NTSB Blames Boeing 747 Engine Fire on Shoddy Maintenance Work

Agency has published its final report on a January engine fire incident.

Ryan Ewing

Monday, October 21, 2024 at 02:07 PM ET

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Edited By:

Travis Tingle

A Boeing 747-8 freighter aircraft [Credit: AirlineGeeks | Katie Zera]

Key Takeaways:

The NTSB determined that an improperly installed borescope plug caused an engine fire on an Atlas Air Boeing 747 during a flight.
The incident occurred just four days after a third-party maintenance contractor performed and certified a borescope inspection on the engine.
The crew safely returned the aircraft to Miami with an emergency declaration, resulting in no injuries despite minor burn damage to the engine.

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The National Transportation Safety Board said an improperly installed borescope plug led to a January engine fire on an Atlas Air Boeing 747. Maintenance on the aircraft had been performed just four days before the incident.

On January 18, Atlas Air Flight 3885 was between Miami and San Juan, Puerto Rico, when the crew received a fire indication in the Boeing 747-8F’s No. 2 engine at approximately 3,000 feet. An emergency was declared and the aircraft returned to Miami with no injuries reported.