> A DC10 had a triple engine failure due to all three oil

drain

plugs being the wrong
 > part number,

Hi all:

        Wasn't that one no O-rings on the plugs? I seem to

remember

watching the video of the mechanics trying to explain why they

didn't

install O-rings w/ the plugs...
Something to the effect of the parts dept. gave them new plugs

and

they installed them
w/o checking for O-rings. I remember being embarassed being an

A&P

while watching them in front of the NTSB.
        The crew shut the 1st one down when the low oil

pressure

light came on, and
that one restarted after the other 2 failed and got them back

to land.

        I once had the entire threaded insert come out of an

Lear

CJ-610 oil tank at run-up - luckily I had saftied the plug up

instead

of around - and it didn't come all the way out -so we still had

oil

pressure at shut-down. It was the 3rd max power run of the

night

before it failed.

Regards,
James

Good memory!  The old DC-10 part had a plug with an O-ring

installed,

but it was changed so that the O-ring was a separate part.  The

A&P

didn't look closely at the plug, just installed the new plug like

he

had in the past, now sans O-ring. You covered "the rest of the

story".

The same sort of wrong part concept could have done something to

all three

A300 rudder actuators, leaving the rudder free to flutter.  Or the

fin carbon

structure could have somehow deteriorated to a low enough

stiffness

that it could flutter.

Bill Freeman
Long EZ builder & pilot
BSME, MSME
EAA Technical Counselor

I think flutter is unlikely Bill. Too slow. I think the fin was
weakened
for some reason and the wake turbulence caused it to break off.
Perhaps the wake turbulence triggered  flutter but the fin was weak
for sure.

BTW Robin tells me that Airbus's in general are known to have a low

empty weight to gross weight ratio.

Paul Lamar

How about the L-1011 of Eastern from the Bahamas
to Miami, or reverse, that lost oil because of the "O"
rings not being installed ?  Virg

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