A coupling assembly had become disconnected from the fuel line of a Dynamic International Airways Boeing 767-200ER that caught fire on 29 October at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International airport.
In an investigation update, the National Transportation Safety Board says the main fuel line’s coupling assembly was located in the strut that connects the left engine to the wing, both of which had been engulfed in flames.
The agency has found no evidence of an uncontained engine failure, it adds.
The aircraft, which was operating flight 405 to Caracas, was taxiing towards the runway for takeoff then the fire erupted, prompting an emergency evacuation of 90 passengers and 11 crew.
One person was injured “seriously” and 21 sustained minor injuries resulting from the evacuation, says the NTSB’s update.
While the fire did not penetrate the main cabin, it did damage the left engine cowling, center section of the left-side fuselage and the lower inboard portion of the left wing, the NTSB says.
The aircraft’s log book shows that no maintenance had been performed on the fuel coupling assembly immediately before the fire, adds the NTSB.
The 767, registration N251MY, had been in storage for 29 months prior to September 2015, when Dynamic leased the aircraft. The company has since operate the 767 for about 240h, the NTSB says.
KMW Leasing II LLC owns the aircraft, according to Flightglobal’s Fleets Analyzer.
The NTSB has already interviewed the two pilots and nine cabin crew, and is now examining the flight data recorders and reviewing maintenance records at the company’s Greensboro, North Carolina, headquarters, it says.
Following the accident, Dynamic issued a directive requiring inspection of the fuel line coupling assemblies on all their aircraft, adds the NTSB.
Dynamic’s fleet includes one 767-200, two 767-200ERs and one 767-300ERs, according to Fleets Analyzer.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
