Event
- Event ID
- 333
- Quality
- Description
During the pre-launch checkout, a check valve failed in the "open" position and an accidental venting of liquid hydrogen occurred. The event caused an unscheduled check and replacement of components.
- Event Initiating system
- Classification of the physical effects
- Unignited Hydrogen Release
- Nature of the consequences
- leak no ignition
- Macro-region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Date
- -
- Component involved
- valve (non-return)
- Failure mode
- leak, no ignition
- Initiating cause
- wrong installation
- Root CAUSE analysis
An error in an installation drawing occurred in which a wrong part number was called out, resulting in system contamination and valve failure.
ROOT CAUSE was an installation error enabled by a design error. It is however unclear the reason for the mentioned contamination.- Root causes
- Date entry in HIAD
- 30/10/2025
Facility
- Application
- Non-road vehicles
- Sub-application
- Aerospace
- Hydrogen supply chain stage
- All components affected
check valve
- Process temperature range [C]
- cryogenic temperature (below -50°C)
- Location type
- Unknown
- Location
- countryside or desert
- Operational condition
Emergency & Consequences
- Number of fatalities
- 0
- Number of injured persons
- 0
In-depth data
- Release type
- liquid
- Involved substances (% vol)
- H2 100%
- Probable IGNITION SOURCE
References
- Sources categories
- ORDIN
- Reference & weblink
Mishap no 41 in
P. L. Ordin, Review of hydrogen accidents and incidents in NASA operations, 1974, NASA TM X-71565
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19740020344Hankinson and Lowesmith, Qualitative Risk Assessment of Hydrogen Liquefaction, Storage and Transportation, FCH JU project IDEALHY, Deliverable 3.10 (2013)
confidential
(accessed October 2025)Lowesmith et al., Safety issues of the liquefaction, storage and transportation of liquid hydrogen: An analysis of incidents and HAZIDS, Int. J. Hydrogen energy (2014) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2014.08.002
