1979. An American Airlines DC-10, a popular new passenger liner, takes off from Chicago's busy O'Hare Airport. Just after leaving the runway the pilots lose an engine, one of three. It's not necessarily the kiss of death. The pilots are trained to fly on two engines. The manual says to gain altitude, circle around, and land again. But they can't get the airplane above 350 feet, and when it begins to bank sharply to the left they lose control. Flying on its side, the jumbo jet with more than 200 people aboard crashes into a field a short distance from the runway, demolishing a hangar and its two occupants.
When the body parts are removed from the site, the team of investigators moves in and quickly determines that the number one engine, on the left, didn't simply stop operating. It fell off. That's never supposed to happen and in the event is very rare. The engines on the wings are held in place by pylons which are attached by bolts. Half-way down the runway, the team finds the two pieces of such a bolt, broken. The thoroughness always amazes me. The damned bolt is only about two inches long. There is a growing suspicion that the DC-10 is not a safe airplane and the team hurriedly hold a press conference announcing the solution. Alas, a metallurgist disagrees. The bolt was sound. It broke only when it hit the runway, not before. It's America's worst air disaster and it has global effects. All DC-10s in the US are grounded and those of foreign airlines are denied use of runways. The CEO's at Douglas must be perspiring through their expensive suits.
The team conducted their usual thorough investigation and found that the failed engine had been removed for repairs a few weeks earlier. The manufacturer's manual states that the engine should first be removed from the pylon holding it on the wing, but all the airlines found this difficult, time consuming (200 man hours) and expensive, so they cut the time short by removing engine and pylon together. This procedure was quicker but clumsier and caused cracks in the pylon with spread with stress until it failed and the engine fell off.
On top of that, the pilots had no idea they were about to stall because the alarms and the pilot's instrumentation were all powered by the left engine, the one that had fallen off. From their position in the cockpit, no one could see that the engine had actually fallen off. They thought they were dealing with an ordinary engine failure and the manual says that when that happens, you lift the nose and gain altitude for another circle. But the airplane was about to stall, and that was precisely the wrong maneuver. The pilots didn't know it because the stall warnings were inoperative. They did exactly what they were supposed to do in the event of engine failure after take off.
It was a long, complicated trail of errors that led to the crash. The film does an admirable job of making the series of mistakes clear to the average viewer. A very nice job, as usual.
When the body parts are removed from the site, the team of investigators moves in and quickly determines that the number one engine, on the left, didn't simply stop operating. It fell off. That's never supposed to happen and in the event is very rare. The engines on the wings are held in place by pylons which are attached by bolts. Half-way down the runway, the team finds the two pieces of such a bolt, broken. The thoroughness always amazes me. The damned bolt is only about two inches long. There is a growing suspicion that the DC-10 is not a safe airplane and the team hurriedly hold a press conference announcing the solution. Alas, a metallurgist disagrees. The bolt was sound. It broke only when it hit the runway, not before. It's America's worst air disaster and it has global effects. All DC-10s in the US are grounded and those of foreign airlines are denied use of runways. The CEO's at Douglas must be perspiring through their expensive suits.
The team conducted their usual thorough investigation and found that the failed engine had been removed for repairs a few weeks earlier. The manufacturer's manual states that the engine should first be removed from the pylon holding it on the wing, but all the airlines found this difficult, time consuming (200 man hours) and expensive, so they cut the time short by removing engine and pylon together. This procedure was quicker but clumsier and caused cracks in the pylon with spread with stress until it failed and the engine fell off.
On top of that, the pilots had no idea they were about to stall because the alarms and the pilot's instrumentation were all powered by the left engine, the one that had fallen off. From their position in the cockpit, no one could see that the engine had actually fallen off. They thought they were dealing with an ordinary engine failure and the manual says that when that happens, you lift the nose and gain altitude for another circle. But the airplane was about to stall, and that was precisely the wrong maneuver. The pilots didn't know it because the stall warnings were inoperative. They did exactly what they were supposed to do in the event of engine failure after take off.
It was a long, complicated trail of errors that led to the crash. The film does an admirable job of making the series of mistakes clear to the average viewer. A very nice job, as usual.
