411 and all,
Does anyone have the skinny on gear and/or component replacement for the DC-10/MD10? I was aware there was time/cycle limited component replacement, but not entire gear replacement.
The landing gears on freighters are stressed more than their passenger counterparts for the obvious reasons – higher average takeoff weights and higher average landing weights. But there is another stress imposed on many freighter gears that may not be so obvious. Look at a sort ramp for FedEx, UPS, Airborne, DHL, etc. The aircraft are packed together. To do this, max deflection turns are common. This places large torsional loads on the gear.
Just glad the crew and jumpseaters made it out ok.
And the latest from MEM media sources (30 minutes ago)
Focus on collapsed landing gear
Runway could be clear by Wednesday; witnesses sought
By Mark Watson
Contact
December 20, 2003
Thursday's accident involving a FedEx MD10 widebody cargo jetliner coincided with the collapse of the right main landing gear upon landing at the Memphis International Airport.
What caused the landing gear to collapse and what other factors played a role in the accident remain under investigation, said Joseph Sedor, National Transportation Safety Board investigator in charge
In a chilly, sunny, windswept afternoon press conference, Sedor said he hopes the runway can be cleared by Wednesday.
The NTSB team arrived Thursday evening in Memphis and walked through the scene of the accident, in which none of the seven people on the plane was seriously injured.
The cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder of the plane, built in 1971, have been forwarded to Washington for analysis, Sedor said.
FedEx took delivery of the plane in 1998 and put it into service in 2000.
Investigators have ruled out foul play, but they are interviewing witnesses and would particularly like to hear from people who witnessed the plane as it approached the runway in the air, as it landed, and as it rolled down the runway, Sedor said. Anyone who has witnessed this is asked to call the FBI at 747-4300.
Sedor held a first meeting of investigators, including people from Boeing, the Federal Aviation Authority, the Air Line Pilots Association and the Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority.
The team was divided into groups inquiring into the following issues:
• Operations, interviewing pilots and passengers.
• Airworthiness, examining the structure and fire damage.
• Survival factors, looking over emergency equipment, like the inflatable exit ramp.
The inflatable slide apparently blew away, and passengers had to use a rope to exit the plane through the cockpit windows.
Investigators will keep the cargo in place for a day or two more, to ensure no evidence is overlooked, Sedor said.
Although Thursday was a blustery day, it did not constitute a big crosswind at the time of the landing, Sedor said.
The team has not yet checked to see if the MD10 aircraft, which is the cargo version of the DC10 passenger aircraft, has a history of landing gear failure, he said.
"In every investigation, we look at all aspects," Sedor said. "We will be on the scene another three or four days."
Producing the final report of an accident like this typically takes eight to 10 months, Sedor said