Incident Summary
The crew of a Douglas DC-8-71F reported a partial flight control malfunction during takeoff. Just after the airplane became airborne, it rolled hard to the left. The captain stated that he had to apply full right aileron control in conjunction with right rudder to prevent the aircraft from continuing to roll to the left. The crew immediately declared an in-flight emergency and returned to the airport using left turns only. They performed an emergency, high-speed landing without the use of any wing flaps.
Inspection Findings
After landing, the flight crew discovered that the left wing outboard spoiler had deployed just after takeoff. A postincident inspection revealed a broken outboard left wing spoiler retraction cable. An NTSB Metallurgist reported that a magnified optical examination of the broken cable showed that the area adjacent to the fracture site was severely worn and reduced in size. Many individual wire strands were worn to a knife-edge, while the remaining broken strands appeared typical of overstress separations with no indication of external corrosion. The subject cable is currently considered an "on condition" component and has no required life limit assigned.
Manufacturer Response
In response to this incident, the airplane manufacturer sent a safety notice to all DC-8 operators. The notice recommends that operators review their maintenance procedures with respect to the scheduled inspection of all aircraft cables, with special emphasis on proper cable condition and cable routing.