Overseas National Airways Flight 032
Frankfurt International Airport, Frankfurt, Germany | |
Destination | King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia |
---|---|
Occupants | 139 |
Passengers | 129 |
Crew | 10 |
Fatalities | 0 |
Injuries | 32 (2 serious) |
Survivors | 139 |
Overseas National Airways (ONA) Flight 032 was a non-scheduled
Aircraft and crew
Aircraft
The aircraft was a 2-year-old
Crew
The crew consisted of Captain Harry R. Davis, aged 55, employed by ONA since 1951, who had qualified to fly the DC-10 in 1973 and accumulated 25,000 flight hours in his career with 2,000 hours on the DC-10; First Officer Raymond A. Carrier, aged 52, employed by ONA since 1968, with 14,500 flight hours of which 450 hours were on the DC-10; and Flight Engineer Jack A. Holland, aged 44, employed by ONA since May 19, 1959, with 12,000 flight hours of which 2,000 flight hours were on the DC-10. In addition to the flight crew, a non-flying ONA observer occupied the jump seat in the cockpit.[1][6]
Flight
Onboard the flight were 129 passengers and ten crew members, all of whom were ONA employees (including maintenance crew, flight attendants, ground personnel, etc.) bound for Mecca to operate air charter flights.[1][6][7] Prior to departure, the aircraft had been loaded to 555,000 pounds (252,000 kg)—1,000 pounds (450 kg) less than its maximum takeoff weight—and was carrying an estimated 235,000 pounds (107,000 kg) of jet fuel at the time of the accident. Meteorological information indicated that visibility was 15 miles (24 km), wind was blowing at heading 160° at 8 knots (9.2 mph; 15 km/h), with an overcast ceiling of 10,000 feet (3,000 m). The captain requested Runway 13R, one of the newest runways at John F. Kennedy International Airport, due to the aircraft's heavy weight. Flight 032 entered Runway 13R and started its takeoff roll.[2][3]
Accident
As the DC-10 was accelerating on the ground at around 100 knots (120 mph; 190 km/h), a large flock of
Evacuation and wreckage
The flight crew initiated an evacuation through the cockpit windows using escape ropes and the cabin crew began evacuating the cabin using the evacuation slides. All 129 passengers and 10 crew members were able to evacuate, with 27 passengers suffering minor injuries and six crew members suffering minor or serious injuries, all sustained during the emergency evacuation. Although airport firefighters arrived almost immediately and began fighting the fire, HolidayLiner Freedom came to rest near an underground storm drain which collected the draining and burning fuel, rendering the blaze extremely difficult to extinguish. Most of the fire remained confined to the crash area, but pieces of the #3 engine struck a Pan Am tire shop near Runway 13R, damaging a tractor and causing several fuel drums to burn.[1][3]
The aircraft's left and centerline main landing gear separated from the airframe while the right main landing gear collapsed. Wreckage was scattered over an area of 8,460 feet (2,580 m) long and 1,086 feet (331 m) wide. Pieces of the #3 engine were scattered across the runway while the other two engines remained attached to the airframe.[1][3]
Investigation
National Transportation Safety Board
After an in-depth investigation for 1 year and 1 month, the National Transportation Safety Board released its final report on December 16, 1976.[1][2] The Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) was deemed unusable due to its recording tape having been destroyed by the massive fire that erupted and the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) inadvertently stopped while Flight 032 was accelerating to 168 knots. The NTSB highlighted that the crew performed "exceptionally well" and the fire did not penetrate far into the cabin or into the cockpit before everyone evacuated.[1]
Conclusions were as follows:[1]
- The No. 3 hydraulic system was inoperative, which in turn caused the loss of the No. 2 brake system, and braking torque fell to zero
- The No. 3 engine thrust reverser was rendered inoperative
- At least three tires disintegrated
- The No. 3 system spoiler panels on each wing could not deploy
- The runway surface was wet
Recommendations were as follows:[1]
- The bird-control program at John F. Kennedy Airport did not effectively control the bird hazard at the airport
- The Federal Aviation Administration and the General Electric Company failed to consider the effects of rotor imbalance on the abradable epoxy shroud material when the engine was tested for certification.
