SafetyIssues Personal and Public Safety News Articles: China Airlines Jet Catches Fire

China Airlines Jet Catches Fire
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Staff writer for safetyissues.com on 09/03/07 05:15:00
 
The right engine of the Boeing 737-800 burst into flames at approximately
10:35am while the plane was taxiing to the airport terminal gate. The fire
spread to the left engine.
Investigators later determined that a bolt from a slat in the right wing had
pierced the fuel tank, causing the fuel to leak out and pool on the ground, and
then ignited in the heat. The hole created in the tank had a diameter of 0.8-1.2
inches.
Slats are panels that slide out of the front edge, while flaps slide out of the
rear edge, of an aircraft’s wings. Their function is to stabilize the plane
during takeoffs and landings.
Investigators believed a worker failed to re-install a washer on a bolt in the
downstop assembly after a maintenance check a few months back. In the absence of
the small washer, the bolt came loose apparently as the slats were being
retracted soon after the landing. The engine that caught fire was last inspected
on July 13 this year.
There have been similar cases previously reported to Boeing Co. of the bolt
penetrating the fuel tank in 737-800s. The aircraft maker has previously
instructed airlines to inspect their planes.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered mandatory inspections on all
Next-Generation 737s in all airlines in the U.S.  Boeing has sold 2,287 of the
Next Generation 737s all over the world and 783 are in service in the US.  The
inspections were ordered immediately after the China Airlines accident. In four
cases, inspectors found bolts had been dislodged in the slat assembly.
Depending on the outcome of investigations and further studies, Boeing will
evaluate whether it is necessary to redesign the bolt on the slat.
A former top investigator at the National Transportation Safety Board commented
that the China Airlines accident underscored the observation common among
investigators, that little parts that seem so innocuous at the time of design
and construction of an aircraft can sometimes cause significant, even
catastrophic, results.
China Airlines has been hounded by tragic accidents. In 1994, a crash on landing
at Nagoya Airport killed 264 people. Two fatal accidents followed, killing 186
people. In a fourth accident in May 2002, a Boeing 747 on a flight from Taiwan
to Hong Kong broke up in mid-air, killing 225 people.