MESSAGE NUMBER:1-RYR7F]
THE BOEING COMPANY
Service Request Data :
SERVICE REQUEST ID : 1-46910471
PRIORITY : Routine
ACCOUNT : BOEING CORRESPONDENCE (MOM)
DUE DATE : 05-Nov-2004 05:55:16 AM
PROJECT :
PRODUCT TYPE : Airplane
PRODUCT LINE : 747
PRODUCT : 747-100
ATA : 0240-00
PART NUMBER :
REFERENCES:
SUBJECT: Kalitta Air 747-100F N709CK Engine Separation Event over Lake Michigan - 20 Oct 2004
DESCRIPTION:
The following is sent to all customers, field service bases, regional directors, customer resident representatives and other selected organizations. The following message contains confidential commercial information and is intended only for the internal use of the individual or entity to whom it is addressed and not for disclosure to others.
On 20 October 2004, the #1 engine of a 747-100 airplane separated during flight. The crew diverted to a nearby airport and landed safely. The NTSB is investigating this event with assistance from the FAA, Pratt & Whitney, and Boeing. The NTSB has released a preliminary report on this incident which provides further details and is repeated below.
QUOTE
On October 20, 2004, about 2029 central daylight time, a Boeing 747-132, N709CK, operated by Kalitta Air, LLC, as flight 825, received substantial damage following a separation and loss of the number one engine while climbing through about 16,000 feet mean sea level over Lake Michigan. The 14 CFR Part 121 non-scheduled international cargo flight was operating on an instrument rules flight plan. Night visual meteorological conditions were reported at the time of the accident. The two pilots, one flight engineer, and two flight mechanics were uninjured. The flight departed from Chicago O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois, at 2010, and was en route to John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York, New York, when it diverted to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW), Detroit, Michigan, where it landed without further incident.
The flight crew did not report any abnormal conditions prior to the engine separation. Following the engine separation, the flight crew diverted to DTW where a landing was accomplished with normal operation of the leading edge devices and trailing edge flaps.
On-scene inspection of the airplane revealed engine separation at the forward engine mount bulkhead and at the aft engine mount. The aft engine mount was intact with a section of the engine turbine exhaust case still attached. The pylon remained attached to the wing, and the pylon alignment marks were in alignment. The area around the forward engine mount bulkhead was deformed in the outboard and upward direction.
Radar data estimates indicate that the engine is in an area of Lake Michigan that is approximately 240 feet deep.
UNQUOTE
The NTSB preliminary report can be found on the web at:
https://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/GenPDF.asp...I05FA011&rpt=p
Inspection of the pylon-to-wing fuse pins revealed that they were undamaged. The investigation team agreed that it is necessary to locate and recover the missing engine in order to determine the cause of the separation. Recovery of the engine is being coordinated by the NTSB. The airplane is a 747-132, variable RA635, line number 159, serial number 20247. It was delivered to another operator in 1971 and was converted in 1995 to a freighter with main deck side cargo door. The airplane has accumulated 93,548 flight hours and 26,924 cycles as last reported to Boeing.
Boeing has no recommended operator action at this time. If the investigation shows any specific actions are recommended or required, operators will be notified.
R. S. Breuhaus, Chief Engineer, Air Safety Investigation
BOEING, STA DIR AS M.S. 67-
PR