What happened
On July 6, 2004, a Dutch Caribbean Airlines Lockheed L-1011-385-3 Tristar 500, registered CS-TMR, was performing a commercial passenger flight from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol to Willemstad, Curacao. During the take-off roll on runway 24, the flight crew aborted the procedure at approximately 140 knots. The captain reported hearing a loud blast from the left side of the aircraft, accompanied by a momentary yaw to the left, which was corrected using the rudder.
Witnesses observed flames exiting the exhaust of engine #1 and a subsequent bang. Following the rejected take-off, white smoke was seen emanating from the tires. Upon taxiing, air traffic control ordered the aircraft to halt due to visible smoke and flames near the right main landing gear. While there were no injuries among the 314 passengers or the crew, the aircraft sustained serious damage.
The investigation
The investigation focused on two primary areas: the performance of engine #1 and the structural failure of the right main landing gear (MLG) bogie beam. Investigators analyzed flight data from the FDR and cockpit voice recordings from the BEA in Paris. A borescope inspection of engine #1 revealed damage to the high-pressure compressor (HPC) blades and missing abradable coating on the stator case.
Metallurgical analysis of the right MLG bogie beam was conducted by the Boeing Metallurgy Laboratory. The examination of the brake unit connection lugs was performed by KLM Engineering Support & Development. The investigation also looked into the cause of the damage to the hydraulic and electronic lines of the anti-skid system.
Findings
Technical analysis determined that a compressor surge occurred in engine #1, likely triggered by the identified damage to the high-pressure compressor. Because the surge was self-recovering, the flight crew did not observe any abnormal engine instrument indications prior to the decision to reject the take-off.
The investigation into the landing gear failure could not establish a single definitive cause, but identified two probable scenarios:
- The bogie beam may have had pre-existing mechanical damage that created internal residual stresses. Under the intense loads of the rejected take-off, this led to stress corrosion cracking.
- Alternatively, the brake unit lugs may have failed first due to pre-existing deficiencies, allowing the brake unit to rotate around the axle. This movement caused the brake link to sever hydraulic and electronic lines and scrape against the beam, generating enough heat to weaken the metal and facilitate the fracture.
Safety action
Because the metallurgical examination found no evidence of manufacturing or material processing defects in the bogie beam, the Board did not issue specific safety recommendations to other operators of the Lockheed L-1011 Tristar.