PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - MD82 crash in Venezuela
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Old 23rd Aug 2005, 04:16
  #86 (permalink)  
RRAAMJET
 
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: FL, USA
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Ok, as an Mad-Dog pilot I was in the unfortunate position of having a total electrical failure, with an inop APU. We landed safely in Florida, but we still had 2 turning and burning, so not quite the same scenario, but I can give you insight into what you do have:

Capt has EFIS in Emerg. power and able to NAV etc.

I flew the jet initially, using just the trimmed last airspeed (it's frozen on the FO's ASI, so you can cross-reference the standby ADI and fly the last trimmed speed, as the stab is stuck. All other flight controls normal in this case (in Venezuela they would have had no roll spoilers - no hydraulics probably, even from windmilling engines)).

We turned off all high load stuff, especially as we tried to get a genny back on line (drive had sheared, so no luck there).

It gets very quiet. No avionics fans, and you can't hear the engines anyway.

The standby compass is not relevant 'cos it's back behind the FO's head and viewed through a mirror (yes, really - more on the design flaws later....), until you get emergency power selected you have no heading info.

You land at flaps 15 because of stuck trim, and the Mad-Dog is a runway hog at the best of times....


In my opinion, probably the worst, most out-of-date airliner still in mass usage. The number of cobbled-together sticky-plaster fixes to the original design is pathetic. It annunciates trivia, and quietly socks you with massive critical failures with no warning. It has the most un-harmonized controls of any large aircraft I have flown, and now it's a gas-guzzler in expenses. It's eye-watering out of Burbank or Midway. The build quality of the flight deck is laughable. It's CAT3 Autolands are pure thrill-ride student pilot stuff, probably not certifiable today.

You guys on A-320'S don't know what you're missing.
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