NTSB finds broken support piece on Delta plane’s failed landing gear

May 27 (UPI) — A Delta Air Lines Boeing 717, which made an emergency landing two years ago and skidded “nose down” at North Carolina’s Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, could not lower its landing gear because of a fractured support piece, the National Transportation Safety Board revealed in its final report Tuesday.

The NTSB announced it had found a metal fatigue crack in the upper lock link, one of the aluminum supports for the landing gear.

“The appearance of the scratch features was consistent with tool marks such as from filing or grinding operations,” the NTSB said. “These scratch features likely acted as stress concentration areas for crack initiation.”

According to the NTSB, Boeing and McDonnell Douglas issued an alert in 2001 to inspect all landing gear parts for rough surfaces. The upper lock link that failed in 2023 shows it had been inspected and overhauled in 2009. But, the NTSB said the overhaul by Israel Aerospace Industries did not fully comply with Boeing’s service bulletin. That same upper lock link was moved five years later to the impacted Delta Boeing 717, where it remained until it ultimately cracked after 41,257 flights.

In response to the NTSB’s findings, Boeing issued a new Alert Service Bulletin and more rigorous inspection requirements. No additional cracks have been reported on the Boeing 717 fleet.

Delta flight 1092, which originated from Atlanta with 96 passengers and five crew members on board, was forced to make an emergency landing after the nose gear failed to drop on June 28, 2023. As the plane descended toward landing, the pilots received a “nose gear unsafe” indication.

“The crew initiated a missed approach procedure to further investigate the indication,” Delta said in a statement after the emergency landing. The pilots flew the plane past the airport’s air traffic control tower to give controllers a better look at the plane.

“That observation indicated that the nose landing gear doors were open, but the nose gear itself remained in the up position,” Delta added.

The plane landed a few minutes later at a speed of 92 mph and managed to remain on the runway. Firefighters sprayed the plane with water and passengers were evacuated on emergency slides. No one was injured.