Fedex MD10 at Portland on Feb 13th 2012, rejected takeoff due to uncontained engine failure
Last Update: September 21, 2013 / 18:36:54 GMT/Zulu time
Incident Facts
Date of incident
Feb 13, 2012
Classification
Report
Cause
Rejected takeoff
Airline
Fedex
Flight number
FX-977
Departure
Portland, United States
Destination
Oakland, United States
Aircraft Registration
N304FE
Aircraft Type
McDonnell Douglas MD-10-30
ICAO Type Designator
MD10
An inspection revealed no damage/penetration to the engine cowling and no damage to the airframe.
On May 22nd 2013 the NTSB released their factual report stating, that when during examination the fan of the left hand engine was manually rotated, the low pressure turbine did not rotate with it, the low pressure turbine could not be moved for being seized. Further inspection revealed penetration holes and tears in the low pressure turbine case and another hole was found in the turbine rear frame.
Disassembly of the engine revealed that the fan mid shaft had fractured, the center vent tube and high pressure compressor air duct were also fractured. All low pressure turbine blades showed tip fractures. All engine main line bearings were intact except for bearing #7 which was found seized despite being wet with oil. The NTSB stated: "Five of the No. 7 bearing roller elements were missing and all the remaining roller elements were heat discolored black and most were flattened. The No. 7 bearing cage was damaged and heat discolored but was intact. The inner race aft edge was damaged and material was rolled."
Debris found inside the engine were identified ester based engine oil residue typically found in turbine engines. The engine manufacturer concluded, "that the stress corrosion cracking observed on the fan mid shaft was caused primarily due to the breakdown of a synthetic oil product inside the FMS during both storage and engine operation".
The NTSB reported: "The LPT stage 2 and 3 interstage seals installed in the engine were the new configuration that were recommended by Safety Board Recommendation A-98-125, introduced by GE SB CF6-50 72-1268, and mandated by Airworthiness Directive AD 2005-26-06 to address safety concerns that when a FMS separation occurs it leads to a LPT stage 1 disk overspeed and uncontained failure."
On Sep 21st 2013 the NTSB released their final report concluding the probable cause of the incident was:
The fracture of the fan mid shaft due to a stress corrosion cracking initiated by local regions of corrosion pitting, which resulted from oil migration within the shaft and its subsequent degradation.
Aircraft Registration Data
Incident Facts
Date of incident
Feb 13, 2012
Classification
Report
Cause
Rejected takeoff
Airline
Fedex
Flight number
FX-977
Departure
Portland, United States
Destination
Oakland, United States
Aircraft Registration
N304FE
Aircraft Type
McDonnell Douglas MD-10-30
ICAO Type Designator
MD10
This article is published under license from Avherald.com. © of text by Avherald.com.
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