Originally Posted by
FlightDetent
On the topic of fuel dump to avoid future confusion based on correct but partial explanation.
Dumping capacity is a necessary evil from engineering and design perspective. As such is preferably not installed unless required by performance considerations, namely
- approach climb gradient for G/A following an immediate turn back at MTOW.
There is no regulatory requirement to reduce down to MLW, a nice Boeing Aero article (T7) explains: overweight is always possible up to MTOW from the LDR / loading point of view. The only concern is the crew needs to find a legal reason to do so. Basically, anything except ops normal is OK.
Neither of the above opposes the prudent decision to reduce and increase margins before attempting to land with a compromised gear.
One of the reasons this SLF is here is to help overcome the after-effects of experiencing an emergency landing in July 2000 at Lyon St Exupéry by an AF A340 flying Charles de Gaulle-Johannesburg , i.e. about one hour into the flight, so still lots of fuel onboard, due to a smoke alarm in the cargo hold. It was the fastest descent from cruise altitude I've ever experienced! After landing during the long wait to be processed the pilot reported that fuel could not be dumped because we were over an urban area and that the aircraft wouldn't be going anywhere any time soon due to damage to the brakes/undercarriage.
Does his explanation make sense? Did A340s of that vintage have fuel dumping capacity and would the presence of an urban area make any difference to whether fuel was dumped in this scenario, or was it more a case of wanting to be on the ground in a big hurry and being too busy to bother?