Incident Overview
Description
The flight attendant was in the elevator when it dropped to the galley level, and she received a fractured ankle. The elevator was operated by a drive shaft with two co-located shafts. The inner shaft was located inside the secondary shaft. Examination of the elevator lift mechanism revealed that the primary shaft had failed in rotating-bending fatigue. The secondary shaft failure originated from a fatigue crack in a sharp corner of the teeth. Corrosion was found on the surface of the crack. The shafts were inspected at 300-hour intervals, and had last been inspected 33 hours prior to the accident. Probable Cause: the failure of the primary and secondary elevator driveshafts, and the failure of maintenance personnel to detect the failure of the primary shaft during scheduled inspections.
Primary Cause
Failure of primary and secondary elevator driveshafts, combined with inadequate maintenance oversight.Failure of primary and secondary elevator driveshafts, combined with inadequate maintenance oversight.Share on:
