Air India Express plane hits Trichy airport compound wall

[Buzzing]

Air India Express plane hits Trichy airport compound wall, lands safely in Mumbai

Cause unknown as of now.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/trichy/air-india-express-plane-hits-trichy-airport-compound-wall-lands-safely-in-mumbai/articleshow/66173131.cms

[fdr]

Air India Express plane hits Trichy airport compound wall, lands safely in Mumbai

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/trichy/air-india-express-plane-hits-trichy-airport-compound-wall-lands-safely-in-mumbai/articleshow/66173131.cms


Wow, another lottery win for the passengers. There are easier and cheaper ways of removing masonry. Plane did well though,

[Capn Bloggs]

Was a BBBJ: Brick Bashing Boeing Jet.

[TWT]

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/air-india-express-737-suffers-belly-gash-after-strik-452626/

[ATCO1962]

That's a laugh.....pilots claimed they were unaware of the incident. Begs the question as to why they diverted to Mumbai.

[krismiler]

Shades of the “Bristol Cowboy”.
https://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1980/1980%20-%203937.PDF

[DaveReidUK]

That's a laugh.....pilots claimed they were unaware of the incident. Begs the question as to why they diverted to Mumbai.

Informed by ATC. Read the link.

[LeadSled]

Folks,
Reminds me of something similar years ago, forget where, up in NW India, but an Indian Airlines B737 but a truck on a local road that passed the runway centreline.
It was a nice hot day, and as I recall, the aircraft was well over the WAT limit weight.
In the final accident report, the poor sodding truck driver was lumped with 50% of the blame for driving legally along the public road.
Tootle pip!!

[krismiler]

Times of India reports 130 on board so even with a decent fuel load for Dubai and the usual excess baggage it shouldn't have been close to WAT limits on a night time take off.

[fox niner]

They had to travel horizontally through the localizer antenna to reach that low brick wall. If you were not aware of that as the plane ploughed through, you must have been totally oblivious to anything going on around you.

https://mobile.twitter.com/shukla_tarun/status/1050581391828836352

[B Fraser]

"The matter was conveyed to the pilot in command. The pilot in command reported that the aircraft systems were operating normally."

photo of the damage (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-45833239)

[BluSdUp]

So hitting the proverbial Brick Wall is no big deal!
Who would have known.
Great research.

Cpt B Rick

[Steve Zissou]

Obviously a Trichy departure :}

[sTeamTraen]

Shades of the “Bristol Cowboy”.
https://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1980/1980%20-%203937.PDF

I'm nicking this bit: "Khan reportedly has an agile style with official paperwork" :D

[aliwyatt]

How high was the wall? was the gear up before hitting the wall but after hitting and taking some of the fence? so many questions....

[On_The_Top_Bunk]

Did the wall not extend outwards to the main landing gear?

Was the gear up on contact?

[Octane]

I don't get it either. The wall looks to be 6 ft tall max, how could the landing gear not take it out? Surely the gear could not be stowed at an altitude of 6 ft?!

[kev2002]

My guess is it was the antenna that hit the wall, possible still attached to the aircraft at the time

[EDML]

Seeing all the damage to the belly of the A/C well behind the main gear they where already (barely) flying with a lot of pitch. Therefore the gear cleared the wall.

[short bus]

I watched a few Indian news reports of the incident on YouTube. There was a photo showing chain-link fencing stuck between the tires on the gear. Also, there are two sections of the wall missing, both approximately equal in size. The holes seemed to close together to be L/R gear though. But it was a quick glimpse.

​​​​Note, the wall was topped with chain link fence, which is obviously gone after this strike.

Also, there is a road immediately on the other side of the wall.

[DaveReidUK]

I don't get it either. The wall looks to be 6 ft tall max, how could the landing gear not take it out? Surely the gear could not be stowed at an altitude of 6 ft?!

