American Eagle accident @ SJU

[ChrisKLAS]

American Eagle ATR-72 crash-landed on rwy 10 at SJU around 1900 GMT today. Tire reportedly burst on landing in heavy crosswinds. 26 aboard; 13 serious injuries reported. Aircraft seen with wings separated from fuselage mount, other serious damage.

More info: http://www.airdisaster.com/news/0504/09/news.shtml

[ramsrc]

Quote from the linked article...

The left wing appeared to be damaged

Has to be the understatement of the week. See here (http://www.jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=280909)

[B737NG]

and with high speed tape we fixed it again..... ;)

[Sqwak7700]

I agree. They seem to have left out that the plane is a complete write-off. Just a tire blowout, that's all...

Tell me, how does a a simple tire blowout completely wreck an airplane and seriously injure half the passengers onboard. I know it wasn't the evac. The ATR is close enough to the ground when the landing gear is attached, never mind when it sits on its belly.

AMR has a great way of downplaying their accidents and keeping them out of the news...

:suspect:

[411A]

A couple of Alaskan freight operators are considering the -42 and -72 converted to cargo for remote airstrips.
Perhaps they should have a look at this photo before they park their big 4-engine Douglas aircraft.

Results...not good:ugh: :ugh:

[IceHouse]

Dammn those S***y european aircraft...first the Icing probs on the ATR (94 crash), then the A300 rudder probs (2001 crash) what can AA come up with to blame the manufacturer this time!

[White Knight]

Actually 411a, if you hit any wing hard enough onto the ground there's a very good chance that it will get broken:{ :{ . Even a Dougie 4 engine job.
I seem to remember an DC-9 breaking apart once upon landing, in fact I even saw the film of it!!!
Obviously though, you know best, being the thoroughly incredible chappie that you are:yuk:

Glad everyone was ok..

PS 411a, I have many hours flying both the 42 and 72 and I can tell you from FIRST hand experience that it's a rugged aeroplane.

[OpsReturn]

Sorry White Knight. 411A knows best. He's an expert on just about everything. Of course we all know what an expert is :D

[Justforkix]

What a load of sh.. I won't even start to mention the very long list with crashed airplanes involving american build aircraft.

[simfly]

Tell me, how does a a simple tire blowout completely wreck an airplane and seriously injure half the passengers onboard.

One word, CONCORDE.

[minus273]

Hey there all

I bet if you put some duct tape around the wings and a lick of paint and started selling shares for cheap multi turbine time on the wannabes forum you could be onto a winner.

-273

[broadreach]

Not much in the way of informed comment on this thread yet is there? Nothing about conditions that might have led to a landing that blew out a tyre and put a wing that high down.

Come to think of it, what tyre? The photos show the forward part of the fuselage crumpled, as if the nosegear had come down with a tremendous thump. And given the apparently intact condition of the rest of the aircraft (except the wing) it must have been a hell of a thump for there to be 13 serious injuries. Overhead baggage bins flying about?

And, if it was that hard a landing, look at the wing. Still intact - albeit dislodged. Somehow reminiscent of the Buffalo/Caribou landing at Farnborough ten years or so ago, except there the wing spar collapsed.

[minus273]

May be of some interest, I assume it was on the 9th. So here is the daily weather for then:

http://www.weatherunderground.com/history/airport/TJSJ/2004/5/9/DailyHistory.html


-273

[fescalised portion]

Apparently it wasn't a tyre blow-out........



NTSB Identification: DCA04MA045
Scheduled 14 CFR Part 121: Air Carrier operation of AMERICAN EAGLE AIRLINES
Accident occurred Sunday, May 09, 2004 in San Juan, PR
Aircraft: ATR 72, registration: N438AT
Injuries: 13 Minor, 10 Uninjured.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.

On May 9, 2004, an American Eagle ATR-72 made a hard landing on runway 8 at San Juan, Puerto Rico. The aircraft departed the runway . Initial examination of the airplane indicated the left landing gear separated from the airplane and substantial damage to the left wing. There were 19 passengers and 4 crew on board

[PaperTiger]

The FAA seems to think it was 'recovering' from a hard landing (whatever that means). No WX factor that I can see - 15 gusting 22 but more or less straight down 08.
Regis#: 438AT Make/Model: AT72 Description: ATR-72
Date: 05/09/2004 Time: 1850

Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Serious
Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Substantial

LOCATION
City: SAN JUAN State: Country: PR

DESCRIPTION
AMERICAN EAGLE FLIGHT 401, N438AT, ATR-72 ACFTM WHILE ATTEMPTING TO RECOVER FROM A HARD LANDING, GEAR COLLAPSED, AND ACFT CRASHED, 26 PERSONS WERE ON
BOARD, 13 RECEIVED INJURIES, 1 SERIOUS INJURY, SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO

INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 0
# Crew: 4 Fat: 0 Ser: 1 Min: 1 Unk:
# Pass: 22 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 11 Unk:
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:

WEATHER: 1856Z 07015G22KT 10SM FEW023 SCT034 BKN055



OTHER DATA
Activity: Business Phase: Landing Operation: Air Carrier

Departed: MAYAGUEZ Dep Date: 05/09/2004 Dep. Time:
Destination: SAN JUAN, PR Flt Plan: IFR Wx Briefing: N
Last Radio Cont: LOCAL CONTROL
Last Clearance: CLR VISUAL RY8 APCH

FAA FSDO: SAN JUAN, PR (SO21) Entry date: 05/11/2004

[Sqwak7700]

Back to my original post, how does comething classified by the NTSB as an accident where the gear collapsed due to a hard landing turn into an incident due to a blown tire?

I see some manipulation here. I have no clue what happened, and we will have to wait for the report before throwing blame around, wether it is on the plane or the pilots.

Latest rumors I hear are that the FO was flying and that he was fresh out of IOE. I also saw video footage of the accident (After it happened), and it looked pretty windy.

On another note, you gotta love when you see another ATR of the Reagal Beagle taxiing right past the wreck. What do you tell the passengers? do you say anything, or do you pretend it doesn't exist? It would be like walking into a restaurant, and as the waiter takes you to your table, you walk past a table where a couple of guests are puking their guts out. It kind of reminds me of that picture on Airliners.net of the Chinese MD-11 taxiing in HKG past the crashed and burned MD-11 on the grass.

That's all I have to say about that...
:suspect:

[Avman]

Something along the lines of: "Hi folks! I guess we can all make mistakes and on your right you can see one of my recent ones. Now sit back, relax and enjoy the flight".

[UNCTUOUS]

It's called porpoising. You get out-of phase with the airplane's pitching evolutions. It normally starts with a nose-wheel first landing and gets out of control from there on (in leaps and bounds)....and amongst all that there's some contributory throttle openings and closures and rapidly mating couples at work.

The crash happens when you're finally seeking closure - and at the climax you will normally be "out of bounds" with your gear off.

Some airplanes are prone to it. It's a form of PIO. That means that you will have an alibi that sounds somewhat fishy on a scale of none to ZEN (i.e. your fate is sealed even though you didn't do it on porpoise).

[shortfinals]

Genuinely funny, Avman! Thanks for giving my ration of laughter for today.:D