On May 25, 1979 a McDonnell Douglas DC-10 wide body aircraft operated by American Airlines as Flight 191 was scheduled to fly an afternoon flight to Los Angeles International Airport from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport carrying 258 passengers and 13 crewmembers. During the aircraft takeoff roll on runway 32 R at O’Hare International Airport, the engine #1 fell off the left wing. Initially, the aircraft climbed away from the runway in a wings level attitude, but shortly after, the DC-10 rolled into a steep left bank, descended rapidly, and crashed (Kennelly,1982). The total time of the flight was airborne was one minute and 20 seconds and crashed onto an open field and trailer park about 4,600 feet northwest of the departure end of the
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They wanted to know why the engine fell off the wing and why was the aircraft unable to remain airborne on its two remaining engines. When the NTSB searched the runway for any clues, they found a bolt that was broken in two that was one of the bolts to hold the engine to the wing. Then they found a broken engine pylon that had a 10 inch fracture on the rear bulkhead. On June 6, 1979, the FAA grounds all DC-10 aircrafts in the United States, 138 planes in total (Kennelly,1982). The NTSB found maintenance records finding out that the aircraft went through a major service checkup that involved self-aligning bearings on the Buckhead to wing attachments joints where changed eight weeks before the accident. They investigated that mechanics used forklifts to remove the whole engine improperly to save money and time while weakening the pylon. Over the next eight weeks, each time the plane took off the stress of the massive engine put on the pylon made the crack go larger. The loss of one engine should not have been enough to cause the crash, The DC-10 would have more than enough power to fly back to the airport with two working engines. When investigating pictures after the crash, The NTSB realized that a trail of fluid was coming out of the left wing. They find out that several of the DC-10 hydraulic lines ran at the leading edge of the wing. When the Engine of the Left
They wanted to know why the engine fell off the wing and why was the aircraft unable to remain airborne on its two remaining engines. When the NTSB searched the runway for any clues, they found a bolt that was broken in two that was one of the bolts to hold the engine to the wing. Then they found a broken engine pylon that had a 10 inch fracture on the rear bulkhead. On June 6, 1979, the FAA grounds all DC-10 aircrafts in the United States, 138 planes in total (Kennelly,1982). The NTSB found maintenance records finding out that the aircraft went through a major service checkup that involved self-aligning bearings on the Buckhead to wing attachments joints where changed eight weeks before the accident. They investigated that mechanics used forklifts to remove the whole engine improperly to save money and time while weakening the pylon. Over the next eight weeks, each time the plane took off the stress of the massive engine put on the pylon made the crack go larger. The loss of one engine should not have been enough to cause the crash, The DC-10 would have more than enough power to fly back to the airport with two working engines. When investigating pictures after the crash, The NTSB realized that a trail of fluid was coming out of the left wing. They find out that several of the DC-10 hydraulic lines ran at the leading edge of the wing. When the Engine of the Left