The Transportation Safety Board of Canada's (TSB) final report on a March 2003 in-flight engine failure involving a WestJet Boeing 737-200 cites flaws in Pratt & Whitney's maintenance manual for the JT8D. It says a compressor surge in the JT8D-17A engine caused an alteration in the airflow, either because of a failed aerofoil-retaining pin, or because of a detached stator. Airflow instabilities caused vibrations, leading to "widespread fatigue cracking in the rotor blades" and a blade failure. The TSB found the manual gave no warnings about fatigue cracks arising from a compressor stall or surge, but it has now been reworded.
Source: Flight International