General Electric
An investigation was carried out on the #3 engine by
Aftermath
Precaution against birds at JFK
It was reported that 11 other severe bird strike incidents occurred at John F. Kennedy between July and November 1975.[1][3] After the accident, a recommendation was given to the staff services to provide adequate bird strike protection. Following this recommendation, between 6:00 A.M. and 10 A.M. and 2:00 P.M. onwards, a crew of seven staff members patrol birds with sound detectors and shoot birds if with an imminent collision with an aircraft. The FAA mentioned that JFK bird hazard measures were taken on a "piecemeal" basis and insufficient for FAA standards. The FAA mandated to JFK:
- To perform a daily runway inspection, especially near bird strike prone areas
- To participate or create an effective bird hazard handling program
- To eliminate several sewer outlets and dumps which attract sea gulls
- Eliminate rodents or rabbits which attract sea gulls
- Eliminate trees in the immediate area, especially bird-loved areas[8]
Engine hazard protection
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation provided a recommendation to General Electric about bird strike protection to the CFM-50 and CFM-6 series engines stating that the epoxy resin must be replaced with an Aluminium Honeycomb which will reduce the contained damage the critical and fragile engine compressor.[9][10]
Seat belt recommendation
On June 15, 1978, a recommendation was also sent to American Safety Inc. that the restraints on the ONA DC-10's involving this and another non-fatal accident in Turkey in 1976 were not sufficient.[11] Once the seatbelt was extended beyond 7 - 10 inches (for example, as the belt was being fastened) a locking mechanism would engage to prevent the seatbelt from extending further, thus securing the individual into the seat. However, if the belt were allowed to retract back to 7 - 10 inches, then the locking mechanism would disengage and the belt could then be pulled out once again, potentially to its maximum length of 19 inches. This was a problem if a physically small individual occupied the seat, as the seatbelt might retract enough for the locking mechanism to disengage, even while the individual was wearing the belt. One flight attendant in this accident was thrown off from her jumpseat and in the accident in Turkey, three flight attendants were thrown off from their jumpseats.[12]
See also
- Continental Airlines Flight 1404, another non-fatal takeoff runway excursion
- US Airways Flight 1549, another non-fatal birdstrike accident
- Pacific Western Airlines Flight 501, another non-fatal fire related aviation accident
- Biman Bangladesh Airlines Flight 060, non-fatal landing accident
- Ryanair Flight 4102, non-fatal birdstrike landing accident
- Kalitta Air Flight 207, non-fatal birdstrike accident
- 2021 Houston MD-87 crash, similar runway excursion
- China Airlines Flight 120
- Southwest Air Lines Flight 611
- Air France Flight 358 & British Airways Flight 38 were both non-fatal landing accidents
- British Airways Flight 2276 & Korean Air Flight 2708 were both uncontained engine failure incidents
References
- ^ Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
- ^ Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Lessons Learned". lessonslearned.faa.gov. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
- ^ Brotak, Ed (2018-03-23). "When Birds Strike". HistoryNet. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
- ^ Noack, Thomas. "N1032F Overseas National Airways (ONA) McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
- ^ a b "Overseas National Airways Crew Friendship Site". www.onacrew.com. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
- ^ Aviation, United States Congress House Committee on Public Works and Transportation Subcommittee on (1979). Aviation Safety, DC-10 Crash of May 25, 1979: Joint Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Aviation and the Subcommittee on Oversight and Review of the Committee on Public Works and Transportation, House of Representatives, Ninety-sixth Congress, First Session, June 19 and 20, 1979. U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 249–251.
- ^ "Airworthiness Directive Recommendation for GENERAL ELECTRIC Models CF6-50A, CF6-50C, CF6-50D, CF6-50E, CF6-50E1 and CF6-50H Engines" (PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
- ^ "Airworthiness Directive Recommendation for GENERAL ELECTRIC Models CF6-6D and CF6-6D1 Engines" (PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
- ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30CF N1031F Istanbul-Yesilköy Airport (IST)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2021-12-07.
- ^ "Aviation Safety, DC-10 Crash of May 25, 1979: Joint Hearings Before the ... - United States. Congress. House. Committee on Public Works and Transportation. Subcommittee on Aviation - Google Books". Google Books. 1979. pp. 247–248. Retrieved December 6, 2021.