Arann AT72 at Dublin on Mar 30th 2013, nose gear torque link failure

Last Update: December 22, 2014 / 15:48:24 GMT/Zulu time

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Incident Facts

Date of incident
Mar 30, 2013

Classification
Incident

Airline
Aer Arann

Flight number
RE-3255

Departure
Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Destination
Dublin, Ireland

Aircraft Registration
EI-REI

Aircraft Type
ATR ATR-72-200

ICAO Type Designator
AT72

An Aer Arann Avion de Transport Regional ATR-72-200 on behalf of Aer Lingus, registration EI-REI performing flight RE-3255/EI-3255 from Edinburgh,SC (UK) to Dublin (Ireland) with 57 passengers and 4 crew, suffered the failure of the torque link of the nose gear while landing on Dublin's runway 10 at 15:43L (15:43Z).

The French BEA reported the Irish Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) is investigating the serious incident.

The AAIU stated that the damage occurred on Dublin's runway 10 and was confined to the torque link assembly. An investigation into the serious incident is underway.

A similiar occurrence happened in France early March, see Accident: Airlinair AT72 at Toulouse on Mar 5th 2013, nose gear torque link disconnected.

On Dec 22nd 2014 the Irish AAIU released their final report concluding the probable cause of the incident was:

It is likely that corrosion of the threaded portion of the apex pin had occurred such that the serrated washer and retaining nut separated from the link pin allowing the link pin to migrate free.

Contributory Cause(s)

The susceptibility of the link pin material to corrosion at the threaded portion following degradation of the cadmium protection.

The AAIU reported that the aircraft made a normal landing on Dublin's runway 10, after the touch down of the nose wheels a severe shimmy from the nose gear was felt. The crew stopped the aircraft on the runway, emergency services reported all tyres were properly inflated. The aircraft slowly taxied off the active runway and stopped on an adjacent taxiway, where the engines were shut down, passengers disembarked and were bussed to the terminal.

An inspection at the taxiway revealed the nose gear apex pin was missing (see sketch below).

The AAIU analysed: "This was the first reported loss of an apex pin by this Operator. Following the Incident, the Operator identified a practice at outstations whereby large wheel chocks could be positioned in such a way that it was possible to lodge under the apex pin locking washer and while the chock was being removed, leading to its displacement. Following this event, the chocking of the nose wheels was monitored closely to avoid damage to the NLG torque link assembly. No further instances were reported by the Operator."

The AAIU analysed that the aircraft manufacturer had found substantial corrosion on the threaded portion of the apex pin in some instances and it was likely such corrosion had a bearing into the loss of the serrated washer and nut in this case. The AAIU concluded analysis: "Despite several searches by the AFS, neither the missing link pin nor any of the retaining hardware was found. Without this evidence, it was not possible for the Investigation to reach a definitive conclusion regarding the loss of the torque link pin."

Metars:
EIDW 301700Z 09011KT 9999 SCT030 BKN040 04/M03 Q1014 NOSIG
EIDW 301630Z 09010KT 9999 SCT030 BKN040 04/M03 Q1014 NOSIG
EIDW 301600Z 09011KT 9999 SCT030 BKN040 04/M04 Q1014 NOSIG
EIDW 301530Z 09011KT 9999 FEW025 BKN040 05/M04 Q1014 NOSIG
EIDW 301500Z 11011KT 080V140 9999 FEW025 BKN040 05/M04 Q1014 NOSIG
EIDW 301430Z 11010KT 070V140 9999 FEW025 BKN040 04/M05 Q1013 NOSIG
EIDW 301400Z 10011KT 9999 FEW025 BKN040 04/M04 Q1014 NOSIG
EIDW 301330Z 10011KT 070V150 9999 FEW025 BKN040 05/M04 Q1014 NOSIG
EIDW 301300Z 12011KT 080V150 9999 FEW025 BKN040 05/M05 Q1014 NOSIG
EIDW 301230Z 10013KT 9999 FEW025 SCT040 05/M04 Q1014 NOSIG
EIDW 301200Z 11014KT 9999 FEW025 SCT040 05/M05 Q1014 NOSIG
Incident Facts

Date of incident
Mar 30, 2013

Classification
Incident

Airline
Aer Arann

Flight number
RE-3255

Departure
Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Destination
Dublin, Ireland

Aircraft Registration
EI-REI

Aircraft Type
ATR ATR-72-200

ICAO Type Designator
AT72

This article is published under license from Avherald.com. © of text by Avherald.com.
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