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Thread: MD80 series
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Old 15th April 2005 | 13:58
  #6 (permalink)  
bafanguy
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Joined: Feb 2004
: ATPL
Posts: 3,689
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From: USA
U2FB,

By "..no longer a certifiable design..." do you mean the FAA would not allow another airplane to be built with after-fuselage mounted engines, or do you mean this configuration is not too practical for operational reasons, ie ice, throwing a blade ?

As for the blade incident, it was, in fact, an MD88 if you're talking about the KPNS takeoff where the woman and her child were killed.

I flew the MD88 at Delta until I retired. The failure was traced back to some flaw in the milling process if I remember correctly.

All airplanes have some design features that require "working around" one way or another. The wing ice has been successfully handled ( for the most part ) by heater blankets, improved operating procedures, and an increased awareness of the problem. Can the problem still happen ? Yes, the same way any other airplane's quirks can jump up and bite you if you're not careful.
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