Tool Damage Linked To Delta 717 Gear-Up Landing
The FAA will mandate repetitive inspections designed to prevent a failure scenario that forced a Delta Air Lines Boeing 717 to land without its nose gear in June 2023, which the proposed directive reveals stemmed from tool-related surface damage.
The FAA will mandate repetitive inspections designed to prevent a failure scenario that forced a Delta Air Lines Boeing 717 to land without its nose gear in June 2023, which the proposed directive reveals stemmed from tool-related surface damage.
The notice of proposed rulemaking, set to be published April 29, proposes requiring inspections of 717 nose landing gear (NLG) upper lock link assemblies. The instructions are based on a Boeing alert requirements bulletin issued Feb. 12.
Boeing’s recommended actions include repetitive high frequency eddy current inspections of NLG upper lock links for cracks. Installing a new part terminates the repetitive check requirements. The NPRM does not publish inspection thresholds but rather refers affected operators to Boeing’s bulletin.
“The root cause of the upper lock link assembly failure was found to be non-conforming surface roughness, due to tool marks on the surface,” the NPRM said. “The unsafe condition, if not addressed, could result in a failure of the [NLG] to fully extend during landing or cause the nose gear to remain retracted while the main gear deploys. Additionally, it could restrict ground maneuverability, increasing the risk of a runway excursion.”
An NTSB preliminary report pegged a broken lock link as the reason Delta flight 1092 landed with its nose gear retracted at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport (CLT) June 28, 2023. But the report, released less than a month after the accident, did not note a root cause.
Flight 1092’s pilots detected a gear issue while on final approach to CLT. Attempts to lower the gear manually did not work, so the pilots landed with only the aircraft’s main gear deployed.
Investigators later found a broken lock link swung free and jammed the gear. Nobody was hurt in the accident.
Only two operators still fly 717s—Hawaiian Airlines and Delta. The combined fleet totals 84 in service and 23 parked or in long-term storage, according to the Aviation Week Network Fleet Discovery database.
