Serious incident McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 N1845U, Wednesday 23 September 1992

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Date:	Wednesday 23 September 1992
Time:	10:22 LT
Type:	McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10
Owner/operator:	United Airlines
Registration:	N1845U
MSN:	48261/347
Year of manufacture:	1980
Total airframe hrs:	36958 hours
Engine model:	GE CF6-6D
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 235
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Minor
Category:	Serious incident
Location:	San Francisco, CA - United States of America
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Unknown
Departure airport:
Destination airport:	Kona, HI (KOA)
Investigating agency:	NTSB
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
A MCDONNELL DOUGLAS AIRCRAFT COMPANY DC 10 SERIES 10 AIRCRAFT EXPERIENCED AN UNCONTAINED FAILURE OF THE NUMBER 1 ENGINE WHILE IN THE CRUISE CLIMB. THE ENGINE HAD SUSTAINED AN UNCONTAINED FAILURE OF THE 14TH THROUGH 16TH STAGE COMPRESSOR SPOOL. ABOUT 11 YEARS BEFORE THE INCIDENT, THE SPOOL WAS DAMAGED BEYOND MAINTENANCE MANUAL LIMITS. THE DAMAGE CONSISTED OF A 360 DEGREE RUB ON THE AFT RIM SURFACE (SURFACE Q) OF THE 16TH STAGE COMPRESSOR. THE SPOOL WAS PLACED IN STORAGE FOR FIVE YEARS AND THEN RETURNED TO SERVICE AFTER BEING REPAIRED. FLIGHT PROFILE STRESSES WERE ANALYZED BY ENGINE MANUFACTURER. ACCORDING TO THE ENGINE MANUFACTURER, PEAK STRESSES IN THE AFT RIM REGION OR SURFACE Q OCCUR AT THE SAME TIME IN THE FLIGHT PROFILE AS THE UNCONTAINED FAILURE.

Probable Cause: A FRACTURED COMPRESSOR ASSEMBLY.

Accident investigation: