Engine Separations Should Never Happen — It’s Time to Use the Data We Already Have
The preliminary NTSB report on Flight 2796 is stark: an engine separated in flight, yet the special detailed inspections (SDIs) for its pylon aft mount lugs and wing clevis weren’t scheduled for thousands more flights.
The inspections come at 28,000–29,200 cycles; the aircraft had just over 21,000. That’s far too wide a window for the structures holding a multi-ton engine.
Current inspection schedules assume uniform wear, but aircraft experience widely varying operational stresses. Flight Data Recorders (FDRs) capture vertical acceleration and landing G-forces on every flight, yet that data isn’t used cumulatively to adjust inspection schedules for critical engine attachments.
A hybrid inspection model could close this gap:
Align engine pylon and clevis SDIs with C and D check intervals, roughly every 5–6 years, rather than fixed cycles exceeding 28,000.
Apply a dynamic adjustment based on cumulative hard landings: each landing above a defined G-force threshold would proportionally reduce the next inspection interval.
This approach balances operational efficiency with structural safety. The tools and data already exist; what’s missing is a system to use them proactively.
We should never read another NTSB report saying, “It wasn’t due for inspection yet.”
Jared Hautamaki/Superior Trees LLC 