View Full Version : Malaysian B737-4 main gear collapse
flaphandlemover
6th Oct 2009, 08:45
http://avherald.com/img/malaysia_b734_9m-mmr_kuching_091002_2.jpg
http://avherald.com/img/malaysia_b734_9m-mmr_kuching_091002_1.jpg
quote from Aviation Herald:
A Malaysian Airlines Boeing 737-400 registration 9M-MMR had arrived from Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and was waiting at Kuching's (Malaysia) gate 05 for the departure to Kuala Lumpur, when the left inner wing spar structure gave way permitting the left main gear to tilt out of position leaving the airplane resting on the nose gear, right main gear and the left hand engine. Parts of the assembly were pushed through the upper surface of the wing. The airplane sustained substantial damage, no injuries occured.
"...spar structure gave way.." would have been disasterious in flight....:uhoh:
Some maintenance issues?
green granite
6th Oct 2009, 09:51
Accident: Malaysian B734 at Kuching on Oct 2nd 2009, gear collapse at the gate (http://www.avherald.com/h?article=420c701f&opt=0)
edited to remove a no-longer relevant URL
ManaAdaSystem
6th Oct 2009, 10:36
This is very unusual. Has anything like this ever happened to a 737 before?
It will be interesting to find out if this was due to metal fatigue, stress, maintenance, etc.
There are so many old 737s flying around (some of them with me in them), so this could affect a lot of aircraft.
leewan
6th Oct 2009, 15:14
It will be interesting to find out if this was due to metal fatigue, stress, maintenance, etc.
There are so many old 737s flying around (some of them with me in them), so this could affect a lot of aircraft.
My educated guess: The landing gear wing spar could have had microscopic fractures due to a combination of heavy landings and metal fatigue and could have just given way as the plane was being loaded with fuel. Another possibility is that the landing gear trunnion bolt could have had microscopic fractures or improperly installed( least likely).
It would be crucial to know when the last landing gear installation was made, the last NDT inspection and if possible, the landing loads of at least 5 previous landings. Also need to ask the last few dep crews' whether they saw that particular landing gear oleo leaking during their WACs. ( Very common) If it was leaking, then the absorption force would have been greatly reduced making every normal landing a hard landing, thereby leading to the wing spar being damaged.
It's time MAS retired these 734s as they are beginning to show their age. Some have a knitwork of doubler patches on their fuselage.
Interesting username you have. :) Do you fly one of them ?
Hard landing. NTSB involved. Left gear failed at the trunnion bearing rivet failure (known issue for inspection). Occured during push back
kotakota
6th Oct 2009, 16:14
Need to find my old logbooks when I unpack , but pretty sure I would have flown MMR in 93/94 , straight out of the box then , but those Borneo runways can be hard on ship , always patching the holes in runway from the constant heavy rain and fierce sun .
If memory serves me right these were the heavier MTOW -68 tons - with the extra AUX tank in Hold 3 ?
Happy days.
framer
6th Oct 2009, 16:14
ZFT...do you mean that a hard landing had just occurred on the previous sector?
Robert Campbell
6th Oct 2009, 21:03
My guess would be many hard landings. How about the possibility of counterfeit parts?
Metro man
7th Oct 2009, 00:39
but those Borneo runways can be hard on ship , always patching the holes in runway from the constant heavy rain and fierce sun .
The runways are a billiard table compared to the taxi ways. I've seen better tarmac on the roads in third world countries. Some of them you wouldn't drive a low slung sports car on.
r1flyguy35
7th Oct 2009, 04:22
Damn...
I fly as pax on the Pen - KL on a regular basis on board the MH 737's :eek:
framer,
That's what I was told, yes
And in the overall scheme of things, a properly maintained 737-400 isn't that old an aircraft. Plenty of -300s still in service.
leewan
7th Oct 2009, 14:17
And in the overall scheme of things, a properly maintained 737-400 isn't that old an aircraft. Plenty of -300s still in service.
In terms of numbers, it is not that old. But when you take into account that these short haul a/cs fly multiple sectors within a day to remote airports with sparsely maintained runways and taxiways, then the airframe has aged considerably from their actual years by their landing cycles and "rough" treatment.
Storminnorm
7th Oct 2009, 15:27
I thought that these 73s were designed for that sort of
short/medium sector lengths with multiple T/O and
landings?
muduckace
8th Oct 2009, 08:14
My educated guess: The landing gear wing spar could have had microscopic fractures due to a combination of heavy landings and metal fatigue and could have just given way as the plane was being loaded with fuel.
In my experience with Boeing A/C, a wing spar or wing spar cap that had cracks would leak fuel. I doubt that other than ignored this is a factor. A microrosopic fracture in a an aluminum wing spar grows with load and aluminunim failures are allmost allways in a wing dectected by leaks much prior to failure... There is more structure to maintain the the intregrity of the wing to prevent failure even if the spar is cracked enough to leak fuel.
ganga747
9th Oct 2009, 09:35
The Left Main Gear aft bearing gave way. The trunnion dislodged from the housing and slipped out during the pushback.
The LG actually retracted froward or collapsed forward.
The main wing spar was still in tact.
MAS is keeping very quiet about this incident.
Does anybody have any information on the manner with which the cabin aspects of the incident were handled?
Issues that come to mind include:
How were the cabin crew alerted of the incident?
What were they told?
How did the passengers leave the aircraft?
Was an evacuation performed?
Was cabin baggage an issue during the disembarkation?
Thanks in anticipation.
flyboyz737
17th Oct 2009, 07:01
ZFT - I'm afraid you have been misinformed. I have word from ppl in d office that there were no hard landings few days to the incident. Incident happened during pushback with 100+ pax onboard before the engine started. Pax disembarked thru d fwd door
Metro man - I think you haven't flown in this region for awhile! the runways nowadays r in much better shape than many years ago... with d exception of WBKK taxiways!
338C- Pax got down with their cabin bags
Metro man
17th Oct 2009, 09:25
I'm currently flying in the region, and yes the runways have improved but WBKK taxiways are unacceptable and would have been closed and repaired long ago in most other countries. You wouldn't drive a low slung car on some stretches.
Update: The B737 concerned has been moved away from the main terminal and is being worked on, up on jacks with the port engine removed. Not sure if it will fly again, damage looks pretty major and may be beyond economic repair if the aircraft is old and high time.