Freight aircraft makes emergency landing at LPL

[jnp]

10am news bulletin on BBC Radio 4 reported that a 'freight aircraft made an emergency landing at Liverpool's John Lennon airport early this morning'.

Anyone know anymore at this stage?

[Jet A1]

It lost a gear locking pin on take off from LPL enroute EDI. LPL rwy inspection found the pin and advised ATC to inform the Emerald HS748. Aircraft turned around and dvierted back to LPL. Aircraft landed safely. There was the worry that as they would not have any nose wheel steering they could have gone off the side of the rwy but thankfully the wind was more-or-less down the strip and at about 4 kts.

[cessna l plate]

I heard it mentioned on the radio 4 (Iknow, I know) news this morning. Just for a change it wasn't dramatised. Although "The aircraft lost part of it's undercarriage on take off" whilst strictly speaking true, does sound a tad more alarming than a locking pin.

Whilst trying to avoid thread creep, are there any journos out there that actually fly (ppl or whatever) that could explain why their bretheren appear to sensationalise any event with an aircraft? You only need to look at the number of posts about "go around at so and so" to realise that Fleet Streets finest will get any dirty info from anywhere, and how stupid they actually are. If you wanted to dig up some dirt about pilot activity, would you ask a load of pliots?????

Sorry for the thread creep, but I had to get it off my chest!

[Captain Airclues]

I suppose that it would be ungracious to ask why the locking pin wasn't removed before take-off.

Airclues

[Paul Wilson]

It's not just aviation, it's almost everything that journolists write/broadcast about. They are trying to pitch it to a level that all of their audiance will understand. Unfortunatly that just leads to mediocraty. The few newsworthy events that I have been involved in (on the sidelines I hasten to add) have opnly vaguly resembled that which was reported.

It is not of course helped by press officers/PR people employed by companies, who often have only a vague understanding of the business themselves. In the company I used to work for, the press would regularly get the date the company was established incorrect, not helped by the fact that it was "formed" on three drifferents dates almost 100 years apart.

[Budgie69]

Capt Airclues,

From memory (and it was a long long time ago) the 748 needs a pin removed from the nosewheel steering to allow a pushback. The pin is reinserted when pushback is complete.

It is not a gear locking pin.

[Bletchley]

Folks,

At the risk of being ceremoniously hanged, drawn and quartered, can you please answer what seems to me to be a logical question?.

The a/c returned because part of the wheel mechanism fell off (or whatever).

Now as the a/c had to land anyway why not go on to its destination?

I don't wish to be contraversial, but why do aircraft always land at the first opportunity for even a 'small' item?

I can understand that there many reasons why you would want to land immediately but surely not every time?

You will obviously realise that I am not in the Aviation Industry but 'outsiders' like me have no way of understanding this practice...so please don't be too harsh!

[xyz_pilot]

Could be it was easy to get it fixed in LPL?

With my lot they like you to come home to main base if poss and the crew think its safe. I costs a lot less to mess one flight about than to spend most of a day sorting things out a an outstaion. Would help if we had some sort of eng cover down route but we dont in most places.

[Bletchley]

xyz_pilot

Thank you

[Captain Airclues]

Budgie69

Many thanks. That would explain it.

Airclues

[flyhardmo]

bletchley

Also the fact that the locking pin was at the departure aerodrome and not the destination might have had something to do with it.

Its nice to hear that ppl are honest enough to admit that hey are not in the industry and would like to have a question answered. Maybe more reporters need to ask a question on pprune before blowing a story out of proportion and scarying the wits out of pax.

MO :ok:

[Germstone]

to answer a couple of points above

emerald would always rather have a potentially broken aircraft at lpl or blk due to manning and logistics outstations at best are just for fluid replenishment and checking tyre pressures they also have no hangarage at any of there outstations.

the "locking pin"

isnt really a locking pin it is the centre bolt of the nose gear toggle link with this pin removed the nosewheels are free to castor as they are disconnected from the nose wheel steering.

it is possible to control a budgie on the ground with this link out using differential power settings and differential braking but its a PITA much easier with the tiller :-)