FedEx Express Flight 1406

FedEx Express Flight 1406

A FedEx DC-10 similar to one involved.
Incident summary
Date	September 5, 1996
Summary	In-flight fire in cargo hold (cause undetermined)
Site	Stewart International Airport, New Windsor, New York
Passengers	2
Crew	3
Fatalities	0
Survivors	5 (all)
Aircraft type	McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10F
Operator	FedEx Express
Registration	N68055
Flight origin	Memphis International Airport, Memphis, Tennessee
Destination	Logan International Airport, Boston, Massachusetts

FedEx Express Flight 1406 was a cargo flight from Memphis International Airport, Memphis, Tennessee, to Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts, when it suffered a cargo fire in-flight over New York. The three crew members on board successfully made an emergency landing at Stewart International Airport, New Windsor. After the evacuation, the DC-10 was consumed by fire. After extensive investigation, the National Transportation Safety Board was unable to determine what caused the fire. Nevertheless, the Federal Aviation Administration made recommendations to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10F, registered as N68055, manufactured in 1984, and first flown in 1987, was delivered to FedEx Express in 1990.

Crew

There were 3 crew members and 2 passengers on Flight 1406. The Captain was a 47 year-old male, with 12,344 flight hours, the First Officer was a 41 year-old male, with 6,535 flight hours and the Flight Engineer was a 45 year-old male, with 3,704 flight hours. Also on board were two FedEx employees sitting in jumpseats.

Flight

Flight 1406 departed from Memphis International Airport at 3:42 am, en-route to Logan International Airport, Boston, Massachusetts, with an Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) of 7:42 am. ^{[1] [2]}

Fire

At 5:42 am, Flight 1406 was cruising at 33,000 ft (10,000 m) over New York Airspace, a minute later the Cabin Smoke Fire Alarm sounded in the cockpit. Smoke Detectors No.7, No.8, and No.9 alerted the pilots that it suspected smoke in the cargo hold area of the aircraft, prompting the crew members and passengers to don their smoke masks. Aircraft systems began to fail and the crew also noticed that smoke was entering into the cockpit. The first officer took control of the aircraft and informed Boston Air Traffic Control about the fire situation. Boston ATC instructed the 1406 to descend to 11,000 ft (3,400 m), suggesting that 1406 could make an emergency landing at Albany County Airport, 50 mi (80 km) ahead, or to land at Stewart International Airport in New Windsor, 25 mi (40 km) behind. The crew agreed to land at Stewart, and turned toward the runway. The aircraft's smoke detectors were also beginning to fail and malfunction due to a large amount of smoke. A few minutes later, Logan International instructed 1406 to change frequencies to New York Terminal Approach Control. At 5:49 am 1406 was on approach to Stewart International Airport, where Airport Fire Services prepared for the DC-10 to land on Runway 27. Flight 1406 successfully landed at the airport at 5:54 am, and turned onto Taxiway A3, where the fire services drove toward the aircraft. The crew and the employees evacuated the aircraft, but emergency doors, L1 and R1, refused to open. The crew then attempted to exit the aircraft by the cockpit windows. Like the emergency doors, they resisted opening. The captain then de-pressurised the aircraft, and successfully opened the L1 and R1 doors and deplay chutes, all occupants then exited the aircraft safely without injuries. The aircraft was fully engulfed in flames and smoke for a few minutes, before fire services extinguished the fire. ^[3]

Investigation

A National Transportation Safety Board investigation to seek the cause of the cargo fire of Flight 1406 was formed, but due to the extensive damage from the fire, there was insufficient evidence for investigators to find a probable cause. In 22 July 1998, the NTSB released their report and came to a conclusion, reporting in a statement, "The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was an in-flight cargo fire of undetermined origin."^[4]

References