Two md-80 flight attendants report an engine failure in-flight and described the cabin crew's respon...

Narrative:

About cruising altitude we heard a loud bang and the left engine blew and the aircraft started to vibrate and shake. The # 4 and I checked the engine to see if we could see fire or smoke. She noticed something flying out the front of the engine and we noticed a smell in the cabin and smoke. The #4 called the cockpit and she told him the left engine blew and I told her to tell them there was a little smoke and an electrical smell in the cockpit. They said they knew about the engine and the smell. I went through the cabin and told everyone to stay seated and make sure their seatbelts were tightly fastened. I then met with the #1 who was on the phone with the cockpit. I made an announcement while she was on the phone that the captain would make an announcement as soon as he was able and that we were going back. The captain told us no evacuation; we were returning; the fire department would meet us and we'd be on the ground in 10-12 minutes. He then made an announcement and told the passengers the same thing. The #2 and I went through the cabin again and checked all seatbelts and the passengers. One passenger was hysterical and we checked on her and calmed her down. The captain made a great landing; the fire department checked our engines for fire and we proceeded to the gate. We then got a new plane and continued the trip.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Two MD-80 flight attendants report an engine failure in-flight and described the cabin crew's response. An emergency was declared and the flight returned to the departure airport.

Narrative: About cruising altitude we heard a loud bang and the left engine blew and the aircraft started to vibrate and shake. The # 4 and I checked the engine to see if we could see fire or smoke. She noticed something flying out the front of the engine and we noticed a smell in the cabin and smoke. The #4 called the cockpit and she told him the left engine blew and I told her to tell them there was a little smoke and an electrical smell in the cockpit. They said they knew about the engine and the smell. I went through the cabin and told everyone to stay seated and make sure their seatbelts were tightly fastened. I then met with the #1 who was on the phone with the cockpit. I made an announcement while she was on the phone that the Captain would make an announcement as soon as he was able and that we were going back. The Captain told us no evacuation; we were returning; the fire department would meet us and we'd be on the ground in 10-12 minutes. He then made an announcement and told the passengers the same thing. The #2 and I went through the cabin again and checked all seatbelts and the passengers. One passenger was hysterical and we checked on her and calmed her down. The Captain made a great landing; the fire department checked our engines for fire and we proceeded to the gate. We then got a new plane and continued the trip.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

Attributes
ACN	891099
Time
Date	201005
Local Time Of Day	1801-2400
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	MD-80 Series (DC-9-80) Undifferentiated or Other Model
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Cruise
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Turbine Engine
Person 1
Function	Flight Attendant (On Duty)
Qualification	Flight Attendant Current
Person 2
Function	Flight Attendant (On Duty)
Qualification	Flight Attendant Current
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical

Two md-80 flight attendants report an engine failure in-flight and described the cabin crew's response. An emergency was declared and the flight returned to the departure airport.