FedEx Express 910: Gear Collapse, Fire, Fuel Tank Explosion

Описание: PSA: The fuel tank explosion is captured on video at 2:24, and again by another camera at 6:24. The second surveillance camera video begins at 4:20.

On October 28, 2016, about 1751 eastern daylight time, FedEx Express (FedEx) flight 910, a McDonnell Douglas MD-10-10F, N370FE, experienced a left main landing gear (MLG) collapse after landing on runway 10L at Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport (KFLL), Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The left wing subsequently caught fire.

The airplane came to rest off the left side of the runway and the two flight crewmembers evacuated the airplane. As the flight crew was preparing to evacuate, the nearly empty left main fuel tank exploded after its exterior surfaces were heated by burning fuel, which flowed from a broken fuel supply tube in the left engine pylon.The captain reported a minor cut and abrasions from the evacuation, and the first officer was not injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage.

The first officer was the pilot flying, and the captain was the pilot monitoring. Both flight crewmembers stated in postaccident interviews that the departure from Memphis and the en-route portion of the flight were normal. About 1745, air traffic control (ATC) cleared the flight for final approach to the instrument landing system (ILS) approach to runway 10L at KFLL. Recorder data indicate that the first officer set the flaps at 35º about 1746 when the airplane was 3,000’ above ground level (AGL). The first officer disconnected the autopilot about 1749 when the airplane was 1,000’ AGL.

In postaccident interviews, the flight crewmembers reported hearing a "bang" as the first officer applied the brakes, and the airplane yawed to the left. About this time, the CVR recorded the sound of multiple thuds, consistent with the sound of a gear collapse.

About 1750:48, the captain stated, "I have the airplane," and the first officer replied, "you got the airplane." The captain applied full right rudder without effect while the first officer continued braking. About 1750:53, the captain instructed the first officer to call and inform the tower about the emergency. The No. 1 engine was initially supporting the airplane after the left MLG collapse when a fire began near the left-wing tip. The airplane eventually stopped off the left side of runway 10L, about 30º to 40º off of runway heading.

Interestingly - and atypically - the NTSB explicitly stated in its report that "The application of braking by the flight crew did not initiate or contribute to the landing gear fracture."

About 1751, the flight crew began executing the evacuation checklist. The pilots reported that, as they were about to evacuate, they heard an explosion, at which point they immediately evacuated the airplane through the right cockpit window.

Following extensive metallurgical testing and analysis, the NTSB determined the probable causes of this accident to be: "The failure of the left MLG due to fatigue cracking that initiated at a corrosion pit. The pit formed in the absence of a required protective cadmium coating, the cause of which could not be determined from available evidence. Contributing to the failure of the left MLG was the operator's overhaul limit, which exceeded that recommended by the airplane manufacturer without sufficient data and analysis to ensure crack detection before it progressed to failure."

The NTSB accident report, along with the full NTSB metallurgical report and many supporting investigatory documents can be found at http://tiny.cc/whereismypackage