China Airlines B744 at Atlanta on May 19th 2013, flap separated from wing

Last Update: August 8, 2014 / 13:18:23 GMT/Zulu time

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Photo of China Airlines B-18701, Boeing 747-400 — China Airlines B-18701, Boeing 747-400 (Photo credit: Sir Mildred Pierce / Flickr / License: CC by)

Incident Facts

Date of incident
May 19, 2013

Classification
Accident

Airline
China Airlines

Departure
Anchorage, United States

Destination
Atlanta, United States

Aircraft Registration
B-18701

Aircraft Type
Boeing 747-400

ICAO Type Designator
B744

A China Airlines Boeing 747-400 freighter, registration B-18701 performing freight flight CI-5254 from Anchorage,AK to Atlanta,GA (USA) with 3 crew, was on approach to Atlanta's runway 27R when one of the trailing edge flaps separated from the wing. The aircraft went around, positioned for another approach to runway 28 and landed safely on runway 28 about 15 minutes after going around.

The onward flight to Dallas Ft. Worth,TX (USA) was cancelled.

The FAA reported the Boeing 747-800 landed without further incident after a trailing edge flap had separated from the wing on May 20th.

China Airlines do not (yet) operate Boeing 747-800s. Flight CI-5254 did not operate on May 20th. Upon query by The Aviation Herald with these details the FAA confirmed the incident occurred on May 19th, further details (including aircraft type, tailnumber, location of flap separation, info on whether the flap has been located) are under investigation.

A resident living on the extended center line about 4.25nm east of the threshold of Atlanta's runway 27R reported a 20 feet/6 meters long piece of an aircraft fell onto the roof of her home on Sunday (May 19th) afternoon causing two holes in the roof before the piece fell into the yard.

Police reported the 20 feet long piece belonged to the right wing of the China Airlines Boeing 747. The flaps section, that separated from the wing, broke in two parts, impacted the fuselage causing substantial damage to the fuselage, too, and fell to the ground.

On Nov 7th 2013 the NTSB released a preliminary report into a ground incident at Dallas Ft. Worth involving B-18701 which may have a bearing into this occurrence stating, that while taxiing after landing on Feb 25th 2013 the aircraft encountered a #2 (inboard left hand) engine fire as result of a #2 fuel feeder line leak, the fire was extinguished with the discharge of the onboard fire suppression system. The engine was replaced, no aircraft damage had been reported, the NTSB stated.

On Feb 12th 2014 the NTSB released their preliminary report into the accident in Atlanta stating, that the inboard fore flap departed the right hand wing while on approach to Atlanta's runway 27L. The crew reported parts falling off the right hand wing, declared emergency, went around and landed safely on Atlanta's runway 28. A 20 feet and a 3 feet section of the right inboard fore flap were located about 4-5nm east of the aerodrome.

On Aug 7th 2014 the NTSB released their final report concluding the probable cause of the occurrence was:

Failure of the right inboard foreflap outboard fitting due to fatigue and bearing anomalies on the sequence carriages which resulted in the partial separation of the right inboard foreflap. Contributing to the incident was the failure of maintenance personnel to detect the fatigue cracking and bearing anomalies during dedicated inspections.

The NTSB reported that the #4 carriage toggle assembly showed damage in two areas, the detent roller exhibited a flat spot, significant play between inner and outer races, and was seized preventing rotation, two of the flight load rollers and one deadweight roller showed flat spots.

The #5 carriage toggle assembly showed fractured clevis arms, which had separated from the assembly along with the roller, the fracture faces showed traces consistent with ductile overstress separation. The outer races of the flight load rollers were fractured and partly separated, the attachment lugs deformed, one of the dead weight rollers was fractured and the outer race missing.

The #6 carriage toggle assembly contained a dead weight roller with an incorrect part number.

The #6 sequence carriage attachment fitting was fractured through the lug consistent with fatigue spanning, portions consistent with ductile stress separation. The fracture began at the lug bore, there was considerable corrosion pitting throughout the lug bore.

The #4 carriage toggle assembly had been replaced with an overhauled unit in 2005 for unknown reasons, in 2012 the #5 carriage toggle assembly had been replaced with an overhauled unit after the detent rollers had become worn. There were no records the #3 and #6 carriagle assemblies had been replaced since manufacture of the aircraft.