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| Date: | Wednesday 18 October 2023 |
| Time: | 16:15 |
| Type: |  Boeing 767-3S2F(ER) |
| Owner/operator: | FedEx |
| Registration: | N287FE |
| MSN: | 63138 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2022 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 3 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Minor, repaired |
| Category: | Incident |
| Location: | Memphis, TN -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Cargo |
| Departure airport: | Memphis International Airport, TN (MEM/KMEM) |
| Las Vegas-Harry Reid International Airport, NV (LAS/KLAS) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On October 18, 2023 at 1615 Central Daylight Time, a FedEx Boeing 767-300F, registration number N287FE, powered by two General Electric CF6-80C2 turbofan engines, experienced a No. 1 (left) engine fire during initial climb from Memphis International Airport (MEM), Memphis, Tennessee. The flight crew reported that shortly after takeoff they heard a loud bang from the left side of the airplane and received an EICAS (engine indicating and crew alerting system) message and left engine fire warning. The flight crew pulled the No. 1 engine fire handle, discharged both fire suppression bottles, and performed an in-flight turnback. The fire indication eventually ceased as the airplane was returning to MEM and made an uneventful single engine landing. No injuries were reported. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121 cargo flight from MEM to Harry Reid International Airport (LAS), Las Vegas, Nevada.
The incident engine, a General Electric (GE) CF6-80C2 turbofan, suffered an undercowl fire due to a high-pressure fuel leak originating from a bolted flange interface between a high-pressure fuel crossover tube and the hydromechanical unit (HMU) accessory gearbox adapter pad. The engine’s accessory heat shield surface temperatures and stagnant airflow near the fuel leak location were sufficient to cause ignition.
Two threaded inserts in the adapter pad were found protruding and likely prevented the fuel tube from correctly seating on the adapter pad surface. Threaded inserts were not securely installed into the adapter pad, which allowed the crossover tube bolts to partially pull out. Multiple insert holes had stripped threads, linear scoring, counterclockwise material smearing, missing surface anodization, cross-threading, and concave hole profiles.
Avio Aero, the adapter manufacturer, implemented an automated pre-tap operation that premachined threads into the adapter pad to ease installation of self-tapping steel inserts. In early 2023, this pre-tap operation was determined to be a deviation from the part’s drawing requirements.
Neither GE Aerospace nor Avio Aero could find documentation supporting the decision to pretap the adapter holes or Avio Aero communicating to GE of their decision to deviate from the print requirement. Avio Aero may have decided to pre-tap the adapter holes because other parts were using this process.
Probable Cause: A high-pressure fuel leak from a gap in the bolted flange interface between the main fuel pump’s fuel crossover supply tube and the hydromechanical unit idler adapter pad, which resulted in the crossover tube flange bolts partially pulling out and allowing fuel to escape and ignite on contact with the engine’s heatshield. Contributing to the fuel leak was Avio Aero's incorrect manufacture of the idler adapter pad bolt holes, which deviated from GE's manufacturing print requirement; Avio Aero's improper installation of threaded inserts into the idler adapter bolt holes; Avio Aero's failure to inform GE about the manufacturing deviation and request approval; and GE's failure to identify the manufacturing deviation during adapter quality and compliance design reviews.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=193272
https://cdn.jetphotos.com/full/5/718850_1693783767.jpg (photo)
Location
Images:
Photo: NTSB
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 30-Nov-2023 11:52 | Captain Adam | Added |
| 17-Oct-2024 18:11 | ASN | Updated |
| 30-Apr-2025 18:53 | Captain Adam | Updated [Total occupants, Source, Narrative, Photo, ] |
| 01-May-2025 12:16 | ASN | Updated |
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