Incident Boeing 737-406 PH-BDU,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 180403
 
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Date:Saturday 27 January 1996
Time:13:15
Type:Silhouette image of generic B734 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Boeing 737-406
Owner/operator:KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
Registration: PH-BDU
MSN: 24857/1902
Year of manufacture:1990
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 76
Aircraft damage: Minor
Location:London Heathrow Airport (LHR/EGLL) -   United Kingdom
Phase: Taxi
Nature:Passenger - Scheduled
Departure airport:London Heathrow Airport (LHR/EGLL)
Destination airport:
Investigating agency: AAIB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
Sustained minor damage 27/1/1996 when taxying at London Heathrow Airport when the left outer undercarriage wheel and tyre failed. According to the following extract from the official AAIB report into the accident:

"While the aircraft was taxying out for take off the crew heard a "bang" and felt a "minor bump". Shortly afterwards a cabin attendant informed the flight crew that a passenger had reported rubber coming off the left main landing gear. The crew stopped the aircraft and asked for an inspection. A ground engineer found that the left outer wheel had failed and debris had damaged a leading edge slat.

Passengers and crew were disembarked using the airstairs and transported to the terminal by bus. Debris was recovered from the taxiway and a technical investigation of the wheel failure was carried out by the airline's engineering department.

When the wheel was examined it was found that the complete outer rim had detached and 5 of the 16 clamping bolts were missing. The 5 bolts were amongst debris recovered from the taxiway but their threaded ends and nuts were not found. No pre-existing defect was found in the wheel itself but all 5 bolts showed indications of fatigue initiating in the thread roots at the thread's first engagement in the nut

One bolt showed penetration by fatigue across 60% of its cross-section and was heavily corroded. It was considered that the fatigue in this bolt had progressed under relatively low loading and that this was the first bolt to fail. The other bolts showed signs of there having been a sequence of failure evidenced by less corrosion and more rapid fatigue development and it was thought that the failure of the first bolt had increased loads on the adjacent bolts and accelerated their failure. The wheel had completed 3,473 cycles since new and 490 since inspection".

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: AAIB
Report number: 
Status: Investigation completed
Duration:
Download report: Final report

Sources:

1.AAIB: https://assets.digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk/media/542302ce40f0b61342000ab3/dft_avsafety_pdf_500285.pdf
2. http://www.airfleets.net/ficheapp/plane-b737-24857.htm

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
15-Oct-2015 11:58 Dr. John Smith Added
15-Oct-2015 12:00 Dr. John Smith Updated [Narrative]

Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description

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