Many aviation professionals remember Eastern Air Lines Flight 855, a Lockheed L-1011 that lost all three engines due to the omission of oil seals in the master chip detector assemblies. In today’s era of the safety management system (SMS), the May 5, 1983, accident still yields important lessons about the key safety role played by senior management.
The L-1011 was en route with 10 crewmembers and 162 passengers from Miami to Nassau, Bahamas, when the no. 2 engine’s low oil pressure warning light illuminated. The flight crew shut down the engine, and, due to worsening weather conditions at Nassau, the captain decided to return to Miami. On the way, the low oil pressure lights for no. 1 and no. 3 illuminated, and both engines subsequently flamed out. The airplane descended without power to about 4,000 ft, where the crew was able to restart no. 2. The airplane was landed at Miami with only that engine operating. No one was hurt, but the engines had been damaged because of the loss …
