If someone on the flight line wanted to, they can very easily sabotage a jet engine. The parts of an engine are manufactured to very precise tolerances.
Friends of mine used to work for a jet engine maintenance shop. Showed me a part called a “blisk.” It is quite beautiful, but the blades on them can be bent very easily and cause the engine to malfunction. That is just an example of one thing that could be done to harm an engine.
I was told that sometimes the blisks would arrive at the shop bent, and they would have to be either repaired or sent back for new ones. Incredibly expensive parts.
Not saying that is what happened here. One of the things that can happen is “Foreign Object Damage,” or FOD. There signs all over the shop warning the mechanics to beware of creating the possibility of FOD. A gross example someone mentioned up thread is leaving a loose nut or bolt in an engine housing. That is certainly a possibility, but it wouldn’t even have to be that big.
If this was on purpose, what a horrible thing to do to a jet engine and to put so many lives at risk. Just the life of that one woman was too many. God bless and comfort her family and loved ones.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blisk
Bump.