Simple geometry.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/640x480/ph_cde_corendon_boeing_737_800_takeoff_from_schiphol_ams_eha m_the_netherlands_17may2014_pic_3_5bbc75f540da9f96da8b8a8626 8695f78ba4bc90.jpg

[short bus]

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/2000x1124/screenshot_20181012_101218_f977702880cf4aea17249aaa3e7e4bccc 8969240.png

[Stuart Sutcliffe]

India has many crews who, whilst having paid for their licences, certainly didn't earn them. The corruption within the DGCA has been widely reported.

[Rider320]

From what I heard At lift off the captain's seat got seat moved back from its position resulting in yoke going up and in reflex captain pushed the yoke which pushed the aircraft's nose down, resulting in these unfortunate incident.

[daved123]

Simple geometry.


Not a piiot here, but looking at the pic on BBC report, the belly gash looks to be situated between the L/R MLG, not further aft.
daved123

[DaveReidUK]

Not a pilot here, but looking at the pic on BBC report, the belly gash looks to be situated between the L/R MLG, not further aft.
daved123

Reports suggest that it was the belly of the aircraft that hit the localizer antenna, but the question asked was what had impacted the wall, which was the rear fuselage.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/535x290/index_d6ab3251fce256623026e0c9ed2df56cbf5c3d6a.jpg

[Mad (Flt) Scientist]

From what I heard At lift off the captain's seat got seat moved back from its position resulting in yoke going up and in reflex captain pushed the yoke which pushed the aircraft's nose down, resulting in these unfortunate incident.

I'm not sure how that would be consistent with the crew "not noticing anything wrong". (Not saying that this isn't true, just it's inconsistent with the reported crew "relaxed position" about nothing being amiss.

Reports suggest that it was the belly of the aircraft that hit the localizer antenna, but the question asked was what had impacted the wall, which was the rear fuselage.

So the scenario is the aircraft somehow gets upset at rotation (seat movement, whatever) and ends up being far too low and rips out the belly on the antennas, then the crew yanks back and presents the belly to the wall/fence? Except there's photos purporting to show elements of the fence (atop the wall) embedded onto the gear struts. So the gear hit something roundabout then too... I think "they were damned lucky" is about all we can really conclude!

[tonytales]

Definition of an airport - A clear space surrounded by obstacles
How could it pressurize with those gashes?

[short bus]

This is the best view I've found of the wall.

https://youtu.be/t9Ugn0jq_60

[RickNRoll]

This is the best view I've found of the wall.

https://youtu.be/t9Ugn0jq_60
that explains a lot. Wheels hit the wall. Gash from the localiser.

[DaveReidUK]

This is the best view I've found of the wall.

Good find.

That seems to negate the earlier suggestion that the two holes in the wall were too close together to have been produced by the mains - they appear to be consistent with the 737NG's track (5.72 m).

[Capt Quentin McHale]

tonytales,

By the look of damage from the existing photos on here, it is only superficial damage in and around the wheel wells and keel beam area and the fuselage pressure vessel has not been punctured/ruptured hence no loss of pressurisation (that we know of ???) By the look of the damage on the brick wall, I'd say both gears came into contact with the wall. Soooooo lucky that this was not a disastrous outcome!!!

McHale.

[krismiler]

From what I heard At lift off the captain's seat got seat moved back from its position

Anyone who flew older single engine Cessnas would know all about this.

[4runner]

Anyone who flew older single engine Cessnas would know all about this.

anyone that has ever flown in India will know all about this and lots of other happenings. We don’t hear 3% of the aviation shenanigans that go on in the subcontinent. This will be swept under someone’s desk, tea money will be put in an envelope, head bobbles exchanged and another crisis averted through journalistic dynamicism, lyrical skulduggery, archaic prose and feats of executive needful sabbatical misappropriation of the dutiful duties of his excellency the Vice Chairman Minister of aviation learning knowledge and Aerodrome awareness and reporting. India don’t change, India changes you.

[pattern_is_full]

Can anyone run these numbers? 738, trip length 1590nm/2491km, runway length 2427m/7963 feet, OAT 83F/23C.

[Icarus2001]

How could it pressurize with those gashes? There is a great deal of aeroplane outside the pressure vessel.

