Fatigue cracking that started at a corrosion pit led to the left main landing gear (MLG) of a FedEx McDonnell Douglas MD-10-10 freighter collapsing shortly after the airplane landed at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida on Oct. 28, 2016, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said in its final report on the accident investigation.
In its report, released Thursday, NTSB said that once the fatigue crack progressed to critical length, the left MLG cylinder “fractured in overstress” due to the loads imposed during landing.
Shortly after the aircraft touched down on Runway 10L, the pilots reported hearing a bang as the brakes were applied and the gear collapsed. The MD-10F, which began life as a DC-10-10 passenger aircraft in 1972, yawed to the left and came to a stop on the left side of the runway. A fuel-fed fire started on the left wi…
