Mcdonnell Douglas DC-8-71F incident near Miami, Florida, February 5, 2007
On February 5, 2007 at about 3:55 am local time, a Mcdonnell Douglas DC-8-71F, registered HK2277, suffered minor damage in an incident near Miami, Florida (Miami International Airport). It was flown under foreign airline rules (Part 129). No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Improper torque of a landing gear lockbolt by company maintenance personnel during landing gear installation.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 5, 2007 · about 3:55 am local time
- Place
- Miami, Florida · Miami International Airport · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 3 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Mcdonnell Douglas DC-8-71F
- Registration
- HK2277 · no longer on the register · serial 45976
- Damage
- Minor damage
- Flight
- Flight · foreign airline rules (Part 129)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The captain stated that during the landing rollout, while the airplane was at a speed of about 100-120 knots, and while the thrust reversers were deployed, the airplane began to lean and veer to the right. He said that he initially thought it may have been due to the crosswind, but he soon realized that the landing gear had collapsed. The captain estimated that when the airplane began to lean and veer it was positioned in the vicinity of taxiway T-2, and the airplane stopped in the vicinity of taxiway U. The flight crew then evacuated the airplane onto the taxiway via the L1 door slide. The digital flight data recorder (DFDR) and cockpit voice recorder (CVR) were examined by the NTSB. All pertinent parameters on the DFDR were noted to be consistent with those of a normal landing having been performed. When the CVR was auditioned, all conversations were in Spanish and proved to be consistent with a normal landing having occurred. Disassembly of components of the right main landing gear torque tube showed that the outboard torque tube attach bolt had backed out from the piston prior to the incident. The torque tube is attached to the piston by an attach bolt, which is threaded and has a hole drilled in the end. The attach bolt is threaded into the piston and then torqued to 475 ft-lbs. The next step is to install the lockbolt, which retains the attach bolt in place. According to the operators Manager of Quality Assurance, the attach bolt was not properly torqued and the lockbolt was installed, but not through the hole in the end of the attach bolt. As a result, after 11 cycles, the attach bolt backed out of the threaded area of the piston and the right main landing gear collapsed. According to the QA Manager, during installation of the right main landing gear, a maintenance personnel shift change had occurred, and the new shift was not informed by the outgoing shift what work still needed to be accomplished, which resulted in the right main landing gear being reassembled incorrectly. Damaged landing gear parts were collected and sent to the NTSB's Metallurgical Laboratory, Washington DC, where they were examined optically. The examination revealed that the damaged parts exhibited signatures consistent with that of overstress separations. No preexisting cracks or corrosion were noted.
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: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 18,000 hours in all; 3,500 in this make and model; 130 in the last 90 days; 8 in the last 30 days; 12,000 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: October 1, 2006
- Medical certificate: Class 1
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
Co-pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,050 hours in all; 2,000 in this make and model; 135 in the last 90 days; 12 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 1
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
Flight Engineer
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 95,846 hours
- Last inspection: continuous airworthiness programme, January 1, 2007
- Maximum gross weight: 328,000 lb
- Seats: 7
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine 1: Cfm International CFM56-2C1 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Cfm International CFM56-2C1 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Engine 3: Cfm International CFM56-2C1 (turbofan); 0 hours total
- Engine 4: Cfm International CFM56-2C1 (turbofan); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SKRG Medellin
- Destination: MIA Miami FL
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 09R, 13,000 ft by 150 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night
- Wind: from 040° at 13 knots, gusting 16
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 1,000 ft; scat at 500 ft
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.20 inHg
- Observation at 3:53 am from MIA
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 3 |
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.