Latest news with #NTSB
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
NTSB cites hydraulic and electrical failures in FedEx 757 gear failure
The National Transportation Safety Board has determined that a FedEx Boeing 757-200's belly landing in Chattanooga, Tennessee, was caused by the failure of the alternate gear extension system, which prevented the landing gear from being lowered during an emergency. On Oct. 4, 2023, FedEx (NYSE: FDX) flight 1376 experienced an 'abnormal runway contact' when the flight crew was unable to extend the landing gear during the approach to Chattanooga's Lovell Field. Shortly after takeoff from Chattanooga, the captain called for gear up, and the first officer raised the landing gear control lever to retract the landing gear. Both the main landing gear and nose landing gear retracted to their up and locked position. Digital flight data recorder data showed that 22 seconds after gear retraction, the hydraulic fluid quantity and pressure in the left hydraulic system began to decrease. After troubleshooting the hydraulic issue per procedures in the Quick Reference Handbook, the flight crew made the decision to return to Chattanooga. While preparing to land, the landing gear did not extend as expected when the landing gear control lever was positioned to its down position.'Gear disagree. The gear is not coming down,' the first officer confirmed, according to cockpit voice recorder data documented by the NTSB. Despite multiple attempts to deploy the landing gear using both normal and alternate extension systems, the crew was forced to perform a belly landing. The aircraft slid off the departure end of Runway 20 and impacted localizer antennas before coming to rest about 830 feet beyond the end of the runway. Postaccident inspections of the landing gear system found that hydraulic fluid was leaking from the left landing gear door actuator retract hydraulic hose. Inspections also found that the engine indication and crew alerting system showed the left hydraulic system had only 32% fluid quantity remaining after the main landing gear door retraction shortly after takeoff, which is considered fully depleted. Analysis of the failed hydraulic hose revealed multiple broken wire strands along its length and a rupture in its inner liner. The cause of the broken wire strands most likely originated from an overload event as evidenced by the necking down of the wire strands and a reduction in their area, investigators critically, electrical system inspections of the alternate extension system found no electrical continuity between the alternate gear extend switch and the alternate extension power pack. A visual examination revealed a break in a wire between the circuit breaker and the alternate gear extend switch, which prevented the system from functioning as a backup. 'Analysis of the wire's fracture surfaces showed a reduction in area and circumferential cracking of the coating, consistent with tensile loading,' the final report stated. 'No obvious defects or anomalies were observed on the fracture surfaces.' The investigation also identified issues with the aircraft's evacuation equipment. After the airplane came to a stop, the jumpseat occupant attempted to open the L1 door, which only rotated halfway open and would not fully deploy. The R1 door also became lodged on the slide pack before the jumpseat occupant used force to open it. Investigators found that the R1 door's bannis latch did not conform to the configuration required by an FAA Airworthiness Directive from 1986, which caused the slide pack to jam during evacuation. The NTSB determined the probable cause of this accident to be 'the failure of the alternate gear extension system, which prevented the landing gear from being lowered. The cause of the system failure was a broken wire, due to tensile overload, between the alternate gear extend switch and the alternate extension power pack, preventing the AEPP from energizing and supplying hydraulic fluid to the door lock release actuators for the nose landing gear and main landing gear.' Contributing to the accident was 'the loss of the left hydraulic system due to a ruptured left main gear door actuator hose from fatigue, which prevented normal landing gear operation.' The NTSB noted that the crew of FedEx flight 1376 demonstrated good Crew Resource Management during the emergency, remaining calm and professional throughout the accident sequence. They displayed effective workload management by distributing tasks among themselves, with the captain flying and the first officer working to resolve the issue with air traffic control. 'The crew maintained clear and concise communication between all crewmembers to include a jumpseat occupant, and with ATC, actively soliciting feedback and input, and crosschecking with one another to ensure everyone was working with the same mental model,' the report a result of this investigation, the NTSB issued four new safety recommendations to the FAA and three new recommendations to Boeing on March 27, 2025. These recommendations address the need to inspect and modify bannis latches on Boeing aircraft doors and update aircraft maintenance manuals with correct configurations. Following the accident, FedEx implemented a 275 Flight Hour check on the alternate extension system, including performing a general visual inspection while the nose landing gear and main landing gear doors are open while on the ground. Related: FedEx 757 accident prompts NTSB call for door latch inspections (This article is republished from Airline Geeks.) The post NTSB cites hydraulic and electrical failures in FedEx 757 gear failure appeared first on FreightWaves.
