Abstract: There is provided a hardwall fan case for encasing a forward fan in a gas turbine engine. The fan case has a stiff annular shell spaced radially outward from the tips of the fan blades and a flexible ring which is an integral structural part of the shell. The flexible ring has a frusto-conical shape with a lip adjacent to the blade trailing edge. The ring extends axially rearwardly from the fixed root to the free inner edge forming a cantilevering resilient ring. A hollow cavity defined between an inner surface of the shell and an outer surface of the flexible ring provides clearance for the flexible ring to deform radially outwardly on impact with a released blade, or to elastically flex on contact with the trailing edge blade tip during bird strike events.