stubs400
Well it's pretty pointless arguing with a zealot, so I won't bother except to point out the following:
2007/08/12
MSN 4141 Jeju Air @ Busan, S. Korea
Departed runway after landing and entered drainage ditch.
Cause of Landing Gear Failure: Concrete Culvert
The question you should be asking is
why it slewed off the runway in the first place, with a reported wind at the time that was well below crosswind limits.
2007/09/21
MSN 4028 Augsburg Airways @ Munich, Germany
Landed with NLG retracted.
NLG Door Spring broke, and a piece jumped up and jammed in gear uplock mechanism, preventing extension.
Cause of Landing Gear Failure: One in a Million Fluke
Firstly, such a simple part should never break if it has been designed and made properly in the first place. Secondly, one has to wonder why the spring wasn't sheathed.
2007/04/15
Copenhagen, Denmark
Return to field after takeoff.
NLG steering not indicating centered, disallowing gear retraction.
Cause of Landing Gear Issue: Sensor Failure
There was only one sensor...?? Not a lot of design redundancy there then.
The last two are examples of poor engineering, the first is inconclusive as to the cause - at the time, it was reported that it was the failure of the gear that caused the aircraft to depart the runway. Whatever the case, neither of us are ever likely to see the report.
Sure, 2007 was an unfortunate year for the Q400's landing gear, but please, keep it in perspective.
Of all the above, only one issue merited extraordinary concern for its non-insular manifestation (Retraction Actuator Piston Corrosion).
Yet, the problem concentrated on principally one operator.
Funny, then, that Bombardier responded by recommending the grounding of the entire fleet. I guess they weren't keeping it in "perspective".
In all honesty, would Toyota become the largest motor vehicle producer in the world if it was "abysmal"?
No, they did it by making very average motor vehicles that were CHEAP. The quality was never particularly high, but price drove their success.
Chesty Morgan
Wouldn't it be nice to know who you're talking to sometimes? I was one of the 146 pilots when the Q400 was first delivered to Flybe.
Ah, but I do. I was one of those 146 pilots too, we know each other. I also had access to some of the relevant information regarding use of standby crews (see if you can work out why).
Do you really think that any aeroplane flying around today wasn't made by the lowest bidder?
Yes, I do. That is why some airlines fly, for example, CRJs and not Embraers. Not everyone has cost as their bottom line. Middle Eastern airlines are often a prime example of this.