Cargo Accidents on the Rise;

Cargo Accidents on the Rise;

Increasing events in flight and on the ground signal necessity for more safeguards

Aviation Week & Space Technology

November 15, 2004

By Frances Fiorino

A recent spate of accidents involving freighters highlights the need for improved air cargo safety.

The NTSB has been focusing on that goal. In March, the board gathered industry groups to discuss concerns at its first Air Cargo Safety Forum. At the Air Line Pilots Assn.'s Air Safety Forum in late summer, NTSB Chairman Ellen Engleman-Conners noted the board had investigated 40 cargo accidents since 1984 and that, compared with air transport, cargo has 2-5 times the fatal accident rate and an older fleet (28 years compared with 7 years).

Events appear to have escalated in the past six weeks. On Nov. 7, an Air Atlanta Cargo Boeing 747-230F suffered substantial damage when it overran the runway at Sharjah (United Arab Emirates) International Airport after an aborted takeoff. In October, an MK Airlines 747-244BSF crashed at takeoff from Halifax, Nova Scotia, killing all seven crewmembers on board (AW&ST Oct. 25, p. 63). And a World Airways MD-11F, N275WA, was substantially damaged last month when it struck the runway during takeoff from Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.

Further, an Oct. 20 incident had the NTSB searching Lake Michigan for a Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7A engine--a formidable task, but a necessary one, if investigators are to determine why the powerplant separated from an airborne Kalitta Air Boeing 747-132SF (see photo).

The cargo aircraft, N709CK, Flight 825, with five crewmembers on board, departed Chicago O'Hare airport bound for New York JFK International. The 747 was climbing through 16,000 ft. (MSL) over Lake Michigan when its No. 1 engine separated. The five crewmembers, who suffered no injuries, diverted the aircraft to Detroit Metropolitan Airport and landed safely.

According to an NTSB spokesman, investigators had late last week pinpointed the engine's location in the lake and were preparing to start salvage operations this week.

It wasn't the first 747 engine separation incident:

*On Mar. 31, 1993, the No. 2 engine separated from a Japan Airlines Boeing 747-121 during climbout from Anchorage International Airport. Investigators determined the failure occurred when the engine pylon's ultimate lateral load capability was exceeded during the 747's encounter with severe or possibly extreme turbulence. The three crewmembers survived; the aircraft, manufactured in 1970, was substantially damaged. It had accumulated 83,906 hr. and its engines, 18,387 cycles.

*On Dec. 29, 1991, the No. 3 engine separated from a China Airlines Boeing 747-2R7F during a high-speed climbout from Taiwan's Chiang Kai-Shek International Airport. The Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7R4G2 struck the No. 4 engine, which also detached from the 1980-manufactured aircraft. All five crew died in the subsequent crash. The 747 had accumulated 45,868 hr., and 9,094 engine cycles at the time of the accident.

*On Oct. 4, 1992, the No. 3 Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7J engine and pylon separated from an El Al Israel Boeing 747-258F during climbout from Amsterdam Schipol Airport. As was the case with the China Airlines crash, the engine struck the No. 4 powerplant, detaching it from the 747. All four on board were killed when the aircraft crashed into an apartment building. The 1979-built 747 had 45,746 airframe hr. and its engines, 10,107 cycles.

Safety actions include a June 13, 2001, airworthiness directive (AD) requiring inspection and replacement of certain bolts in underwing fittings on Boeing 747-100, -200, -300 and SP series aircraft. According to the FAA, the action was necessary to prevent loss of the underwing fitting load path, which could result in separation of the engine.

In addition, on July 19, the FAA issued an AD on the Boeing 747-100/B; 100B SUD; and -200B/C/F, -300, SR and SP aircraft equipped with Pratt & Whitney JT9D-3,-7-7Q and -7R4G2-series engines. The AD required drilling witness holes through the cowl skin at the cowl latch locations on the left side of the cowl panel assembly of each engine. The action is necessary to prevent the latch from disconnecting, which could result in separation of a cowl panel from the aircraft.

photograph, Kalitta Air Cargo Flight 825 landed safely at Detroit Metropolitan Airport minus its No. 1 engine, which separated from the aircraft in flight and fell from 16,000 ft. into Lake Michigan.