Serious incident Airbus A319-131 N804UA,
ASN logo
ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 370427
 
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information. If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.

Date:Thursday 21 November 2002
Time:12:06 LT
Type:Silhouette image of generic A319 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Airbus A319-131
Owner/operator:United Airlines
Registration: N804UA
MSN: 759
Year of manufacture:1997
Total airframe hrs:17152 hours
Engine model:International Aero Engines V2522-A5
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 82
Aircraft damage: Minor
Category:Serious incident
Location:Chicago-O'Hare International Airport, IL (ORD/KORD) -   United States of America
Phase: Take off
Nature:Passenger - Scheduled
Departure airport:Chicago-O'Hare International Airport, IL (ORD/KORD)
Destination airport:Los Angeles International Airport, CA (LAX/KLAX)
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
The airplane landed with the nose wheels turned 90 degrees to the direction of travel. The flight crew was unable to retract the landing gear after takeoff. They received the L/G SHOCK ABSORBER FAULT and AUTO FLT A/THR OFF messages on the electronic centralized aircraft monitoring (ECAM) system. In addition, they had a Nose Wheel Steering message on the landing gear ECAM page. Unable to rectify the problem, the captain elected to return to land at ORD. The captain reported that he did not have any problem controlling the airplane during the landing. During the landing roll, he was informed by the control tower that there were sparks coming from the nose gear. The airplane stopped on the runway and the passengers were deplaned. Post-incident inspection revealed the nose landing gear (NLG) wheels were turned 90 degrees to the left, both of the tires were blown, and the left side tire rim was ground down to the axle. The right side tire rim was nearly ground down to the axle. The incident occurred on the fourth flight following a maintenance "C" check where the dynamic seals inside the nose landing gear (NLG) shock absorber had been replaced. The maintenance was performed by a contract facility. Inspection and teardown of the nose gear revealed the shock absorber had been assembled and installed in the airplane incorrectly during the C-check. This resulted in the anti-rotation lugs on the shock absorber, not being properly seated in the back plate slots. Following this incident, the back plate manufacturer has redesigned the back plate (waiting manufacturer and DGAC approval), the operator has revised their job instruction cards for disassembly and assembly of the NLG shock absorber, and the aircraft manufacturer has revised the Aircraft Maintenance Manual.







Probable Cause: The maintenance facililty improperly assembled and installed the nose landing gear shock absorber assembly. Factors were the improper assembly which allowed the nose gear to turn 90 degrees to the direction of travel.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: CHI03IA027
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 1 year and 5 months
Download report: Final report

Sources:

NTSB CHI03IA027

Location

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
25-Mar-2024 10:34 ASN Update Bot Added

Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description

The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:

CONNECT WITH US: FSF on social media FSF Facebook FSF Twitter FSF Youtube FSF LinkedIn FSF Instagram

©2024 Flight Safety Foundation

1920 Ballenger Av, 4th Fl.
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
www.FlightSafety.org