Air France Flight 030, a Boeing 747-128, F-BPVD, was a scheduled passenger flight which originated at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport at 1820L, on August 17, 1970/ Its destination was Orly Airport, Paris, France, with an intermediate scheduled stop at Montreal, P.Q., Canada. At departure from Montreal, 174 revenue passengers, two infants, and a crew of 17 were aboard the flights.
The flight from Chicago to Montreal was normal in every respect. The takeoff from Montreal at 2226 was routine; however, approximately 9 minutes after takeoff, at 2235 at an altitude of 5,600 feet MSL, a separation of the second-state turbine disk rim of the No. 3 engine occurred, and pieces penetrated and ruptured the high-pressure turbine case and associated engine cowling. The separation of the turbine disk rim resulted in a localized fire in the upper forward portions of No. 3 engine.
Although there was no perceptible physical evidence of further fire on the inboard side of the engine, there was some apprehension about jettisoning fuel to attain the specified landing weight. Because of this, as an alternate means for redusing the airplane's weight to the maximum allowable for landing, the flight was diverted to John F. Kennedy International Airport at New York. Flight 030 proceeded to John F. Kennedy International Airport at an assigned cruising altitude of 18,000 feet MSL, at 280 knots indicated airspeed. At 0004, the aircraft was landed safely and the passengers were deplaned at the terminal.
