Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Atlanta International Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Atlanta, Georgia
Friday, January 2, 2009 10:28 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The Boeing 777 airplane experienced a contained fan blade fracture in the No. 2, right, engine, a Rolls-Royce plc RB.211 Trent 895-17 turbofan, during the takeoff roll at the Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Aiport. The examination of the fan blade revealed it had fractured from a fatigue crack that had initiated at the intersection of the convex side aft corner of the shear key slot and bedding flank. The examination of the fan blade also revealed the plasma spray coating was deteriorated and the dry film lubricant was almost completely gone. A survey by the engine manufacturer of the operator's 777 engine usage indicated that because of the loads and lengths of the flights, the operator was operating their Trent 895-17 engines at higher thrust levels with correspondingly high fan rotational speeds, which were still within the engine's operating limits, than any other operator. The survey also indicated the operator was operating its 777 and Trent engines significantly more hours per cycle than any other Trent 895 operator. An analysis by the engine manufacturer indicated that the blade fracture was caused by a combination of the breakdown of the lubrication system and residual fatigue life usage in the blade root following the last overhaul coupled with the high operating stresses in the fan blade from the high thrust settings.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The fan blade fractured due to a fatigue crack that was the result of the combination of the breakdown of the fan blade lubrication system and residual fatigue life usage following the last overhaul of the fan blade. Contributing to the fracture was the inadequate lubrication schedule established by the engine manufacturer that was not reflective of the operator’s use of the engine.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Incident |
| Event Date | 1/2/2009 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 1028 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Atlanta |
| Event State | GEORGIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | -- |
| Event Date Year | 2009 |
| Event Date Month | 1 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | -- |
| Event Location Longitude | -- |
| Event Location Airport | Atlanta International Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | KATL |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | -- |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | -- |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Unknown |
| Time of the weather observation | |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | -- |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | -- |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | -- |
| Lighting Conditions | -- |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | -- |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -- |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | -- |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | -- |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | None |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 257 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | -- |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 30575 |
| NTSB Notification Source | Delta Air Lines |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 9 2012 10:56AM |
| User who most recently changed record | hooj |
| Basic weather conditions | -- |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N864DA |
| NTSB Number | ENG09IA002 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 121: Air Carrier |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | Minor |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | BOEING |
| Aircraft Model | 777 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | 232 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | -- |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | -- |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | -- |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | -- |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | -- |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Unknown |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Delta Air Lines |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Atlanta |
| Aircraft Owner State | GA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | -- |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Delta Air Lines |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | -- |
| Operator State | -- |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | -- |
| Operator Code | DL |
| Owner has at least one certificate | Yes - certificate holder |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | -- |
| Operator Certificate Number | -- |
| Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not | Scheduled |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | International |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | Passenger Only |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | -- |
| Second Pilot on Board | Yes |
| Departure Point Same as Event | Yes |
| Departure Airport Code | KATL |
| Departure City | Atlanta |
| Departure State | GA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | -- |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | NRT |
| Destination City | Tokyo Narita |
| Destination State | -- |
| Destination Country | JA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 20 2012 3:22PM |
| User who most recently changed record | hooj |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |