Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Newark Liberty Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Newark, New Jersey 07114
Thursday, September 17, 2009 19:28 EST
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
On September 17, 2009, a Boeing 767-400 experienced a fracture of the left main landing gear (MLG) truck beam while the aircraft was stopped on a taxiway D with parking brake set prior to takeoff at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR). The aircraft was being operated by Continental Airlines as a passenger flight from Newark, New Jersey to Frankfurt, Germany. None of the occupants were injured and the airplane sustained minor damage. The airplane had accumulated 6,062 cycles and 40,581 hours in about 9 years of service. Examination of the left MLG revealed two circumferential fractures that divided the assembly into three pieces. Metallurgical examination of the fracture surface revealed intergranular stress corrosion cracking (SCC) emanating from a corrosion pit on the lower inside diameter of the truck beam. Corrosion protection of the truck beam interior surface consists of a three part system: cadmium plating, primer, and CIC. Several areas on the inner surfaces exhibited deterioration of the protective finishes. Examination revealed damage ranged from paint blisters, to exposed metal substrate, to significant corrosion and pitting. Sections of the primer in the forward section of the truck beam had a soft wrinkled appearance and had delaminated from the substrate. Several samples of finishes and lubricants were removed from the fractured truck beam and analyzed for chemical composition. Organics residues consistent with BMS 3-11 hydraulic fluid and components of runway de-icing fluids were found in the samples. The failure of the truck beam occurred due to the presence of hydraulic fluid and deicing fluid in the truck beam interior. The long term exposure to hydraulic fluid and deicing fluid led to delamination of the CIC and primer from the interior surface leading to corrosion of the cadmium plating. Once the cadmium plating was consumed, corrosion of the steel followed. Liberated corrosion and delamination products plugged the aft drain hole trapping more water inside the truck beam that lead to pitting corrosion on the lower inside diameter of the truck beam aft of the pivot bushing. The tensile stress and the presence of water led to intergranular SCC. Once the crack grew to a critical size, a circumferential fracture occurred and separated the aft portion of the truck beam.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Failure of Main Landing Gear (MLG) truck beam was due to contamination of the inner surface corrosion protective layers from hydraulic fluid and deice fluid that resulted in corrosion and intergranular stress corrosion cracking.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Incident |
| Event Date | 9/17/2009 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1928 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Standard Time |
| Event City | Newark |
| Event State | NEW JERSEY |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 07114 |
| Event Date Year | 2009 |
| Event Date Month | 9 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | -- |
| Event Location Longitude | -- |
| Event Location Airport | Newark Liberty Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | EWR |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 18 |
| 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 | Night |
| 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 | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | 235 |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | -- |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 28543 |
| NTSB Notification Source | Continental Airlines |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 4 2011 11:25AM |
| User who most recently changed record | josd |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N66051 |
| NTSB Number | ENG09IA018 |
| 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 | 767 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | 424ER |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 29446 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 327600 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | 4 |
| Cabin Crew Seats | 13 |
| Passenger Seats | 235 |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 252 |
| Number of Engines | 2 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Retractable |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Continuous Airworthiness |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | Unknown |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Continental Airlines |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 1600 Smith Street |
| Aircraft Owner City | Houston |
| Aircraft Owner State | TX |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 77002 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Continental Airlines |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | 1600 Smith Street |
| Operator City | Houston |
| Operator State | TX |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 77002 |
| Operator Code | CALA |
| Owner has at least one certificate | Yes - certificate holder |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | Yes |
| 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 | EWR |
| Departure City | Newark |
| Departure State | NJ |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | -- |
| Departure Time Zone | EST |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | FRA |
| Destination City | Frankfurt, Germ |
| Destination State | -- |
| Destination Country | GE |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Sep 30 2009 7:45AM |
| User who most recently changed record | josd |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |