Serious incident Boeing 777-3B5ER HL8275,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 314297
 
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Date:Tuesday 2 July 2013
Time:04:00 LT
Type:Silhouette image of generic B77W model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Boeing 777-3B5ER
Owner/operator:Korean Air
Registration: HL8275
MSN: 37651/1109
Year of manufacture:2013
Engine model:General Electric GE90-115B
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0
Aircraft damage: None
Category:Serious incident
Location:Ugolny Airport, -   Russia
Phase: En route
Nature:Unknown
Departure airport:Chicago-O'Hare International Airport, IL (ORD/KORD)
Destination airport:Seoul (ICN)
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
On July 2, 2013, a Korean Air Lines (KAL) Boeing 777-300ER, registration number HL8275, powered by two General Electric (GE) GE90-115B turbofan engines, experienced a No. 1 engine (left) in-flight shutdown (IFSD) while crossing the Bering Sea.  The pilots diverted the airplane to Ugolny Airport (DYR), in Siberia, Russia where an uneventful single engine landing was made.  The Korean ARAIB requested delegation of the investigation and the NTSB accepted responsibility for investigating this incident.  Post landing examination of the No. 1 engine revealed that the radial gearshaft within the transfer gearbox housing was fractured.  Metallurgical examination of the radial gearshaft found an 0.049-inch axial crack with striation features indicative of fatigue propagation and a morphology consistent with initial fatigue initiation occurring under a torsional and/or biaxial stress condition.  This axial crack was considered the primary crack and the fracture origin area.  Microhardness tests near the fracture origin revealed a reduction in near surface hardness (lower hardness values than required).  GE concluded that the near surface low hardness was attributable to decarburization due to marginal (thin or detached) copper plating existing on the gearshaft surface during the hardening process.  Through computer modeling and testing of the radial gearshaft, GE concluded that the initiation of the axial crack was likely the result of a combination of high residual tensile stresses produced by local decarburization coupled with the operating stresses experienced at the outer diameter surface. To address the manufacturing process deficiency, GE issued seven service bulletins to remove, inspect, and repair the suspect radial gearshafts.  To expedite the removal of the suspect radial gearshafts, the Federal Aviation Administration issued three separate Airworthiness Directives (AD).  According to GE, all affected radial gearshafts addressed by the various FAA ADs have been removed from service.

Probable Cause: The failure of the transfer gearbox resulting from the fracture and separation of the radial gearshaft from fatigue cracking as a result of a combination of high residual tensile stresses produced by local decarburization during the manufacturing process coupled with the normal operating stresses.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: ENG13IA033
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 10 months
Download report: Final report

Sources:

NTSB ENG13IA033

Location

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
02-Jun-2023 16:06 ASN Update Bot Added

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