EMA incident? Runway Blocked?

[SM82]

Just heard on BBC news that EMA runway is blocked due to cargo aircraft incident. Anyone any news? Can't find any threads relating to it

[ritchyh]

Runway 27/09 is closed. Appears to be left main gear collapsed. Looks like everyone is ok though.

[hardcase]

It's an air contractors 737, all ok, thank goodness...

[SM82]

Good to hear all ok

[handsfree]

Nothing exciting but it looks like EMA will be out of use for most of the day.

BBC News - East Midlands Airport flights suspended after cargo plane problem (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-27201081)

[scoobydoo44]

http://www.aircontractors.com/

Info on EMA incident

[onehitwonder]

Same thing happened on Honiara with the air work aircraft

[NutLoose]

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff321/taylortony/EMA/737EMA_zpsc64dc157.jpg

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff321/taylortony/EMA/EMAgear_zpsfe2c502a.jpg~original



Gear about a fuselage length behind the aircraft.

:)

[kgoodall]

I must admit I'm impressed by the press release - very clear and straightforward.

[Mr Angry from Purley]

Good effort also by Thomson / Monarch / Jet 2 who have pushed their punters out to MAN/LBA/BHX to get them to destination albeit late but great job for trying esp a lot of crews/flights going to Egypt etc a lot later than planned whereas other airlines just cancelled their flights. Punters should take note that "Charter" airlines will at least give it a go! :\

[Jonty]

Charter airlines are not allowed to cancel flights, by law. So they have to give it a go.

[aerofoil1]

How would they actually move that aircraft exactly an would it be damaged enough to be written off?

[Burnie5204]

Every aircraft has lifting points.

A crane will be brought in. It will be attached to the aircraft by one or more of the lifting points and the port wing will then be raised up enough to get a salvage sled underneath and the aircraft will be lowered back onto the sled.

This will then allow the aircraft to be slowly and carefully recovered to a stand where the crane will again raise the port wing up off the recovery sled, the sled will be removed and a giant aircraft jack stand (Think of a cross between a car axle stand and a construction acroprop) will be placed under the wing at one of the designated points and the aircraft lowered onto it.

This will then hold the wing off the floor and allow the engineers to begin a full assessment of the aircraft.

From what I understand it is likely to need a new landing gear and engine casing, maybe a new engine but largely the aircraft is intact as it only occured as the aircraft was almost at taxi speed to vacate the runway.

[Burnie5204]

I should point out that a) this wont be able to start until the AAIB approve it on completion of insitu investigations and b) it wont be the airport doing the recovery. The airline insurer will arrange the recovery by their prefered specialists though they may ask the airport to obtain certain items (such as the crane or one of the various national Aircraft Recovery Kits held at a couple of airports around the country) from local suppliers. The normal two in the UK are British Airways Engineering or Air Salvage International.


Though even recovering the aircraft wont be the end. The airport will then have to get and damage to the runway and lighting etc. repaired before they can reopen. Again, these activities cant start until AAIB approve it.

[NutLoose]

They were lifting it with airbags, should have been shifted by about 8pm ish, they had to resurface part of the runway behind it. Recovery lot came from Kemble I believe. AAIB was there in the morning I believe.

[Cough]

From East Mids Airport Website (http://www.eastmidlandsairport.com/emaweb.nsf/Content/Runway-Closed)

Following a suspension of flights earlier today due to an issue with a cargo flight after landing, East Midlands Airport is now fully operational.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) has now conducted a full investigation and the aircraft has been moved from its location on the runway.

[MANAGP]

Mr Angry
Monarch are a scheduled operator out of EMA, and we very rarely cancel. I have long understood that our passengers prefer to depart late rather than have their flight cancelled and given a 0870 number to rebook!

I agree Air Contractors statements were sincere and factual. Well done

[DaveReidUK]

From what I understand it is likely to need a new landing gear and engine casing, maybe a new engine but largely the aircraft is intact as it only occured as the aircraft was almost at taxi speed to vacate the runway.I wouldn't be so sure. Depending on the collateral damage resulting from a large chunk of the MLG being torn away, repairs to a 24-year-old B734 may not be economic.

[Navy_Adversary]

In a situation such as this, would the flight crew have declared a May Day or just communicate with the tower that the aircraft has a very serious problem?

I was also thinking of the Speedbird 744 which had a bump on the taxiway in South Africa.

[Burnie5204]

At 3am the big bright shower of sparks that would have come off it probably gave ATC the first clue.

[llondel]

How would they actually move that aircraft exactly an would it be damaged enough to be written off?
and
They were lifting it with airbags

I remember them using this with G-VSKY back in 1997, although that landed with gear up rather than have it fall off. Airbags can be transported more quickly than cranes capable of lifting the weight of an aircraft and presumably are favoured because it means faster removal if the crane doesn't happen to be close by.

