JetBlue flight from MacArthur with 'completely destroyed' engine made emergency landing at JFK last week, records show
A JetBlue flight takes off during a demonstration of the NextGen Data Communications system by the FAA and JetBlue at Kennedy Airport on March 16, 2017. Credit: Jeff Bachner
A JetBlue flight that took off from Long Island MacArthur last week had to make an emergency landing at Kennedy Airport, where airport firefighters said an engine was "completely destroyed."
JetBlue Flight 547, which departed MacArthur for Orlando at 1:45 p.m. Aug. 13, reported engine failure on the Airbus 320 shortly after takeoff. The pilot radioed ahead to Kennedy that the plane "just lost an engine," declaring an emergency and requesting to land, according to air traffic records.
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the flight was diverted after the pilot reported a "possible engine issue," but the FAA did not have additional details.
The pilot reported "engine failure" during several calm messages with the control tower on a plan to land at Kennedy, according to air traffic recordings by the website LiveATC and a YouTube video by "You Can See ATC."
The plane circled over Long Island and landed safely at Kennedy about an hour after takeoff with "167 souls" on board, according to the transmission. But the failed engine was much worse than the flight crew realized.
"Engine 2 is completely destroyed. It looks like the entire surface got torched out," a runway inspector said after the landing. "I can actually see right through the engine almost."
"The engine failed and we might have some damage," the pilot said before the inspection. "The engine failed on takeoff out of Islip. We secured it. We pushed our engine fire button on it" and also deployed the plane’s fire extinguisher canisters or "squib" as a precaution.
The plane was then towed back to the Jetway for passengers to be evacuated.
The Town of Islip, which manages MacArthur, confirmed the emergency after takeoff, "However, the flight crew made the decision to declare an emergency and divert to their JFK hub."
The FAA said it was investigating.
JetBlue company officials said Tuesday the plane was taken out of service and passengers boarded another flight to Orlando.
John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.
'Really, really tough stuff to talk about' In Dec. 2024, an East Patchogue teen went missing for 25 days. NewsdayTV's Ken Buffa spoke with reporter Shari Einhorn about the girl, her life, the search and some of Long Island's dark secrets the investigation exposed.
'Really, really tough stuff to talk about' In Dec. 2024, an East Patchogue teen went missing for 25 days. NewsdayTV's Ken Buffa spoke with reporter Shari Einhorn about the girl, her life, the search and some of Long Island's dark secrets the investigation exposed.
