Boeing 757s To Be Inspected After Problem

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) says inspections of the 757 fleet will be required following updates on an incident involving a Boeing 757-236 with FedEx in 2023.

Background On The Boeing 757 Incident

The upcoming mandated inspections follow a FedEx Boeing 757-236 incident on 4 October 2023 at 2347 EDT.

The aircraft received an engine indication and crew alerting system only shortly after departing Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport-Lovell Field (CHA). After receiving these messages, the flight crew decided to turn the aircraft back around.

Unfortunately for the pilots operating the jet, these were unsuccessful despite many attempts to lower the landing gear. The crew performed an emergency gear-up landing after a mid-air emergency was declared.

When the aircraft successfully returned to the ground, the jumpseat occupant attempted to open the left (L1 door). However, this door being opened only rotated halfway open; it wouldn’t open fully. Worse still, the slide did not deploy.

After this failed attempt, the jumpseat occupant moved to the right (R1) door, but it lodged on the slide pack. When the jumpseat occupant used force to open it, the slide deployed normally.

The Alarming Findings On The Boeing 757

After investigating the incident and the aircraft involved, the NTSB confirmed that while the alarm was on, there were different reasons why the L1 and R2 doors were unable to open correctly and deploy their evacuation slides as intended.

Alarmingly, the findings show that the R1 door’s bannis latch, which releases the slid pack when an armed door is open, simply did not conform to the current configuration of the release cable.

The NTSB further confirmed that three links, two spaces, and associated hardware were required. These requirements are outlined by an airworthiness directive and Boeing service bulletin, which date back to 1986.

However, despite this requirement, the R1 bannis latch on the 757 involved in the accident with FedEx only had one link and lacked the required hardware.

Simply put, because of the inaccurate door processes, the slide pack jammed before the jumpseat occupant on the plane was able to engage with enough force to override the blockage.

The NTSB further stated that it is currently unknown why noncompliant components were present at the time of the accident.

According to the NTSB, the manufaucutered Boeing 757, which was built in the late 1980s, should’ve been delivered with all the relevant bannis latches that complied with the relevant airworthiness directive.

What’s Next?

Based on the findings now published by the NTSB, safety recommendations are being made. Notably, all 757 operators must inspect the bannis latches on the 757-200, 757-200CB, and 757-300 series airplane doors.

If, after these inspections, commonalities are found between the specific 757 being inspected and the unit involved in the emergency landing, then the bannis latches must be modified or replaced so they can comply.

Moreover, all 727 and 737 operators that use the same Bannis latch system are required to inspect their own aircraft in the event that something similar may have occurred.

Boeing must also now issue bulletins to rectify what has happened and continue reviewing the jets and processes to determine how this happened.