we sat in front of the TV watching an AIRBUS land at LAX with a landing gear which was twisted perpendicular to its intended path.
Owning a plane I know that "**** happens", like blowing a piston, having the cowling flap off, having a hydraulic line burst.
That the landing gear sustained the impact with the tires having blown away, that the gear just melted is a tribute to the folks in Toulouse who engineered the landing gear and the metallurgist who obviously did a good job.
Mes compliments et mercis a nos amis en France.
Owning a plane I know that "**** happens", like blowing a piston, having the cowling flap off, having a hydraulic line burst.
That the landing gear sustained the impact with the tires having blown away, that the gear just melted is a tribute to the folks in Toulouse who engineered the landing gear and the metallurgist who obviously did a good job.
Mes compliments et mercis a nos amis en France.
I just saw it two seconds ago.
Very shocking video.
I cant imagine how terrified the passengers must have been.
As much as I love flying this is giving me second thoughts.
Incidents with Airplanes seem so common now it's crazy.
Very shocking video.
I cant imagine how terrified the passengers must have been.
As much as I love flying this is giving me second thoughts.
Incidents with Airplanes seem so common now it's crazy.
Dont know if this works but try it:
http://video.msn.com/v/us/v.htm?g=1...9-fb7d7bc22877&t=c150&f=06/64&p=News_NBC News
http://video.msn.com/v/us/v.htm?g=1...9-fb7d7bc22877&t=c150&f=06/64&p=News_NBC News
Well I'm sure glad I wasn't on that plane but all credit to the guys behind the scenes for building a jet that could handle a failure like that so well. Not to mention the pilots for a textbook landing.
SY said:
That was really something else. That front strut stayed DEAD ON the runway's centerline for virtually the entire landing. It had only gone no more than a foot off to the right of the line by the time it came to a stop.
Amazing.
se
I'd be interested to know how much of a crosswind they had to contend with. Anything more than 5 knots and that pilot should get a plaque in the Aviation Hall of Fame.
Maybe he should get one anyway.
Maybe he should get one anyway.
Next time you get on an airplane, remember that everything was supplied by the lowest bidder. 😱 Like sausage, you really don't want to know how they are made.
That was some good flying - a well handled emergency, but not hall of fame in my book.
I know a guy who had the radome come off and join him in the cockpit. A piece of glass went into one eye, blinding it. A piece of something broke his right collar bone. He managed to bring a Tomcat aboard the ship at night, flying one handed. He didn't even get an air medal for it. There are lots of similar stories in military flying. Usually not as many lives at risk though.
BTW, Joe's eye healed with no loss of acuity.
That was some good flying - a well handled emergency, but not hall of fame in my book.
I know a guy who had the radome come off and join him in the cockpit. A piece of glass went into one eye, blinding it. A piece of something broke his right collar bone. He managed to bring a Tomcat aboard the ship at night, flying one handed. He didn't even get an air medal for it. There are lots of similar stories in military flying. Usually not as many lives at risk though.
BTW, Joe's eye healed with no loss of acuity.
BobEllis said:
That was not my experience at Lockheed. Quality standards were very exacting. I remember something just the opposite happening: we had been given a set of desired properties for a composite material. We found that we could hit the target by sputtering on a very thin (angstroms) layer of gold between two plys in the layup. Total cost was about $500 per airplane. The idea was nixed and a much more expensive approach was adopted. Why? Because, as my boss put it succinctly, "As soon as Senator Proxmire hears about it, he'll start screaming about us making gold-plated airplanes and this program will be over."
Military aviation isn't the only portion with untold stories. Ask any veteran you know, and he is likely to have at least one story that will turn your hair white.
/edit: oops, oh yes, thank God and a gooood pilot at the stick.
/edit: oops, oh yes, thank God and a gooood pilot at the stick.
Hmm...
I think the plane manufacturers have realised quite some time ago that the cost of making bodgy airplanes (in terms of future litigation) far outweighs any cost saving induced profits that may accrue.
The quality of the maintenance is probably more important in terms of keeping them in the air over the longer term anyway.
Michael
I think the plane manufacturers have realised quite some time ago that the cost of making bodgy airplanes (in terms of future litigation) far outweighs any cost saving induced profits that may accrue.
The quality of the maintenance is probably more important in terms of keeping them in the air over the longer term anyway.
Michael
yes, there is a story in the NYTimes of one passenger gulping down the other guy's gin and tonic.
jack, jack, jack,.....
oops...sorry I came late....oops, sorry ...eem
so jack what happen to AUDIO in the plane, oops,
sorry, did you remember to check that as well.
oops
thks, segun😱
oops...sorry I came late....oops, sorry ...eem
so jack what happen to AUDIO in the plane, oops,
sorry, did you remember to check that as well.
oops
thks, segun😱
as it was JetBlue they had real time video during the entire landing. that's what the little bags are for in the seatback in front of you.
SY said:
Ah, yes, Senator Proxmire. Bloody demagogue. He was to science what McCarthy was to freedom of speech. His favourite approach was to find a research project in the initial phases, and hold it up to ridicule by saying "Are you _really_ spending $180,000 of American tax money by studying mating behaviours in cockroaches?" or words to that effect.
Meanwhile, of course, he protected hundred-million dollar subsidies for his home state, proving in politics nothing succeeds like straining at gnats and swallowing elephants.
Francois.
Just yesterday i had a talk about quality assurance at airplane manufacturing.
For a brief time i worked at the Fokker airplane plant, both at the civil airplane production as the F16 section corner.
Only difference i noticed was the huge administration involved at the military part, till today navy norms make me giggle.
I still acquire excellent Fokker nos electronic components from time to time.
Next flight i'll have on the Space Shuttle i'll check the manufacturing codes on the seals.
For a brief time i worked at the Fokker airplane plant, both at the civil airplane production as the F16 section corner.
Only difference i noticed was the huge administration involved at the military part, till today navy norms make me giggle.
I still acquire excellent Fokker nos electronic components from time to time.
Next flight i'll have on the Space Shuttle i'll check the manufacturing codes on the seals.
BobEllis said:
I disagree. While your friend was able to land safely under more demanding circumstances, the situation is quite different. I presume he was the lone occupant of the aircraft.
I think a pilot who is dealing with an airplane full of passengers has added pressure that flying solo does not. Therefore I believe that landing the aircraft with the preceision he did is quite remakable and very deserving of "hall of fame" just as Joe's landing did. Too bad it wasn't recognized.
That's very good news
Cal
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