Investigation Summary
The aircraft, a 44 year old MD-10-10F, was completing a routine cargo flight from Memphis. During the landing rollout on runway 10L, as the first officer applied manual braking, the left main landing gear (MLG) cylinder fractured. The aircraft veered left, coming to rest partially off the runway. The friction between the wing/engine and the runway surface ignited a fire. Approximately 75 seconds after the aircraft stopped, a fuel tank explosion occurred, launching a wing panel into the air. The NTSB metallurgical analysis found that the fatigue crack had initiated from a corrosion pit on the inner diameter of the left MLG cylinder. The investigation highlighted that the protective cadmium coating, intended to prevent such corrosion, was absent in the area where the pit formed. Furthermore, the operator had extended the overhaul interval for the landing gear beyond the manufacturer's recommended eight year limit, which reduced the opportunity to detect the crack before it reached a critical size.
Final Conclusions
The NTSB concluded that the probable cause was the failure of the left main landing gear due to fatigue cracking initiated at a corrosion pit. The pit formed due to the absence of a required protective cadmium coating. A significant contributing factor was FedEx's decision to use an overhaul limit that exceeded the manufacturer's recommendation without sufficient data to ensure that cracks would be detected before failure. The final report (DCA17MA022) was issued on August 23, 2018.
Video Analysis
FedEx Express 910: Gear Collapse, Fire, Fuel Tank Explosion — Analysis of the landing gear failure and subsequent fire of FedEx Flight 910 at Fort Lauderdale in 2016.
If playback is blocked, the owner has disabled embedding — use the link above.
Airframe & Maintenance
Crew Experience
Captain
Hours on type refers to MD-10/MD-11 experience.
First Officer
Estimated 400 to 500 hours in the MD-11 per interview, but official records cited 1,244 hours on type.
Systems & Failure Modes
Left Main Landing Gear (MLG)
The structural cylinder of the gear failed due to fatigue cracking, leading to a total collapse during the landing rollout.
Cadmium Coating
A protective layer required on the landing gear components to prevent corrosion; its absence allowed a corrosion pit to form, which served as the origin for the fatigue crack.
Fire Suppression System
The captain attempted to discharge the No. 1 engine fire bottle during the evacuation, but it failed to discharge.
Interesting Facts
- 01The aircraft was 44 years old and had originally been delivered to United Airlines in 1972.
- 02The left main landing gear failed due to a fatigue crack that initiated at a corrosion pit.
- 03The corrosion pit formed in an area where the required protective cadmium coating was missing.
- 04FedEx had exceeded the manufacturer-recommended 8-year overhaul interval for the landing gear.
- 05Both crew members escaped through the right cockpit window using an escape rope.
Safety Actions & Advisories
Maintenance Interval Oversight
Source ↗The NTSB recommended that operators ensure maintenance intervals for critical components like landing gear do not exceed manufacturer recommendations without robust data and analysis to ensure fatigue cracks are detected before failure.