A turbine engine failure occurs when a turbine engine in an aircraft unexpectedly stops producing thrust due to a malfunction other thanfuel exhaustion.
Turbine engines in use on today’s turbine-powered aircraft are reliable. Engines operate efficiently with regularly scheduled inspections and maintenance. These units can have lives ranging in the thousands of hours of operation. However, engine malfunctions or failures occasionally occur that require an engine to be shut down in flight. Since multi-engine airplanes are designed to fly with one engine inoperative and flight crews are trained to fly with one engine inoperative, the in-flight shutdown of an engine typically does not constitute a serious safety of flight issue. Following an engine shutdown, a precautionary landing is usually performed with airport fire and rescue equipment positioned near the runway. Once the airplane lands, fire department personnel assist with inspecting the airplane to ensure it is safe before it taxis to its parking position.