New York Post
a day ago
- General
- New York Post
Cause of failed Alaska Airlines landing gear that sent passengers screaming revealed
Nearly two years after passengers screamed while sparks flew down a runway during the landing of an Alaska Airlines flight, the cause has been revealed. A final report by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released on Tuesday points to 'incorrect' maintenance work. Advertisement The flight, which departed from Seattle, Washington, made a hard touchdown in Santa Ana, Calif., during Tropical Storm Hilary after the left main landing gear collapsed on touchdown. Video recorded by a passenger captured the plane slamming into the ground at high speed. Sparks were seen flying as the plane appeared to drag its left wing along the tarmac. Investigators revealed that the incident was caused by a 'fatigue crack' of a metal trunnion pin, which is part of the left landing gear. The fracture formed from excessive grinding during a 2018 maintenance overhaul, which introduced heat damage to the metal. While the crack was initially not visible, it grew over time and ultimately 'caused the pin to fracture during landing,' the NTSB report said. Advertisement 5 First responders help passengers disembark the Alaska Airlines 737 after the rough landing at John Wayne Airport on Aug. 20, 2023. Orange County Fire Authority 5 Alaska Airlines flight 1288 sits on the tarmac after Orange County Fire Authority 'Results of this examination and previous NTSB investigations demonstrate that even relatively mild heat exposure from grinding and/or machining during overhaul can lead to cracking, which can lead to fatigue crack growth and failed landing gear components, as occurred in this accident,' the report stated. The report added that the pin had endured more than 4,000 landing cycles since undergoing the 2018 maintenance work. Advertisement The crack itself had likely been present for approximately 800 landing cycles, the NTSB found. 5 A passenger aboard the flight captured the moment the plane sparked during the landing. bhi Amineni/Youtube 5 Sparks and smoke shoot off the plane after the landing in Orange County, California. bhi Amineni/Youtube Although the aircraft sustained substantial damage from the hard landing, all 112 passengers and crew members were able to deplane safely and without injury. Advertisement Alaska Airlines previously said, 'our focus is taking care of our guests who were on board, including retrieving their checked bags.' 'We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate their patience during this situation.' 5 Although the aircraft sustained substantial damage from the hard landing, all 112 passengers and crew members were able to deplane safely and without injury. Orange County Fire Authority Alaska Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. Fox News' Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.
