“Uncontained Engine Failure:” The Aftermath

The pictures revealed from Southwest flight 3472 were shocking and went around the internet within a few hours’ time. Speculations rolled in along with them, varying from "the engine has blown up," to "it must be poor maintenance,"and "the crew must have not done their walk around properly." But what exactly happened here? As the image reveals, some of the inlet came loose and got torn off. Usually in case of structural damage like this the cause is either one…