Ethiopian Airlines plane makes emergency landing (radar problem)

[st7860]

Ethiopian Airlines plane makes emergency landing - Yahoo! Canada News (http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/100129/world/chad_ethiopia_mali_aviation_incident)
An Ethiopian Airlines passenger jet which made an emergency landing in Chad due to a radar problem took off again Friday, but 120 of its 150 passengers refused to board, airport authorities said.

The plane, a Boeing 737 en route from Dakar in Senegal to Addis Ababa via Bamako in Mali, "left this morning at 5:00 am (0400 GMT)," said an airport official, as well as airport police.

The incident comes days after another Ethiopian Airlines 737 with 90 people on board crashed into the Mediterranean minutes after takeoff from Beirut during a raging thunderstorm on Monday. There were no survivors.

Of the 150 passengers on the African flight, "120 refused to leave on the Boeing," an airport official said. "They have been put up in different hotels. A large plane will come to collect them."

Contacted by AFP, an Ethiopian Airlines spokesman in Ndjemena declined to comment and said that an "information office" had been opened by the company in Addis Ababa.

On Thursday, the Boeing 737 "circled around N'Djamena for one hour before making an emergency call. There was a radar problem, so it landed," an airport official said.

An airport source said the plane, which had made a stopover in Bamako, Mali, was dumping its fuel before landing.

The same plane had already experienced electrical troubles when leaving Dakar earlier Thursday, and had had to return, passengers said.

[iFuchs]

An airport source said the plane, which had made a stopover in Bamako, Mali, was dumping its fuel before landing.

As far as I know 737s can't dump fuel.
They were probably just burning it off in order to prevent a heavy landing.

[JW411]

Before the promising hysterics get started, it is normal for all airlines that I have ever flown with that the weather radar MUST be serviceable before any flight that is going to be carried out in less than VFR conditions.

Therefore, having got airborne and being confronted with visual convective activity that is not showing on the weather radar, then it is no doubt a good idea to go back to the beginning and "call maintenance".

How many passengers were killed or injured by the decision to return?

Mind you, quite a lot of you out there (in Europe) don't know how to use the weather radar properly.

In any event, the Ethiopian crew did the right thing and no one got hurt. They might well have been influenced by their colleagues demise in Beirut and I could well understand that as well.

[Dani]

quite a lot of you out there (in Europe) don't know how to use the weather radar properly.

Quite a bold statement there... :uhoh:

Other than that, I completly agree: A non event, just because the name Ethopian is in the message, it gets blown up to an article.

Dani

[JW411]

Dani:

"Quite a bold statement there"

Sadly, I stick by my statement. I became a training captain on 4-engined aeroplanes in 1967. I retired as a TRI/TRE in 2006 and then continued to teach in the simulator until 2009.

I reiterate my statement that a lot of pilots (in Europe) don't know how to use the weather radar properly. I know that from my considerable experience as previously mentioned.

It is not sufficient to have "watched the video", "read the manual" and have "listened to the company presentation".

Dare I say it?

We learned a hell of a lot more about the ITCZ etc when we had no radar and just had to bite the bullet, set up for penetration and then go for it.

Nowadays, a lightning strike seems to be a major catastrophe. My record was 8 in one week with not one single underpant change.

Things have undoubtedly changed.

[jester42]

So watching the Manufactures videos and reading their operating procedures isn't enough?
We must switch it off, penetrate bad weather and once we count 8 strikes we become qualified?
Ye Gods and little fishes.
Yes, things have changed for the better as the new colour radars work extremely well thankfully.
Crews nowadays have the benefit of better training and are not required to be heroes. :ok:

[JW411]

Jester:

No, I am not saying that at all. I am saying that not enough attention is being paid to practical training on the line (during line training) of how to use your weather radar properly.

For example, how many times were you taught during your line training to drive the scanner down until you got ground returns and then come up a few degrees to see what you could see instead of relying on the displayed scanner angle on the coloured display (that could never be wrong - could it)?

How many times were you taught during line training that if you had a lot of "mush" on your radar screen then a likely cause was that there was probably a leak in the radar nose cone which was allowing moisture in and was subsequently freezing on the inner surface as you climbed to altitude so that the scanner was attenuating (if that is the correct expression in 2010) on the moisture and not on the Cb in front of you?

I am going for a beer and don't expect to come back to this forum. That is one of the joys of being retired.

[akerosid]

It was a 757, according to Aviation Herald:

Incident: Ethiopian Airlines B752 near Ndjamena on Jan 28th 2010, electrical problems (http://avherald.com/h?article=4267a539&opt=0)

[HAWK21M]

As far as I know 737s can't dump fuel.
They were probably just burning it off in order to prevent a heavy landing.
You mean Overweight landing.

[Sir Richard]

JW411



Even I change my underpants at least twice a week, :E with or without lightning.

[Basil]

JW411,
if you had a lot of "mush" on your radar screen then a likely cause was that there was probably a leak in the radar nose cone which was allowing moisture in and was subsequently freezing on the inner surface as you climbed to altitude so that the scanner was attenuating (if that is the correct expression in 2010) on the moisture and not on the Cb in front of you?
You didn't tell me that on 267 :)
Yes, never totally believed the scanner angle and, in any case, it's always something to have a nervous fiddle with approaching embedded Cb at night.
I'd also agree that the Ethiopian skipper did the right thing. Perhaps he didn't explain his decision very well to the passengers. Yes, I know; why should the captain explain anything? Our new PC world:rolleyes:

Oops just called to dinner ..........

[Jim Croche]

Basil,

I'm afraid I agree with 411. Many young pilots in Europe (and here in Asia) don't know how to get the best out of the radar. I'm not saying and nor was 411, that we have to find ourselves "upside-down in a Cb etc" to learn about wx but some Line Trainers could do a lot more in this area. It really isn't enough to read the manual. Better to read it while operating it with an experienced guy showing what it can do. Most of all, know its limitations!

[Basil]

know its limitations!
Hear, hear!
esp the bit where it looks clear on the far side of the line of Cb :(

We'd an odd effect one night. B747 westbound over China. Solid line of Cb but looked like a way through to the left. Deviated left of track to penetrate line but, as we moved left and 'clear' part of line moved to centre screen, more Cb appeared. Chinese controller now going nuts because we were almost over the Viet border before finding a way through.
Perhaps the LHS of the radome was suffering from the attenuation mentioned by JW411.

p.s. I also agree with JW411. He was an instructor on one of my RAF squadrons and he'll tell me off if I don't :)

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

If it held for an hour, presumably burning off fuel, it was hardly an "emergency landing".

[411A]

If it held for an hour, presumably burning off fuel, it was hardly an "emergency landing".

Quite likely not.
'Emergency' would have been reserved for the SVA Captain who,departing the old RUH airport, and finding soon thereafter one engine unserviceable, promptly steamed around for two hours (on one engine) to (according to him)...'get the weight down'.
The B737 fleet manager was not especially amused.:}