Originally Posted by smelly
No, it's not and that's what they do; hang down if they are not latched.
- I'm sure some here have claimed they can be 'flush' when not latched? I mean, you are saying eng and pilot missed
4 latches 'hanging down'..........................?
Post #59 "the training captain said to me on the walk around, 'always bend down and check the fan cowl latches are actually secured, they can easily be left unlatched and not noticed'"
From the Canadian report
"The fan cowling has four latches that connect at the bottom of the engine. The fan cowling doors are heavy and designed such that, when hanging unsupported, they fair flush, giving the appearance of being locked, even if they are not latched. Normally, the latches can be in three possible conditions (
see Appendix A):
- latches fully locked and will appear flush with the cowling;
- latches closed, but cowling not locked. In this condition, they will protrude about one inch underneath the cowling. This is the normal condition of the latches after maintenance opens the cowling, until the latches are re-locked; and
- latches fully open and cowling unlocked. This is considered a temporary condition after unlocking the cowls. According to industry standard, the latches are immediately closed because the fully unlocked latch presents a personal injury risk to maintenance engineers. Fully unlocked latches protrude down about four inches from the bottom of the cowling."
It would seem that no 2 is NOT a good idea?