[Herod]

The picture of the wall says either a lot about the strength of Mr Boeing's aircraft or not a lot about the building skills of Indian bricklayers.

[sitigeltfel]

Did the wheels actually strike the wall or did they catch the chain link wire pulling out the supports and the sections of the wall they were embedded into?

[wideman]

The picture of the wall says either a lot about the strength of Mr Boeing's aircraft or not a lot about the building skills of Indian bricklayers.

One does not exclude the other.

[73qanda]

Can anyone run these numbers? 738, trip length 1590nm/2491km, runway length 2427m/7963 feet, OAT 83F/23C.
So many variables.
Assuming about 13T of gas, 170pax, nil wind, 26k engines, bleeds on, it would be at 35ft about 100m prior to the end of the runway using an assumed temp of 39 degrees. If they wanted to use full thrust it would be at 35ft about 400m prior to the end of the runway. V2 of about 150.
There are potentially other variables that would make quite a big difference though.

[pattern_is_full]

There are potentially other variables that would make quite a big difference though.
Yah - understood. But not inherently a tight squeeze. Thanks.

[EEngr]

This is the best view I've found of the wall.

https://youtu.be/t9Ugn0jq_60

From that clip, it looks like the main gear caught the top of the wall. Someone on scene with a measuring tape should check the distance between the two notches against the gear's width. Another photo (posted above) looks like some scuff marks on the inside of a tire.

[Chu Chu]

The bare, apparently undamaged, fence posts on either side of the damage seem to indicate that fence wasn't attached all that tightly. That suggests that the tires hit the masonry directly. But the fence could have been attached differently to different poles, I guess.

[packapoo]

This was done deliberately to guard against tripping up any tardy take offs......

[nicolai]

Shades of the “Bristol Cowboy”.
https://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1980/1980%20-%203937.PDF

Wow, the second page of that story ( https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1980/1980%20-%203938.html ) is quite something!

[Mini mums]

Wow, the second page of that story ( https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1980/1980%20-%203938.html ) is quite something!


Thankfully the son retired last year (finally) after 25,000 incident and accident free hours! Funny how his past kept coming back. Any former friends at KAL like to comment on the man who could talk under wet cement? Certainly Johnny Sadiq makes a wonderful reference to him in his book “Come Fly with me: Jets”.

Just as well Boeing still build strong airplanes!

[clivegore]

Why do India and some other countries build walls around airports . They are an obvious hazard .

[Storm Girl]

The picture of the wall says either a lot about the strength of Mr Boeing's aircraft or not a lot about the building skills of Indian bricklayers.
Brilliant!

[Icarus2001]

Why do India and some other countries build walls around airports . They are an obvious hazard . How far do you want to go from the end of a runway before allowing a small wall to be built?

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1024x683/aerial_view_of_london_city_airport_2007_78f20e795a8847630a4a 0ae4932071308fa586d7.jpg

[niksmathew24]

Apparently the inside news is that, as received from a friend in AI. The captain's seat got unlocked during the T/O roll and moved fully back. He got pulled back, control column was initially pulled then pushed fully forward. F/O took over and rotated at end of runway. I guess someone at mx will be scratching their heads now..

[fox niner]

The really big problem here is not the fact that they hit the localiser and/or wall. Or why they did so. The huge problem is that they initially continued toward Dubai, at FL360, despite the huge damage to the aircraft.
And I don’t believe any part of their story that they did not notice anything unusual during their takeoff run. Especially after all that photographic evidence.

[Rider320]

The really big problem here is not the fact that they hit the localiser and/or wall. Or why they did so. The huge problem is that they initially continued toward Dubai, at FL360, despite the huge damage to the aircraft.

That's what makes everybody surprised. I think the pilot's tried to save themselves by continuing their flight.

[underfire]

both landing gear impacted wall...https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1089x496/ikp1ecr_b16b5fed4be4ccba06c870b5029cfb9b96bb171c.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1846x598/mdfz6ia_1cea27a9d3b97e12bc211fc92929c07419fcee2e.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/650x400/se63cbbg_air_india_trichy_dubai_ndtv_625x300_12_october_18_6 58f4e4c21b6c48feaa1d907000e66de24c56005.jpg

[Octane]

Why do India and some other countries build walls around airports . They are an obvious hazard .

