At 16:11 local time,[4][5][6][7] a Boeing 747-400BCF registered as VQ-BWT,[8] operating as Longtail Aviation Flight 5504, experienced a nominally contained engine failure shortly after departing Maastricht Aachen Airport in the Netherlands in a southerly direction.

[8] Metal parts of engine #1 (s/n P727441), believed to be turbine blades, came down in the Sint Josephstraat area of the village of Meerssen, approximately 2 km past the end of the runway.

The crew declared an emergency and diverted to land on the longer runway at Liège, Belgium, about 19 miles (31 km) south of the Dutch border.

"[24] Meerssen police publicly requested that possible fragments be left in place to aid the investigation, but later asked residents to turn in the parts.

The Aviation Team of the Dutch national police also started an investigation to determine if there was criminal negligence, but they did not travel to Belgium to examine the aircraft, instead asking for assistance from their Belgian counterparts.

[28] Martin Amick, the CEO of Longtail Aviation, said, "we are now in the process of working closely with the Dutch, Belgian, Bermuda and UK authorities to understand the cause of this incident.

[8] The NTSB would be involved in the investigation since the Boeing 747 is built in the U.S. Europe's EASA aviation regulator said it was aware of the two Pratt & Whitney jet engine incidents, and was requesting information on the causes to determine what action may be needed.

[28] The OVV's "Shortened Investigation" report concluded on April 19, 2023, with reports released in both Dutch and English, that the engine failure was caused by elevated gas temperatures that existed for an extended period of time in the turbine of the engine causing wear and deformation of outer transition duct panels.