The National Transportation Safety Board has issued new safety recommendations to Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration regarding evacuation slides on certain aircraft types.
The recommendations stem from an ongoing investigation into an emergency landing, involving a FedEx Boeing 757-200 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
On Oct. 4, 2023, FedEx flight 1376 experienced a hydraulic system failure shortly after takeoff from Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport. The flight crew attempted an emergency gear-up landing, during which the aircraft sustained substantial damage.
When evacuating, the crew encountered issues with both the left (L1) and right (R1) doors. The L1 door would not fully open due to an incorrectly routed deployment strap, while the R1 door was difficult to open because its slide pack jammed.
The NTSB’s investigation revealed that the R1 door’s bannis latch, which releases the slide pack, did not conform to required modifications specified by the FAA. The airworthiness directive mandated changes to prevent slide packs from jamming doorways during emergencies.
The aircraft’s R1 bannis latch had only one link instead of the required three and lacked other necessary hardware, investigators stated.
Following the incident, FedEx (NYSE: FDX) inspected its entire Boeing 757 fleet and found that about 24% of doors were not compliant with either AD 86-09-09 or a subsequent directive, AD 2001-15-01. These findings prompted Boeing to issue a multioperator message alerting other airlines to the potential issue.
The NTSB’s review of Boeing and FedEx maintenance manuals found inconsistent depictions of the correct bannis latch configuration, which could lead to confusion among maintenance personnel and the potential installation of nonconforming components.
Based on these findings, the NTSB has issued several recommendations, including:
- Boeing should issue a service bulletin advising 757 operators to inspect and, if necessary, modify or replace bannis latches to ensure correct configuration.
- The FAA should require all Boeing 757 operators to conduct these inspections and modifications.
- Similar recommendations were made for Boeing 737 models that use the same bannis latch design, including newer variants such as the -700 and -800.
- Boeing should review and revise maintenance manuals to ensure consistent and accurate depiction of the correct bannis latch assembly for affected aircraft models.
- The FAA should require operators to update their maintenance manuals accordingly.
The Chattanooga gear-up landing remains under investigation. While the aircraft suffered damages, no injuries were reported following the accident.
(This article is republished from Airline Geeks)
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