You are not supposed to be still in ground effect at the end of the runway! They took out equipment before they hit the wall anyway..

[underfire]

obstacles are to be below the 50:1 plane from the end of the runway. In many places there are walls to protect the airport grounds.

[krismiler]

In the MK Airlines crash in Halifax in 2004, the rear fuselage struck an earth berm supporting the localizer antennae 300 m beyond the end of the runway. This caused the rear fuselage to separate from the aircraft. Had the wall in Trichy been more a more substantial obstacle, we could have been looking at a repeat. Unfortunately airports can't always be built in ideal locations, the boom in air travel, particularly in developing countries has resulted in many airports carrying a much higher traffic volume of larger aircraft than they were designed to. Lax urban development controls have resulted in housing encroaching closer to runways than should be allowed. Many times I've operated into an airport and thought any over run would result in a disaster.

If the explanation regarding the Captains seat is correct, the question is was there a fault in the mechanism or was it not adjusted properly prior to take off ? As I'm not a B737 pilot, could someone perhaps explain how the seat adjustment works ? Is the seat moved manually requiring a pin to lock into a hole, which would explain the seat moving backwards on rotation if it was not secured correctly, or is another method used.

Cessna seats were so bad that many aircraft had a hole drilled and a bolt installed in the guide rail, to limit rearward travel in the event that the seat came unlocked.

[Anilv]

All the talk about the seat smells like damage control to me. When faced with the impending withdrawal of your flying privileges any excuse will do.

Anilv

[fdr]

Thankfully ”.

Indeed.

Marcellus summed up the industry well in 8 words.

[Passenger 389]

Didn't make it to Dubai. But was the flight to Mumbai long enough to overwrite the most critical portion of the CVR?

[DaveReidUK]

Didn't make it to Dubai. But was the flight to Mumbai long enough to overwrite the most critical portion of the CVR?

More than enough.

[Derfred]

The pilot seat moving full aft would be a horrible situation to contend with during rotation off a limiting runway.

If that is indeed what happened.

From my experience, the B737 seat rail mechanism is very robust. Even if the seat rail pin is not properly locked into the hole prior to takeoff, it will slide back and lock into the next hole with any aft movement (such as would be experienced during rotation).

Regardless, any pilot with any sense of self preservation would of course rock their seat fore/aft after adjustment to ensure it is locked in place.

I am lucky to work for an airline with an immaculate maintenance culture. However, I have once experienced a seat that did not lock in very well after adjustment. I of course ensured it was fixed prior to departure. I can’t remember exactly what was done, but it was probably just a lubrication.

If this is indeed what happened, the causal factor could turn out to be poor maintenance.

As for the pilots not being aware of the impact or damage, there are several examples of tail stikes (including localiser anntena strikes) by well-regarded airlines that the pilots were completely unaware of. The tail is a long way from a noisy cockpit, even in a B737.

I was a brick-layer’s labourer at some point before I was a pilot. Apart from learning how to swear properly, I also learned that a thin brick wall is very weak unless it is supported by another perpendicular brick wall or another strong structure. The wall in the video shows neither. You could probably push that wall down with the appendage between your legs if you saw anyone attractive enough. The 737 undercarriage sure as hell wouldn’t be bothered by that “so called wall”.

Sheesh, the tyres were still inflated after the impact with the brick wall. Brick Smish.

[Timmy Tomkins]

anyone that has ever flown in India will know all about this and lots of other happenings. We don’t hear 3% of the aviation shenanigans that go on in the subcontinent. This will be swept under someone’s desk, tea money will be put in an envelope, head bobbles exchanged and another crisis averted through journalistic dynamicism, lyrical skulduggery, archaic prose and feats of executive needful sabbatical misappropriation of the dutiful duties of his excellency the Vice Chairman Minister of aviation learning knowledge and Aerodrome awareness and reporting. India don’t change, India changes you.
A brilliant summation