"A preliminary accident report published by the National Transportation Safety Board on Thursday showed frame-by-frame images of the General Electric-made engine completely coming off and then smashing into the body of the Honolulu-bound plane as the aircraft took off. It also included photos of the wreckage being studied in the NTSB lab."
"The probe "found evidence of fatigue cracks in addition to areas of overstress failure" in a part that attached the McDonnell Douglas MD-11 freighter's left engine to the wing, the report said."
"The report added that the plane initially climbed to about 30 feet above ground and cleared a fence at the end of a runway before its main landing gear hit the roof of a UPS warehouse at the edge of the airport. The plane then hit a storage yard and two other buildings, including a petroleum recycling facility, and was mostly consumed by fire."
Investigators determined that the left engine separated from an MD-11 freighter during takeoff because of metal fatigue and hardware overstress in the engine-to-wing attachment. Frame-by-frame images show the General Electric engine detaching and striking the fuselage; wreckage was examined in the NTSB laboratory. Fatigue cracks and overstress failures were identified in the attachment part. The jet climbed roughly 30 feet, cleared a perimeter fence, then struck a UPS warehouse roof, a storage yard and other buildings, resulting in a large fire. Three crew members and eleven people on the ground were killed, and the FAA grounded MD-11 operations.
Read at Business Insider
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