20000425038759A

(19) ON APRIL 25, 2000, AT 1942 EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME, A MCDONNELL-DOUGLAS DC10-30, N39081, OPERATING AS CONTINENTAL AIRLINES FLIGHT 60, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED WHEN AN UNCONTAINED ENGINE EVENT OCCURRED DURING TAKEOFF FROM NEWARK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (EWR), NEWARK, NEW JERSEY. THE 3-MAN COCKPIT CREW, 11-PERSON CABIN CREW, AND 220 PASSENGERS WERE NOT INJURED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. AN INSTRUMENT FLIGHT RULES FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED FOR THE FLIGHT, BETWEEN NEWARK AND BRUSSELS AIRPORT (BRU), BRUSSELS, BELGIUM. THE SCHEDULED PASSENGER FLIGHT WAS CONDUCTED UNDER 14 CFR PART 121. THE CAPTAIN STATED THAT HE CONDUCTED A CREW BRIEFING PRIOR TO BOARDING THE AIRPLANE. STARTUP AND TAXI WERE NORMAL, AND DURING THE TAXI, THE CAPTAIN AGAIN BRIEFED THE COCKPIT CREW, AND INCLUDED ENGINE FAILURES AND NON-REJECT SITUATIONS. THE AIRPLANE LINED UP ON RUNWAY 04L, AND THE CAPTAIN APPLIED TAKEOFF POWER SLOWLY AND SMOOTHLY. AT TAKEOFF DECISION SPEED (V1), THERE WAS A LOUD EXPLOSION. A WHITE "ENGINE FAIL" LIGHT ILLUMINATED IN FRONT OF TH E CAPTAIN, AND THE NUMBER 1 ENGINE N1 DECREASED BY 30%. NUMBER 2 AND 3 ENGINES APPEARED NORMAL. THE CAPTAIN CONTINUED THE TAKEOFF, AN THE LANDING GEAR WAS RAISED. A RED, LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR WARDNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED ON THE FRONT PANEL. TEH AIRPLANE TURNED TO A HEADING OF 010 AND SLOWLY CLIMBED TO 3,000 FEET. DURING THE CLIMB, AN AIRFRAME VIBRATION DEVELOPED. AFTER LEVEL-OFF, THE CREW BEGAN TO TROUBLESHOOT THE EMERGENCY, AND FOUND THAT WHEN THE NUMBER 3 ENGINE N1 WAS REDUCED TO ABOUT 25 PERCENT, THE VIBRATION DISAPPEARED. BOTH THE NUMBER 1 AND THE NUMBER 3 ENGINES REMAINED AT APPROX. 25 PERCENT N1 FOR THE REST OF THE FLIGHT. AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL PROVIDED VECTORS FOR A RETURN TO NEWARK. DURING THE RETURN, THE CREW DUMPED ABOUT 90,000 POUNDS OF FUEL. THE CREW ALSO RAN BOTH 1-ENGINE, AND 2-ENGINE INOPERATIVE CHECKLISTS, AND PREPARED DATA CARDS FOR BOTH SCARIOUS. THE CAPTAIN FLEW THE ILS GLIDESCOPE DOWN TO A FULL-STOP LANDING, ON RUNWAY 04R. THE ACARS RECORDED THE LANDING AT 2016. AFTER THE INITIAL STOP, THE BRAKES WOULD NOT RELEASE SO THE CREW SHUT DOWN THE ENGINES ON THE RUNWAY, AND THE PASSENGERS AND CREW DISEMBARKED THROUGH THE NORMAL DEPLANING DOORS. THE AIRPLANE WAS LATER TOWED TO A RAMP. ACCORDING TO THE CAPTAIN, THE USE OF CREW RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (CRM) BY BOTH THE COCKPIT AND CABIN CREWS WAS A MAJOR FACTOR IN THE SUCCESSFUL HANDLING OF THE EMERGENCY. EXAMINATION OF THE AIRPLANE REVEALED THAT ALL THREE GENERAL ELECTRIC CF6-50C2 ENGINES WERE DAMAGED. THE NUMBER 1 (LEFT) ENGINE "LOW PRESSURE TURBINE" CASE WAS BREACHED IN THE VICINITY OF THE SECOND STAGE NOZZLES, FROM APPROX. THE 3 O'CLOCK POSITION. THE BREACH WAS ABOUT THE WIDTH OF THE SECOND STAGE NOZZLE SEGMENTS, AND ALL OF THE SEGMENTS WERE MISSING FROM THE ENGINE. EACH SEGMENT CONSISTED OF SIX NOZZLE BLADES. NINE OF THE 16 NOZZLE SEGMENTS WERE RECOVERED INTACT, AND ADDITIONAL PORTIONS OF SEGMENTS WERE FOUND, FOR A TOTAL RECOVERY OF ABOUT 85 PERCENT OF THE NOZZLE BLADES. THE MAJORITY OF NOZZLE MATERIAL WAS FOUND ON THE DEPARTURE RUNWAY, HOWEVER, ONE NOZZLE SEGMENT WAS FOUND IN THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR WHELL WELL. ONE OF THE EIGHT ANTI-ROTATION NOZZLE LOCKS WAS RECOVERED. THE THREADED STUD FROM THAT LOCK HAD BEEN SHEARED FROM THE PLATE, AND THE ENGAGEMENT TANGS EXHIBITED WEAR AND DAMAGE. THE FIRST STAGE LOW PRESSURE TURBLINE BLADES HAD MINOR TRAILING EDGE AIRFOIL DAMAGE, AND THE SECOND STAGE LOW PRESSURE TURBINE BLADES EXHIBITED CIRCUMFERENTIAL RUB MARKS ON THE INNER PLATFORM LEADING EDGE, AND ON THE AIRFOILS NEAR THE BLADE. (-23) ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^