Jet Lands Safely After Explosion in Engine Punches Holes in Sides

An engine on a Piedmont jetliner exploded into jagged pieces Thursday, slicing through both sides of the plane and forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing as some passengers screamed and fainted.

No serious injuries were reported among the 56 passengers and four crew members, but passengers said some people on board fainted after the turbine blades ripped through the right rear bathroom and a work area for attendants as the plane cruised at 31,000 feet.

The cause of the explosion was not known. A National Transportation Safety Board investigator was dispatched to Charleston to investigate, officials said.

Thought ‘This Is It’

“If somebody had been in the bathroom or the stewardesses’ quarters, they would have been killed,” said passenger Doug Bruce of Columbus, Ohio. “My first thought was, ‘This is it.’ ”

“It blew a big hole in the plane,” said passenger Fred Hinton of Raleigh, N.C., “I’m 240 pounds, and it was big enough that I could crawl through it.”

Piedmont Flight 486 was flying from Charlotte, N.C., to Columbus, Ohio, when its right jet turbine disintegrated, Piedmont officials said. The plane, a Fokker F-28, has two engines, one mounted on each side of the cabin.

The plane, which was 40 miles south of Charleston, immediately lost air pressure in the cabin. Several passengers later complained of headaches, earaches and elevated blood pressure.

Some Masks Failed to Work

Immediately after the explosion, oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling and stewardesses and older passengers went through the aisles and assisted children, passengers said. Some masks did not work, however, and passengers had to be moved to other seats.

Turbine blades and engine parts ripped through the fuselage, punching holes in both sides of the plane. A hole on the right side, adjacent to the engine that disintegrated, was two feet wide by six feet tall. On the opposite side, the hole was two feet by one foot.