View Full Version : A330 tow bar attachment assembly broken..what could be the reason?
born1987
10th Jul 2010, 13:20
Hi guys today during pushback of A330 the nose gear tow bar attachment broken...what could be the actual reason behind it? Is it material deficiency or pilot put the brake?
muduckace
10th Jul 2010, 20:18
Both of what you mentioned are possible but not likely to be just one, corrosion, not having the nose wheel steering hydraulic power bypassed, over steering. There are many possibilities. Though it is a first for me, I have seen many broken tow bars but never the gear it's self.
Tug too powerful, driver leadfooted, wrong type of towbar fitted (may look similar, but shear pins not strong enough), and nosewheel steering hydraulic bypass pin not fitted seem to be the most common causes.
Cheers
NSEU
mitzy69
11th Jul 2010, 15:44
the push back lugs on the NLG do get damaged from use, the dents, nicks, lead to cracks and breakage when using the wrong tow bar on another aircrraft i.e. L1011 on a B767.
some a/c have another set of lugs on the other side of the leg.