CNN
2 days ago
- Business
- CNN
Hydraulic hose failure and broken wire led to crash landing of cargo plane in 2023, NTSB report says
A FedEx plane landed with its landing gear up, skidding off the runway in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 2023 after a leak in a hydraulic hose caused the system to fail and a broken wire kept the backup system from working, according to a final National Transportation Safety Board report. Federal Express flight 1376, operating a Boeing 757, took off from Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport-Lovell Field late in the evening of October 4, 2023, headed to Memphis. When the pilots raised the landing gear, the fluid pressure and quantity in the left hydraulic system, which operates the gear, decreased and an alarm sounded in the cockpit. 'Gear disagree. The gear is not coming down,' the first officer is quoted as saying on the cockpit voice recorder. The crew declared an emergency and planned to return to the airport. They repeatedly tried to lower the landing gear using a backup system but were unsuccessful. 'The crew used all available resources and included some non-standard attempts at troubleshooting,' the report said. When landing, the plane skidded for nearly a mile along the ground, crashing into antennas and ending up 830 feet off the end of the runway. The three people on board were not hurt but struggled to open the aircraft doors before evacuating down an emergency slide. The NTSB report praised the crew for being 'calm and professional throughout the accident sequence of events' and 'actively soliciting feedback and input and crosschecking with one another to ensure everyone was working with the same mental model.' After the crash landing, inspections found that hydraulic fluid leaked from a hose that opens the door for the left landing gear and had fully depleted the supply. Investigators determined the damage to the more than 35-year-old hose was likely caused by fatigue after it was, at some point, overloaded with force. An electrical wire used to operate a backup system was found to be broken, which is why the alternative method of lowering the gear didn't work either. Since the accident, FedEx started inspecting these backup landing gear extension systems after every 275 hours of flight, the NTSB said. Investigators also found a misrouted strap and missing parts on the escape side latch on the left door, which kept it from opening during the emergency. The right door of the plane also did not have all the slide's latch hardware, which caused it to initially jam when the crew was trying to evacuate. The plane was manufactured in 1988, after the Federal Aviation Administration had mandated these latches be changed, and the NTSB could not determine why they were used on this aircraft. A FedEx inspection found 24% of its planes with similar latches were missing parts, the NTSB said. No other aircraft were found to have misrouted straps. The NTSB reviewed Boeing's parts catalog and FedEx's maintenance manuals and found that they had 'inconsistent depictions' of the latches, and none showed all required modifications. 'These inconsistent, conflicting depictions would likely be confusing to maintenance personnel and could lead to the installation of and failure to detect nonconforming latches, which could result in another incident of an evacuation slide not deploying properly when needed,' the report said. As a result of this accident, Boeing issued a notice to other operators of the 757 around the world to inspect their latches and provided details on what they should include. The NTSB issued recommendations to Boeing to update their manuals and parts catalog to 'to ensure they depict the correct configuration' for the latches and called on the FAA to require inspections of the latches 'and modify or replace them, if necessary, so they comply with the correct configuration.'
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Climate
- Daily Mail
Shocking reason Alaska Airlines 'flight from hell' skidded down runway
A recent report has detailed the shocking reason why a 2023 Alaska Airlines flight skidded across the runway and produced sparks when it landed at a California airport. The National Transportation Safety Board revealed in its final analysis that the terrifying landing was a result of 'incorrect service/maintenance.' The lack of maintenance to an essential part of the aircraft's main landing gear had not taken place for nearly 800 flights -- leading to a crack and eventual failure upon landing. Passengers aboard Alaska Airlines Flight 1288 on a Boeing 737 filmed the terrifying moments the plane landed at John Wayne-Orange County Airport in Santa Ana on August 20, 2023. Passengers on the flight had departed from Seattle, Washington, and landed in California around 11:15 pm during Tropical Storm Hillary. Video footage of the landing revealed sparks flying in the air. The captain said the touchdown had a 'film jolt feeling' and confessed the plane was 'pulling reasonably hard to the left,' according to the NTSB report. 'At Alaska Airlines, safety is our top priority. We appreciate the NTSB's diligence in this investigation, and we are thankful to our crew members who safely operated this flight,' Alaska Airlines said in a statement to on the recent report. The report revealed that the cause of the unusual landing was the failure of an aft trunnion pin, an important part of the aircraft's main landing gear. The NTSB noted that a crack in a critical part of the plane resulted in the failure. The crack was present for over 700 landing cycles before August 20, 2023 The pin connects the part of the plane that absorbs a landing with its wing. During the Alaska Airlines flight, the trunnion pin failed, resulting in the plane skidding down the runway and sparks on the tarmac. The NTSB's investigation found that the pin's fracture was present for over 797 landing cycles before the jarring landing on August 20. The crack likely developed in 2018 from excessive grinding due to heat exposure during a maintenance overhaul, according to the report. 