Incident Overview
Date: Wednesday 23 August 1995
Aircraft Type: Lockheed L-1011 TriStar 1
Owner/operator: Delta Air Lines
Registration Number: N781DL
Location: 720km W of Los Angeles, CA, USA –
ÿ Pacific Ocean
Phase of Flight: En route
Status: Destroyed, written off
Casualties: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 236
Component Affected: Stringer fittings at Station 1800, rear bulkhead.Stringer fittings at Station 1800, rear bulkhead.
Category: Accident
A sudden decompression occurred at FL330, resulting in significant damage to the airframe, including the destruction of stringer fittings at Station 1800 and separation of the rear bulkhead from the fuselage crown. The TriStar crew initiated an emergency descent to FL140 and successfully returned to Los Angeles, landing at 22:17 hours. Due to cost considerations, Delta Airlines retired the aircraft.A sudden decompression occurred at FL330, resulting in significant damage to the airframe, including the destruction of stringer fittings at Station 1800 and separation of the rear bulkhead from the fuselage crown. The TriStar crew initiated an emergency descent to FL140 and successfully returned to Los Angeles, landing at 22:17 hours. Due to cost considerations, Delta Airlines retired the aircraft.
Description
A sudden decompression at FL330 caused severe damage to the airframe: 19 stringer fittings were damaged at Station 1800, and the rear bulkhead separated from the fuselage crown. The TriStar crew initiated an emergency descent to FL140 and returned to Los Angeles and landed safely at 22:17 hours. Due to the cost of repairs, Delta Airlines subsequently retired the aircraft. The aircraft was purchased by Lockheed Aircraft for aging aircraft testing. On October 11, 1995, the aircraft was ferried to Dobbins AFB, Marietta, GA. PROBABLE CAUSE: “Inadequate certification/approval of the airframe structure. Contributing was the lack of required inspections of the failure area.”
Primary Cause
Inadequate certification/approval of the airframe structure, specifically the lack of required inspections of the failure area.Inadequate certification/approval of the airframe structure, specifically the lack of required inspections of the failure area.Share on:
