Parts of missing jet engine located
Dick Foster , Rocky Mountain News
Published February 3, 2007 at midnight
Investigators said Friday that they have found significant pieces of an America West Express airline engine that disintegrated west of Colorado Springs last month.
The National Transportation Safety Board had sought the public's help earlier this week in searching for the engine parts in an area from Woodland Park to about 10 miles southwest of Cripple Creek.
The Mesa Airlines Bobmardier CRJ-200, operating as an America West Express flight, was headed from Denver International Airport to Phoenix with 50 passengers and a crew of four when the engine failure occurred just south of Woodland Park at 4:50 p.m. Jan. 25.
The pilot returned to DIA and landed safely about 5:30 p.m.
Investigators calculated the trajectory of the falling parts and narrowed their search to an area south of Florissant, said NTSB air safety investigator Jennifer Kaiser.
"We had about a one-square-mile area that we were able to search and were extremely successful," said Kaiser.
Searchers found critical parts of the engine's fan disc and blades, along with cowling and other components, she said.
Now, analysts will examine the fan disc to determine what caused the failure.
"It could be a million different types of things," Kaiser said.
No date has been set for concluding the investigation
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