'However, results of this examination and previous NTSB investigations demonstrate that even relatively mild heat exposure from grinding and/or machining during overhaul can lead to cracking, which can lead to fatigue crack growth and failed landing gear components, as occurred in this accident,' the report stated. The NTSB noted that the crack wouldn't have been visible before it fractured during the flight. The report added that cracks can occur due to mild heat exposure from grinding, which can often go undetected. The crack had reached a depth of 0.144 inches, which was large enough to cause a fracture in the trunnion pin, resulting in the collapse of the aircraft's left main landing gear. Despite the rough landing, the pilot managed to land the plane and all 112 passengers safely evacuated with no deaths or reported injuries. The flight was also met with rain, wind, and turbulence from Tropical Storm Hilary, which reached category four hurricane status as it ravaged the west coast of Mexico. Hilary was downgraded to a tropical storm for parts of Southern California. It marked the first tropical storm warning in the region since Hurricane Nora in 1997, according to hurricane data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The crew on Flight 1288 still could see the runway and noted that the landing gear indicator lights were green before the pilot descended. As the plane hit the runway, passengers noticed the sparks, with one telling ABC News she was 'panicking.' 'I stood up and saw that my left side of the plane was tilted up and the right side plane was tilted down,' another passenger told the outlet at the time. The Orange County Fire Department responded to help evacuate passengers from the tarmac during the storm.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Hydraulic hose failure and broken wire led to crash landing of cargo plane in 2023, NTSB report says
A FedEx plane landed with its landing gear up, skidding off the runway in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 2023 after a leak in a hydraulic hose caused the system to fail and a broken wire kept the backup system from working, according to a final National Transportation Safety Board report. Federal Express flight 1376, operating a Boeing 757, took off from Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport-Lovell Field late in the evening of October 4, 2023, headed to Memphis. When the pilots raised the landing gear, the fluid pressure and quantity in the left hydraulic system, which operates the gear, decreased and an alarm sounded in the cockpit. 'Gear disagree. The gear is not coming down,' the first officer is quoted as saying on the cockpit voice recorder. The crew declared an emergency and planned to return to the airport. They repeatedly tried to lower the landing gear using a backup system but were unsuccessful. 'The crew used all available resources and included some non-standard attempts at troubleshooting,' the report said. When landing, the plane skidded for nearly a mile along the ground, crashing into antennas and ending up 830 feet off the end of the runway. The three people on board were not hurt but struggled to open the aircraft doors before evacuating down an emergency slide. The NTSB report praised the crew for being 'calm and professional throughout the accident sequence of events' and 'actively soliciting feedback and input and crosschecking with one another to ensure everyone was working with the same mental model.' After the crash landing, inspections found that hydraulic fluid leaked from a hose that opens the door for the left landing gear and had fully depleted the supply. Investigators determined the damage to the more than 35-year-old hose was likely caused by fatigue after it was, at some point, overloaded with force. An electrical wire used to operate a backup system was found to be broken, which is why the alternative method of lowering the gear didn't work either. Since the accident, FedEx started inspecting these backup landing gear extension systems after every 275 hours of flight, the NTSB said. Investigators also found a misrouted strap and missing parts on the escape side latch on the left door, which kept it from opening during the emergency. The right door of the plane also did not have all the slide's latch hardware, which caused it to initially jam when the crew was trying to evacuate. The plane was manufactured in 1988, after the Federal Aviation Administration had mandated these latches be changed, and the NTSB could not determine why they were used on this aircraft. A FedEx inspection found 24% of its planes with similar latches were missing parts, the NTSB said. No other aircraft were found to have misrouted straps. The NTSB reviewed Boeing's parts catalog and FedEx's maintenance manuals and found that they had 'inconsistent depictions' of the latches, and none showed all required modifications. 'These inconsistent, conflicting depictions would likely be confusing to maintenance personnel and could lead to the installation of and failure to detect nonconforming latches, which could result in another incident of an evacuation slide not deploying properly when needed,' the report said. As a result of this accident, Boeing issued a notice to other operators of the 757 around the world to inspect their latches and provided details on what they should include. The NTSB issued recommendations to Boeing to update their manuals and parts catalog to 'to ensure they depict the correct configuration' for the latches and called on the FAA to require inspections of the latches 'and modify or replace them, if necessary, so they comply with the correct configuration.'
