B772, en-route, Osaka Japan, 2017

B772, en-route, Osaka Japan, 2017

Summary

On 23 September 2017, a large wing-to-body fairing panel confirmed to have dropped from a Boeing 777-200 passing over the centre of Osaka after takeoff off from Kansai hit and significantly damaged a moving vehicle. The Investigation found that the panel involved had a sufficient history of attachment bracket failures for Boeing to have developed an improved thicker bracket for new-build aircraft which had then been advised as available as a replacement for in-service 777-200 aircraft in a Service Letter which KLM had decided not to follow. Although some incorrect bracket attachment bolts were found, this was not considered contributory.

Description

On 23 September 2017, the crew of a Boeing 777-200 (PH-BQC) being operated by KLM on a scheduled international passenger flight from Kansai to Amsterdam as KL868 which had earlier passed over the city of Osaka in day VMC was advised that a large panel bearing evidence of a KLM paint scheme had fallen from the sky and hit a car being driven along a city street there. The panel was subsequently confirmed as likely to be from the aircraft and its crew were advised accordingly, but after checks showed no system abnormalities, they decided to complete the flight and subsequently did so without further event. Although the vehicle which had been hit sustained significant impact damage from the metre square panel, no occupant injury occurred.

The damaged vehicle after recovery from the impact site. [Reproduced from the Official Report]

Investigation

The event was classified as a Serious Incident and an Investigation was carried out by the Japan Transport Safety Board (JTSB). It was noted that the Captain had a total of 18,042 flying hours including 7,509 hours on type and that the First Officer had a total of 11,975 flying hours including 7,815 hours on type.

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