Event Details


Title:Wing panel separation, Boeing 747-269BC, 9K-ADD, April 12, 1993
Micro summary:This Boeing 747 lost a bit of the wing on climbout.
Event Time:1993-04-12 at 0954 CDT
File Name:1993-04-12-US.pdf
Publishing Agency:National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)
Publishing Country:USA
Report number:FTW93IA125
Pages:5
Site of event:Climbing through FL 310, 25 mi S of Alexandria, Louisiana
Departure:Ellington Field Airport, Houston, Texas, USA
Destination:Andrews Air Force Base, Camp Springs, Maryland, USA
Airplane Type(s):Boeing 747-269BC
Flight Phase:Climb
Registration(s):9K-ADD
Operator(s):Kuwait Airways
Type of flight:Revenue
Occupants:40
Fatalities:0
Serious Injuries:0
Minor/Non-Injured:40
Other Injuries:0
Executive Summary:On April 12, 1993, at approximately 0954 central daylight time, a Boeing 747-269BC, Kuwait registration 9KADD, operating as Kuwait Airlines Flight 091, sustained minor damage when a non structural panel on the left wing became delaminated while the airplane was climbing through FL 310, approximately 25 miles south of Alexandria, Louisiana.

There were no injuries to the 24 passengers, 6 flight crewmenbers, and 10 flight attendants aboard. The airplane departed Ellington Field (EFD) near Houston, Texas, at approximately 0921, enroute to Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. A passenger seated on the left side of the airplane observed portions of the skin on a wing panel on the left wing peeling off and informed a crewmember of the condition.

The airplane was diverted to the Houston Intercontinental Airport (IAH), in Houston, Texas, where a uneventful landing was made at 1028, with airport emergency equipment standing by.

According to the operator, a slight vibration was felt on the left side of the airplane after part of the skin departed the airplane. Physical examination of the airplane revealed that a section (48 inches wide by 31 inches long), separated from the trailing edge of the fixed trailing edge upper panel (part number 65B22845 33) on the left wing. There was evidence of delamination, working rivets, and rows of rivets pulled through the skin on the remaining fiberglass laminated honeycomb panel. Additionally, a 3 inch portion of the trailing edge on the left wing fore flap panel, was also damaged and separated from the aircraft. There was no other damage to the airplane.

According to maintenance personnel returning the airplane to service, the delamination of the honeycomb panel was the result of water contamination.
Learning Keywords:Operations - Maintenance
Systems - Flight Controls - Wing Panel Separation
Close match:Uncommanded roll to the right on takeoff, Boeing 737-300, January 23, 1995
Wing panel separation, Boeing 747-273C, May 19, 1996
Fan cowling separation resulting in horizontal stabilizer damage, Airbus A320-232, June 12, 2000
In-Flight Structural Breakup, Britt Airways, Inc. dba Continental Express Flight 2574, EMB-120RT, N33701, Eagle Lake, Texas, September 11, 1991

 




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