2019 March 2 - Sixth Expedition

The fuselage crown section has moved (or, has been moved...) somewhat since our first visit in 1997. The forward end is closest, with the aft end and dorsal fin in the background.

Upper section of the passenger entry door.

Interior of the aft end of the fuselage crown section. The service door (LH side of the aircraft) is in the foreground.

Rudder pedal adjustment mechanism.

Interior of the RH engine nacelle and forward wing spar. Some melting can be seen resulting from the post-crash fire.

Perfect area for a nest.

Glob of melted aluminum.

This is a section of belly skin, probably from the center wing section. The octagonal patch at center right is what caught my attention. It looks to me like an antenna had been removed and the cutout patched. I wonder if that's where one of the radio altimeter antennas had been located... The airplane delivered originally to American Airlines with a rad-alt system installed, but had been removed at the time of the crash. I sometimes wonder if a rad-alt had been available, and the pilots had utilized it, the crash might had been averted if the crew had realized just how close to terrain they were. About 30 seconds prior to impact, they had missed another ridge by only around 300 feet.

Interior of the same piece.

LH main landing gear strut. On both MLG legs, the wheel bearing races and cages were still present, but the rollers were gone.

Remains of the RH engine nacelle.

Much of the rudder trim tab has disappeared in the 22 years since I first visited the site. What I thought might be human-caused damage (visitors over the years) might actually just be corrosion. I'll have to research if the trim tab used a different alloy that's more susceptible to corroding.

Data tag from when the rudder was balanced. As an aircraft mechanic, I am very interested when I find tags like this.

Some pieces hide very well among the rocks.

I'm still researching what it is, but it's to be serviced with mineral oil only...

Part of the propeller mechanism.

Part of the water injection tank. Before N94230 was converted with Rolls-Royce Dart turboprops, the airplane was powered with Pratt and Whitney R2800 piston radial engines. Water/methanol injection increased power for takeoff.

Exterior of the same part.

Bladder cells (usually fuel, but also water/methanol in this case) are typically laced in. Sections of 550 cord (parachute cord) that was used to lace in this bladder are still attached to an anchor point.

The aircraft was equipped with a pair of Rolls-Royce Dart 542-4 turboprop engines. The #1 engine (LH) is practically intact, but is resting upside down. The #2 (RH) engine was destroyed by impact forces, and very little recognizable portions still remain.

Forward end of the Dart, showing the air intakes to the centrifugal compressor and the propeller reduction gearbox.

Combustion can and fuel nozzle.

Brake metering valves. There would have been a set (LH/RH brakes) for both the pilot and copilot, and actuated by the rudder pedals.

Remnants of a fuel tank access door that would have been located on the bottom of one of the outer wing sections, just outboard of the engine nacelles.

Another view of the RH engine nacelle, with the exhaust (tailpipe) at upper right.

What I believe is part of the cabin air conditioning system.

One of the data plates shows an electrical actuator made by the Barber-Colman Company, a prolific manufacturer of controls and actuators for the aviation industry, among others.

Another valve had a nice clear part number! And...it doesn't appear in the parts catalog I have. The part number does lead me to believe that it's part of the cabin environmental system.

Lower auxiliary circuit breaker panel.

Details of the PA/Interphone handset hanger and receptacles.

Detail of the circuit breaker panel.

If it wasn't for the part number on the light assembly at lower right, I would never had thought this was part of the main entry door from the right side of the airplane. The light assembly was the passenger entry light from the lower end of the door.

Large section of center wing.

Details of one of the pieces. The three-pronged canon plug connector might have been for one of the engine generators to supply power to the rest of the airplane.