McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 N375FE

Summary

On 12 October 2003 at about 13:17 local time, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 registered N375FE was involved in an incident near Denver, Colorado, United States. 7 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was slightly damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

12 October 2003 at 13:17

Classification

Incident

Location

Denver, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Denver International (DEN)

Coordinates

39.8583, -104.6669

Aircraft

McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10

Registration

N375FE

Category

Airplane

Engines

3

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 121: Air Carrier

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Denver → Memphis

Aircraft damage

Minor

Weather

VMC

Light

Dawn

NTSB number

DEN04IA012

Nobody was injured.

the manufacturer's improper installation of the inboard slat drive mechanism's lower left hand anti-torque strut, which resulted in the axial migration of the rod-end bearing, the binding of the anti-torque strut, and the subsequent activation of the slat take-off configuration warning horn. Contributing factors include the aborted take-off, the initiation of normal brakes during a high energy stop, and the main landing gear fire.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the captain, during the take-off roll, and shortly after the first officer called out the take-off decision speed (V1,158 knots), the take-off warning horn sounded. At that time, the captain initiated a Rejected Take-Off (RTO). Assured that a stop on the runway was possible, he elected not to apply maximum braking in "hopes that a more gentle brake application might avoid or mitigate any damage to the aircraft and lessen the heat and fire risk." During the RTO, DEN tower contacted the crew and reported smoke in the vicinity of the left main landing gear. Immediately thereafter, the tower reported that fire was coming from the same area. DEN tower initiated a call to alert aircraft rescue and firefighting equipment (ARFF) to the scene. The aircraft came to a stop, on the runway centerline, with approximately 1,800 feet of runway remaining. The crew completed the emergency quick evacuation checklist, and all seven persons aboard egressed via the L1 escape slide. The initial inspection of the airplane revealed that both of the nose landing gear tires, two main landing gear brake lines, all eight main landing gear brake assemblies, and all eight main landing gear tires were damaged during the RTO. Each damaged item was required to be replaced prior to towing the aircraft off the runway. The maintenance manager stated that the nose and main landing gear assemblies had "overheated," during the RTO and that each tire had deflated after the airplane came to rest, because "there was no indication that the tires had skidded." During an examination of the airplane, it was determined that the take-off warning horn was the result of a take-off configuration conflict between the inboard and outboard slats. An inspection of the inboard slat drive mechanism's lower left hand anti-torque strut, revealed that a rod-end bearing had migrated out of the rod-end, and that two washers were missing, which allowed the anti-torque strut to ride on the bolt that attaches the rod-end to the slat drive mechanism.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.