Korean Air Flight 2708

Korean Air

Industry	Airline
Headquarters	Seoul , South Korea
Products	Air transport services

Korean Air Flight 2708 was an international scheduled service flying from Tokyo's Haneda Airport to Seoul's Gimpo International Airport. On 27 May 2016, the Boeing 777-300 assigned to this route experienced an uncontained failure of its left engine during the takeoff roll, which triggered a significant fire. The flight crew promptly aborted the takeoff, and once the aircraft halted, airport firefighting units extinguished the blaze. All 319 individuals on board were evacuated safely; however, twelve people sustained minor injuries. Investigation revealed that inadequate maintenance practices combined with improper execution of emergency procedures by the crew were responsible for the incident.

Aircraft and crew

The aircraft involved in Flight 2708 was a Boeing 777-3B5, powered by two Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines, bearing the registration HL7534 and serial number 27950. This was the 120th Boeing 777 manufactured, having completed its maiden flight on 4 February 1998, and was delivered brand new to Korean Air on 28 December 1999.

The flight crew consisted of a captain aged 49, who had accumulated 10,410 total flight hours, including 3,205 hours on the Boeing 777. The first officer was 41 years old with a total of 5,788 flight hours, of which 2,531 were on the Boeing 777.

Accident

During takeoff from Runway 34R at Tokyo Haneda Airport, a loud explosion was heard from the left side of the aircraft. The pilots promptly aborted the takeoff and brought the plane to a halt, initiating an evacuation procedure. Although all passengers and crew successfully exited the aircraft, twelve individuals sustained minor injuries and were transported to a nearby hospital. Flights scheduled to arrive were rerouted to Tokyo Narita International Airport and Osaka. Firefighters at the airport rapidly extinguished the blaze. The aircraft reportedly traveled approximately 700 meters along the runway before stopping. Debris from the engine was found scattered about 600 meters from where acceleration began, with tire marks extending roughly 700 meters from that point.

Impact

As a result of this event, all four runways at Haneda Airport were closed temporarily, disrupting travel for at least 36,000 passengers. Among those affected was Toshinao Nakagawa, who had planned to attend US President Barack Obama’s speech at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum as a representative of Hiroshima Prefecture but was unable to travel due to his flight’s cancellation caused by this incident.

Investigation

The accident investigation was conducted collaboratively by the Japan Transport Safety Board (JTSB), South Korea’s Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board (ARAIB), and the United States’ National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), with expert support from both South Korea and the U.S. On 30 May 2016, the investigative team disclosed that the low-pressure turbine blades on the left-side (number one) Pratt & Whitney PW4090 engine had fractured, causing debris to penetrate the engine casing, with fragments subsequently discovered on the runway. The high-pressure turbine blades and high-pressure compressor within the engine remained undamaged and showed no signs of malfunction. Additionally, investigators found no indication that a bird strike had occurred.

Following repairs, the aircraft was reinstated into service by Korean Air on 3 June 2016.

Final report

The comprehensive JTSB report, published on 26 July 2018, highlighted numerous issues concerning both the mechanical failure and the reactions of the flight crew and passengers. Key findings included substandard maintenance practices that failed to detect a crack developing in the LP turbine disc due to metal fatigue, which ultimately caused the failure. The crew’s inability to locate emergency procedure checklists for such incidents was also noted. Furthermore, the evacuation was initiated while engines were still operational, creating a hazard where passengers risked being propelled by engine thrust. Passengers also disregarded instructions to leave their belongings behind during evacuation, which endangered the integrity of evacuation slides by risking punctures.

In response to this fire event, the FAA issued an Airworthiness Directive requiring inspections of engines of this model to assess the condition of components implicated in Flight 2708’s failure.

See also

• Emirates Flight 521, a separate incident involving a Boeing 777-300 that took place in the same year
• British Airways Flight 2276
• United Airlines Flight 328
• United Airlines Flight 1175
• American Airlines Flight 383 (2016)
• British Airtours Flight 28M
• Tibet Airlines Flight 9833
• Red Air Flight 203

External links

• Japan Transport Safety Board
  • Detailed accident profile Template:Inlang
    • Original accident report Template:Inlang – In case of discrepancies, the Japanese version takes precedence over the English
    • Presentation material Template:Inlang
  • English translation of the accident report