[dogsbreath]

Just to make it clear, Jet2.com are not a charter airline, they could have just left their pax to rot. Instead of which they did all they could to mitigate the circumstances. Obviously O'Leary's outfit haven't got that far with their charm offensive, they just said tough. I know who I'd rather fly with.

[Sober Lark]

Who does their A and heavy maintenance checks?

[west lakes]

Watching a report on this evening's local news it was moved on a heavy haulage modular trailer.

[NutLoose]

This was them lifting it

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff321/taylortony/EMA/lift_zps481b4049.jpg

[KBPsen]

Wasn't there another 737 that left the right main gear in the grass at EMA a few years ago and then continued on? They just need a nose gear now and they will a complete set.

[Flying Wild]

Yes, a TNT 737 which then diverted to BHX. There is youtube video of that landing filmed from a police helicopter.

[Super VC-10]

KBPsen, time flies, it was 8 years ago now.

http://www.aaib.gov.uk/cms_resources.cfm?file=/5-2008%20%20OO-TND.pdf

[Trinity 09L]

Air Contractors B737-400SF @ East Mids (http://forums.airshows.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=59514)

[MarcK]

Good for them, but stacking airbags that high can be very dangerous if you aren't very careful with inflation. The preferred method is to use cribbing and only 1 or 2 airbags. I guess they were careful. My department doesn't even own that many airbags.

[N747EX]

Isn't it ironic their careers page shows a picture of a mechanic working on the LH main gear of a white 734! Talk about an accurate job description

[NutLoose]

Aircraft departed East Midlands today enroute to Kemble it is believed.

So it may be holding you up on the roads between.

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff321/taylortony/EMA/737depart1_zps3f3cd86a.jpg

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff321/taylortony/EMA/737depart_zpsfe4711ff.jpg

http://i536.photobucket.com/albums/ff321/taylortony/EMA/737depart2_zpsc074151a.jpg

[BigFrank]

What is the basis for this statement?

Which law, British or European, specifies this?

[NutLoose]

Frank, it may be to do with

Airlines braced for ''PPI-style'' compensation claims as Jet2 lose High Court battle with customer - Mirror Online (http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/airlines-braced-ppi-style-compensation-claims-3676834)

[BigFrank]

Thanks, Nutloose.

Total hyperbole the claim that this makes charter flight cancellations illegal as well as the nonsense spouted by the Mirror.

So what's new?

As the name of the EU law above makes clear,[EU2004/261] the law has been in place for 10 years !

About time the UK courts took cogniscance of it, isn't it?

Jet2 cannot just say "extraordinary circumstances" as a legal-jargon-synonym for "get lost."

The law has absolutely nothing to do with "charter airlines" and applies identically to all airlines.

Though it is very very far from clear that it applies equally to all airlines at/ in all EU jurisdictions.


(I am certain that fairly recently, yet another round of negotiations has begun to "update" this law. But no clear conclusions have been reached as far as I know.)

[BOAC]

My understanding (going back many years and pre-EU, thank heavens) is that a charter flight represents a contract between the airline and the booking company, and that failure to fly the flight AT SOME TIME would represent breach of contract. This did not, apparently, apply to scheduled flights which could be 'cancelled' as long as the booked passenger was given some sort of alternative. For the charter flight, the flight number had to 'fly' at some point. I think 'illegal' should read 'breach of contract' which is a little different. I can certainly remember DanAir Ops saying the same - about needing to operate the flight.

Of course this may/probably will have changed over the years, but I think the basis is still there. We are obviously into lawyer infested waters here.

[BigFrank]

Certainly in the last 40+ years.

EU2004/261 is as I said the kernel of the law now. Though supplemented by ealier treaties from Warsaw, Montreal etc.

But EU2004/261 is most definitely the first port of call.

[daikilo]

And this Q&A is very easy to read and remarkably explicit regarding the intent:
http://ec.europa.eu/transport/themes/passengers/air/doc/neb/questions_answers.pdf_reg_2004_261.pdf

BOAC: I'm thinking that you may be refering to the Dan Air contract with the Travel Company. In those days, you paid little, got little and were happy. Today we pay little, expect a lot and get very annoyed if everything is not perfect. And Europe, bless their socks, has ensured that things will cost more as provisions need to be made for delay costs, or, and this is important, the industry understands that if you think you can call yourself an airline with 3 clapped out aircraft flying 24-hours per day, you're dead. And that is probably what the average modern European actually now wants. Even holiday time is precious.

[BOAC]

Indeed, daikilo, as per my post "going back many years and pre-EU, thank heavens" when it was rare if not unkown to have a passenger buying an actual ticket on a charter flight. I don't even think there was any fixed concept of 'compensation' in those days even for scheduled pax.

[BigFrank]

Whilst old-stagers on here may be happy to berate the EU and glory in the days when passengers were streated like sheep (or do I mean sh---), anyone flying today and expecting a minimum of service from the carrier from whom the ticket has been purchased will say FOUR cheers for the EU and law EU2004/261.