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American Airlines Flight 268
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American Airlines Flight 268 was a scheduled flight from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to John F. Kennedy International Airport which made an emergency landing at Chicago O'Hare International Airport due to a serious electrical relay failure leading to the failure of several safety-critical systems. During the landing, a tire blewout and the front of the airplane left the runway. The plane had lifted of at 07:42 and the landing took place at 13:45. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.
The flight
At some time after departure from Seattle-Tacoma a power relay designated "K106" failed, leaving several systems running off battery power. Despite guidance in the Quick Reference Handbook that the battery would provide power for approximately 30 minutes, the crew continued the flight until it actually failed, after approximately 100 minutes, over western Michigan. Without power, the public address system and interphone system failed. The flight diverted to Chicago O'Hare International Airport. On final approach, the crew found that both main and standby elevator trim had failed. The crew managed to land, only to discover that thrust reversers and spoilers had also failed, so only tire braking was available. Further the pilot was concerned that even braking might not be reliable without power, so he chose to use a single smooth application of brakes. The aircraft "skidded the entire length of the runway until the airplane departed the pavement" and continued 397 feet past the end of the runway. Without power, the crew was at first unable to operate the valves to cutoff fuel to the engines, but eventually managed to do so manually by depressing the "fire handles".
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