Spoilers up till gate?

[andre1990]

Hi All,

Recently flew with BA to FRA - enjoyable flight.

After we landed, was fairly normal with spoilers raising and reverse being engaged.

As we vacated the runway, i'm used to the spoilers and flaps all being returned to 'null' positions almost as soon as we are beginning taxi - but to my surprise we taxied all the way back to the gate (quite a long way at FRA, around 10mins) with spoilers up.

Not a big issue, just wondering...is there not a post-landing checklist that is followed? Could it have been that they (spoilers) were being temperamental (to put it trivially?)

imgur: the simple image sharer (http://imgur.com/Ed85zbX)

Any responses appreciated.

[Flow Wedge]

They forgot to stow them . . . Simples.

[glendalegoon]

andre 1990

there was a case of a B737-300 that landed and did not stow the spoilers, but the handle was moved to the stow position. the spoilers were still deployed while the plane taxied for the next takeoff. deadheading pilots warned the flying crew in time to avoid problems with takeoff.

it turned out that the cable between the handle and the spoiler mechanism had broken.

and flow wedge could well be right too.

from the picture it looks like an airbus, but am not sure.

next time you see it, tell one of the flight attendants that the spoilers are still extended and have her tell the crew. it will make them look dumb ;-)

[EpsilonVaz]

It's an Airbus. To stow the spoilers after landing you need to push the speed brake lever downwards, it's easy to look at it and not notice it hasn't been pushed down (by the pilot flying), probably what happened.

[pudoc]

I think it's one of those easy things to miss in an Airbus. I occasionally see Airbuses parked up with spoilers up. Especially at airports with very short taxis to stand.

[con-pilot]

There are times that maintenance requests that the spoliers be left up after landing for maintenance issues.

Could have been that, or the crew just flat forgot and didn't catch it on the check list.

[grounded27]

Anyone recall a craft that "knocked down" spoilers upon throttle advancement as a safety measure?

[Tu.114]

Not a spoiler per se, but the Fokker 70/100 has an auto-retract feature for the speed brake depending on power lever position. It can be a pain in the behind on occasion when descending with the wing anti-ice system engaged: the high bleed demand requires a higher than normal idle setting automatically commanded by the autothrust which often is above the auto-retract threshold and causes undesired speedbrake retractions.

Spoilers that still stay exended despite the lever commanding otherwise should latest be caught during the preflight walkaround, if they are not already found not to respond properly during the reading of the checklist.

Company SOP dependent, it is not necessarily specified when exactly the after landing checklist is to be read. Especially on a unfamiliar or complicated airport (and I would certainly consider taxiing at FRA complicated), I would think it not unwise to postpone the checklist until both pilots are satisfied that they know the parking stand and how to reach it. There is often less harm done by delaying the checklist than by just taxiing somewhere without being really sure about the way.

[Tu.114]

The DH8-400 spoilers require hydraulic pressure, weight on wheels, the switch in flight mode and the power levers under a certain angle (Flight Idle + 12°) in order to extend in lift dumper mode. The ground/flight spoiler switch is here moved from GROUND (keeping the spoilers retracted at all times) to FLIGHT during the before takeoff checklist; as the conditions for spoiler extension are consequently met, the spoilers will extend. This will on occasion look worrisome for those not accustomed to this type but is perfectly normal system behaviour. When takeoff power is being set, the power levers will be above the critical angle and trigger retraction of the spoilers ("SPOILERS IN" is called out on this occasion).

So the DH8D matches the description of Grounded27.

[Jwscud]

The 737 will do it on the ground if you advance the thrust levers, but not in the air.

[parabellum]

JWscud beat me to it.


737, as soon as the trust levers were advanced on the ground. Every once in a while the engineers would ask the pilot to do just that to confirm the system was working properly.