Dassault F2TH FALCON incident near Fort Lauderdale, Florida, June 28, 2000
On June 28, 2000, a Dassault F2TH FALCON, registered XATDU, was substantially damaged in an incident near Fort Lauderdale, Florida (Fort Lauderdale Int'L airport). It was a positioning flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the fatigue failure of the rivets used to secure the inner casting forward static seal to the 1st-stage low-pressure turbine support/nozzle assembly. The failure of the rivets allowed the forward static seal to machine a groove into the 2nd-stage high-pressure turbine disk to a depth that the disk could not withstand the operating loads, eventually leading to a disk burst and a high pressure turbine failure.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 28, 2000
- Place
- Fort Lauderdale, Florida · Fort Lauderdale Int'L · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Dassault F2TH FALCON F2TH FALCO
- Registration
- XATDU · no longer on the register · serial 029
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Positioning flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The captain stated that the copilot was flying the aircraft, and after rotation, as they were climbing through about 150 to 200 feet, there was the sound of a loud bang, and they felt extreme vibrations. The captain stated that the No. 2 engine gages went to zero, and there was no indication of fire. He further stated that the copilot continued flying the aircraft, and stayed in the pattern, returning for an otherwise uneventful landing. Postincident examination of the airplane revealed that a 2 to 3-foot section of the right engine nacelle, from approximately the 9:00 to the 6:00 o'clock positions, had torn outward, in line with the high-pressure turbine (HPT) area of the engine. Macroscopic examinations, as well as microscopic examinations of the No. 2 engine and recovered portions were conducted, and the examinations revealed a 360-degree circumferential groove on the aft face of the disk, just outboard of the aft 4-tooth knife-edge steel flange. The groove in the disk was consistent with the disk having been in contact with the 1st-stage low-pressure turbine support/nozzle assembly inner casting forward static seal. In addition, rivet holes on the forward static seal, and on the forward flange revealed the presence of fretting marks, which were inconsistent with those of a tightly mated assembly. Instead, the fretting was indicative of an assembly that allowed relative motion between the surfaces. Furthermore, an examination using a scanning electron microscope on the available rivet heads and rivet shanks revealed that one of the rivet shanks showed indications of fatigue, and that the fatigue originated from at least two areas on the outer diameter surface of the shank, and was indicative of high cycle fatigue. There were also heavy fretting underneath the heads of the rivets on the surface that mated with the seal, and the fretting was similar to that found on the front face of the seal, The fretting was consistent with there being insufficient clamping preload on the rivets.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot, foreign licence
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 6,700 hours in all; 600 in this make and model; 75 in the last 90 days; 50 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,092 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, May 3, 2000; 73 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 36,500 lb
- Seats: 10
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Allied Signal CFE 738-1-1B (turbojet); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FLL
- Destination: MMMY Monterrey OF
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 9, 9,000 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 070° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 15,000 ft; scat at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 174°F (79°C), dew point 162°F (72°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:53 pm from FLL
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.