Introduction
On 19 October 1995, Canadian Airlines International Flight 17, a scheduled flight from Vancouver International Airport to Taipei, Taiwan, departed Vancouver after a 75-minute delay due to an unserviceable thrust reverser on engine number 2. The aircraft, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30ER (tail number 904), carried 4 flight crew, 8 cabin crew, 2 interpreters, and 243 passengers. The captain conducted a rolling take-off on runway 26.
History of the Flight
During the take-off roll, at approximately two seconds after the V1 call (164 knots), a loud bang was heard, accompanied by an airframe shudder and significant vibration. The captain immediately initiated a rejected take-off, retarding the power levers. The first officer notified the tower, and the second officer manually deployed spoilers, activating the auto-brakes. The aircraft reached a peak speed of 175 knots. When it became apparent that the aircraft would not stop on the runway, the captain steered right to avoid approach lights. The aircraft departed the runway at about 40 knots, rolling through soft ground. The nose-wheel gear collapsed, and the aircraft came to rest in a nose-down attitude approximately 400 feet beyond the declared end of the runway. The cabin crew evacuated the passengers, resulting in six passengers sustaining minor injuries from the emergency slides.
Injuries and Damage
Six passengers incurred minor injuries and were transported to a local hospital. The aircraft sustained major damage from the nose gear collapse, with the gear's forward bracing attachment failing due to overload. The nose wheel well structure was torn, and the gear was pushed into the airframe. Engine cowlings contacted the ground after the collapse. Two runway-end lights were broken, and the surrounding ground was damaged.
Personnel Information
The flight crew comprised a captain (55 years old, 16,631 total hours, 3,969 on type), a first officer (49, 9,013 hours, 5,784 on type), a second officer (44, 6,964 hours, 5,430 on type), and an augmenting first officer (11,736 total hours, 5,774 on type). The captain, first officer, and second officer had recent training and were assessed favorably. The cabin crew included eight flight attendants, all qualified and seated at their assigned doors. Two interpreters provided translation services.
Aircraft Information
The DC-10-30ER, manufactured in 1980, had 61,289 total airframe hours and was equipped with three CF6-50C2B engines. The aircraft was dispatched with two Minimum Equipment List (MEL) limitations: the pneumatic pressure regulator valve on engine 3 locked off, and the thrust reverser on engine 2 locked out. The aircraft was within allowable take-off weight limits.
Probable Cause
The Board determined that engine number 1 lost power at a critical point during the take-off, and the rejected take-off was initiated at a speed and point where insufficient runway remained to stop the aircraft. Contributing factors were the misidentification of the cause of the loud bang, lack of knowledge of engine compressor stall characteristics, and a delay in collection and analysis of engine monitoring data.