every time the engine is used, the microscopic crack grows. the ntsb determines probable cause to be united inspectors failure to detect the crack. united airlines disputes the finding, but in the end, the ntsb upholds its report. i think that the united inspection team did what they believed to be a proper and complete job, or they wouldn t have signed the component off as air worthy. we have gotten better at nondestructive testing. that was one of the takeaways out of this, that we had to get better. not only does the inspection process improve as a result of this accident, so does the manufacturing process used to create titanium fan discs. beyond those lessons learned, united 232 is a testament to teamwork in the cockpit. executed with perfection that day, crew resource management implemented only eight years
the fan disc had separated from the engine core and created shrapnel taking large chunks out of the horizontal stabilizer. in the second picture you can actually see the back side of the engine where the fan disc actually came out. by november 1990, 15 months after the crash, the ntsb pieces together what happened to united 232. over a farm in alta, iowa, the fan s fan disc imploded with calamitous results for the plane s hydraulics, the life blood of the jet. it sent shrapnel going in a multitude of directions, and it just happened that the shrapnel ended up cutting lines to all three systems. the statistical likelihood is extremely low, but in the case of 232, it actually happened. the titanium fan disc is determined to have a crack dating back to its fabrication. every time the engine is used, the microscopic crack grows. the ntsb determines probable