QF A330-300 Door - rumour....

[blueloo]

Does anyone know if a catering truck took off (or severely damaged) a QF 330 buses door a few days ago?

[speedbirdhouse]

mm........

Catering trucks don't use L1.

Shades of the incident that occurred shortly after the aircraft was introduced domestically ??

[MELKBQF]

I believe the door was damaged by a set of mobile stairs. Due to works at the international terminal, some flights are being operated from remote stands.

[PitPin]

Correct !

The A/C settled after being loaded with Pax and frieght on to the mobile stairs . The mobile stair operating person made an incorrect input raising the stairs instead of lowering them resulting in part of the door hinge arm ending up in the galley . A/C is still in Hangar

[rammel]

Probably no spares here, they're all in MNL.

[employes perspective]

no just have to find some engineers to fix the bloody thing

[Capt Fathom]

Well they are only made of plastic! What would you expect?

[HotDog]

With all due respect Capt. it wouldn't matter what the door hinge was made of, it would break under the circumstances.

[Led Zep]

Nothing a staple couldn't fix.

[aulglarse]

Plastic? try fibreglass!

[18-Wheeler]

With all due respect Capt. it wouldn't matter what the door hinge was made of, it would break under the circumstances.

Nope.
When I was flying for a Pacific-based airline on 747's, we took one into Melbourne and when parked the aerobridge on door 1-left for no apaprent reason decided to wind itself all the way down.
It didn't make it, of course, as it was hung up on the door.
The door was visibly bend over a bit, but as the aerobridge was would back up it all seemed to spring back into shape nicely.
We had to cancel the flgiht to let the engineering chaps inspect the airframe carefully, and when our rest period was over we then took the plane back out to our little ilsand in the Pacific.
Apart from a few scratches in the fuselage, the plane was fine.

Mr Boeing knows how to build them tough enough for the real world.

[domo]

went to the terminal to fix doors hit by trucks/aerobridges a lot of lower gate damage, guide arm bearings and bent hinges even picked a 747-400 door up of the ground.boeing are good but an aerobribge goes fully down door comes off

[swh]

Originally Posted by Capt Fathom

Well they are only made of plastic! What would you expect?

The A330 door structure and hinge mechanism is all metallic. The window and inside trim is plastic.

Originally Posted by 18-Wheeler

Nope.
When I was flying for a Pacific-based airline on 747's, we took one into Melbourne and when parked the aerobridge on door 1-left for no apaprent reason decided to wind itself all the way down.
It didn't make it, of course, as it was hung up on the door.
The door was visibly bend over a bit, but as the aerobridge was would back up it all seemed to spring back into shape nicely.
We had to cancel the flgiht to let the engineering chaps inspect the airframe carefully, and when our rest period was over we then took the plane back out to our little ilsand in the Pacific.
Apart from a few scratches in the fuselage, the plane was fine.

Mr Boeing knows how to build them tough enough for the real world.

I would rather have a door come off to protect the real load bearing structure on the ground, then give people a false impression that aircraft are built indestructible and it comes off later when in the air. Boeing cannot redefine physics, we have seen more than enough in flight failures of your beloved Boeing's.

Yesterday a Nationwide Boeing 737 engine fell off the aircraft on takeoff at Cape Town, the engine had to be cleared off the runway for the aircraft to return to land.



This is not the first time for a Boeing, aware of similar events on 707 and 747 aircraft.

Kalitta Air 747 loss of engine in flight





I know Evergreen and ANA have also had an engines come off in flight from 747s.

Aircraft should not be designed so that doors do not come off when an aero bridge puts loads well in excess of normal design loads into the airframe, it is better to design them so that things break, you know something is damaged, and get it fixed. Same thing happens if the tug puts too much load on the nose wheel, the shear pin will fail.

What would you prefer, loss of an engine in flight, or a door at the gate ?

Taking an aircraft away to a hangar, having a look at an airframe does not present all of the damage to the engineers, they cannot "see" fatigue in an airframe. People only find that out several years later after many pressure cycles, when the door/door frame may fail. The incident with the aero bridge could put more stress into an airframe than a decade of regular service with pressure cycles.

History has shown that Mr Boeing does not know better than anyone else on how to build them tough enough for the real world.

The only real way to protect the aircraft from this of damage is to prevent it in the first place. But that is out of the hands of even Mr Boeing.

[Short_Circuit]

You have proven to us that Mr Boeing has built safe A/C what will still fly & land after throwing off an engine (as it is designed to do under excess loads). Will the Bus be so forgiving?

I admit that seeing part of the fan case in the last pic is not exactly how it is planned to happen, but you know what I mean.

[swh]

Did they come off due to excess loads ? Why does it not happen on a bus then, why don't they see the same excess loads ?

Will they come off always with excess loads (e.g. Lauda Air 767 thrust reverser deployment)

I have no idea if a bus would be as forgiving, as far as I know it has never happened on an bus. Closest would be the DHL A300 which was hit by a missile lost all hydraulics and landed again in Bagdad. As far as I am aware, a bus has never blown up/caught fire from a faulty fuel system, had a rudder hard over, inadvertent thrust reverser deployment etc

Mr Boeing does not know how to do things any better or worse. All I was trying to show is the silly flag waving is pointless, if Mr Boeing knew how to do things better, some of the 14,700 odd people lost in over 480 hull loss accidents in Boeing jets would have survived to be with us today.

[HotDog]

Will the Bus be so forgiving?

Airbus A300-400 hit by missile on T/O from Baghdad, losing all flight controls, landed back at Baghdad after one missed approach. Flight controlled solely by manipulating differential engine thrust. No further comment necessary.

[Short_Circuit]

Swh

I hear what you are saying.

I only wanted to point out they were all Boeings in pics and back on the ground.

That must be good.

I hope we never find out if a Bus can also make it back.

[Flight Detent]

Hi "18-Wheeler", I remember that incident in Melbourne, I was with you on that one!

PM me and let me know what you're up to these days!

Cheers....FD

[HotDog]

I hope we never find out if a Bus can also make it back.

Short Circuit, you obviously think the post above yours depicts a Boeing and not an Airbus.

[Capt Fathom]

Posted by Capt Fathom
Well they are only made of plastic! What would you expect?

Posted by swh
The A330 door structure and hinge mechanism is all metallic. The window and inside trim is plastic.

I obviously hit a raw nerve here, and the sensitivities of what would appear to be a crowd of Airbus lovers!!