August
31, 1950
TWA
Flight 903 Crashes in Ciaro
TWA Flight 903 was
a regularly scheduled flight from Bombay International Airport, India to New York-Idlewild Airport, via Cairo-King Farouk
Airport and Rome-Ciampino Airport.
As Flight 903 was climbing at 10,000 ft (3,000 m), the
crew reported that its number three engine
was on fire and that they needed a priority return to Cairo. As the plane was
returning to Cairo, the engine separated from the aircraft, forcing the crew to
attempt a forced landing in the desert about 65 miles NNW of Cairo. The airliner went down
near the village of Ityai el Barud at the rim of
the Western Desert, killing all 55 on board, including twenty-three Americans
and an Egyptian film star.
After an intensive
investigation, the probable cause of the crash was cited to be failure of the
rear master rod bearing on the number three engine. The failure caused the rear
crankpin to
overheat and fail, whereupon all the rear connecting
rods failed, tearing through the cylinder walls and crankcase. In the
process, oil lines were torn open, which caused the fire. Sludge buildup in the
crankpins, blocking oil flow was thought to be the root cause, which resulted
in improved oil screens and the implementation of a crankpin plug, as well as
revised oil change intervals.
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