A B737 flight crew experienced left engine failure in cruise flight over mountainous terrain. They ran the checklist; shut down the engine; declared emergency; and diverted to the nearest suitable airport.
Synopsis
A B737 flight crew experienced left engine failure in cruise flight over mountainous terrain. They ran the checklist; shut down the engine; declared emergency; and diverted to the nearest suitable airport.
Narrative
Cruising at FL330; we felt a strong vibration and the aircraft yawed and rolled off to the left as the left engine failed. We were relatively heavy and started a shallow descent because we could not maintain altitude. We accomplished the appropriate boxed items. There was an airport about eighty miles off the nose so we were cleared direct at FL270. The Flight Attendant called up and reported a lot of vibration and later said that a passenger briefly saw flames come from the engine. We advised the Flight Attendant of our diversion plan and told him to secure the cabin for arrival in approximately ten minutes. We accomplished the Engine Failure/Fire/Severe Damage/Separation Checklist and Single Engine Landing Checklist on our slow descent and uneventful landing. The First Officer did a great job communicating with ATC and accomplishing the remainder of the QRH procedures. We elected not to attempt a restart because of time constraints; high EGT; vibration; and no oil in that engine. I did not have time to contact Dispatch but called Operations to alert them to our arrival. We did land overweight; at just under 120;000 pounds; and had the firefighters inspect the engine area and landing gear. They saw nothing and recommended we proceed to the gate. Upon arrival; I called Dispatch and Maintenance Control; made logbook write-ups for the engine failure; hot brake inspection; and overweight landing inspections.
Second reporter narrative
It took me by surprise that this occurred at altitude and in the mountains. I made sure of the MVA in the area so as to note our lowest available altitude. The Captain did a great job of taking care of his crew and keeping the passengers in the loop. I would like all of us to think about mountain flying a little more in the future as it is and could have been very critical to know our exact location. I would like to see us review this scenario in class for all to think about. I am glad it was not night IMC in the mountains on this day. Please have this type of scenario in the classrooms one time per year if possible.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.