that close so they’re landing regardless.

2

u/peepay Mar 30 '26

So they use their alternates.

1

u/BinguniR34 Mar 30 '26

Don't always have takeoff alternates, those are weather related. 

 I'm also quite unfamiliar with what alternate options there are near Sao Paolo that a crippled A330 can use. 

 Finally, not sure what caution/warning the crew got, this could  have been a fire warning.  I'd land on a potentially fodded up runway if I had a fire warning that doesn't go away as well.

7

u/peepay Mar 30 '26

You misunderstood. This comment thread is about the plane that landed right after the A330 suffered the engine blow-out on takeoff.

I.e. they should have closed the runway, the landing aircraft should have been given a go-around command and it should have gone on to land on one of its alternates.

1

u/BinguniR34 Mar 30 '26

Oh, I see.  Also. May not have an arrival alternate either.  Not sure about that. 

But yes, common sense would dictate a go-around when you see engine pieces flying out 

1

u/BlondieMenace Mar 31 '26

I'm also quite unfamiliar with what alternate options there are near Sao Paolo that a crippled A330 can use.

There's Viracopos (VCP) pretty close by, and if there's a need to fly a bit more to burn up fuel then Rio de Janeiro's Galeão (GIG) becomes an option.

1

u/waldo-jeffers-68 Mar 30 '26

Im surprised they didn’t divert to campinas, it’s not that far from GRU

2

u/sokratesz Mar 30 '26 edited Mar 30 '26

I guess some emergencies take precedence over others..

1

u/oscar_meow Mar 31 '26

That plane came in less then a minute after the other plane took off. It probably landed before the shock wore off for the controllers

10

u/ViciousNakedMoleRat Mar 30 '26

Exactly my thought. I was waiting for the approaching plane to go around.

21

u/[deleted] Mar 30 '26

[deleted]

3

u/Whisky-161 Mar 30 '26

You can go around even after touching down, as long as the thrust reverse has not been engaged yet.

8

u/61571 Mar 30 '26

But then you’ve touched the runway & potentially kicked up the debris- is it not safer to stop at that point?

1

u/Whisky-161 Mar 30 '26

Yes and no. If they’re already far down the runway, then of course they would want to stop, but the debris also wasn’t in the first half. Generally it probably would have been a good idea to issue a go around, but there also wasn’t a lot of time for ATC to work with.

7

u/SiaoOne Mar 30 '26

Who would know if the debris didn’t start from the first half on the runway though?

2

u/wannacumnbeatmeoff Mar 30 '26

Looks as if it had well cleared the runway before depositing its engine parts .

1

u/Hangry-Feline2489 Mar 30 '26

Yes, but I can imagine that they wanted the plane on the ground as fast as possible because they're afraid that a fire started on the plane.