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LH engineer seriously injured at MAN 13th Nov

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LH engineer seriously injured at MAN 13th Nov

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Old 13th Nov 2008, 10:47
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LH engineer seriously injured at MAN 13th Nov

Morning,

details are sketchy at this time...

A lufthansa engineer has been seriously injured this morning when he was servising a Lufthansa CRJ,

The nose gear actually exploded causing life threatning injuries, i saw the fire and ambulance rush to the scene within minutes.


the service to hamburg has obviously been cancelled.
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Old 13th Nov 2008, 11:14
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Heard that tyre exploded during inflation, (removal of incorrect maintenance agent), guy has lost hand and possible other severe injuries.

Hope it's not that bad and he recovers soon.

Last edited by spannersatcx; 14th Nov 2008 at 10:35.
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Old 13th Nov 2008, 11:37
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was told by air field ops that both feets where blown off by the explosion

I wish him the best of luck
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Old 13th Nov 2008, 12:49
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We are just speculating as to the injurys, (I heard it was a hand and a foot lost).

What we should be thinking about is the wellbeing of the engineer, and hoping his injurys aren't as bad as we have heard...


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Old 13th Nov 2008, 14:20
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Am I correct in thinking it is Oxy Free Nitrogen that is used for tyre inflation? what sort of pressures are aircraft tyres inflated to?


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Old 13th Nov 2008, 14:35
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yes you are correct, nitrogen is used to pump aircraft tyres, as they can withstand greater amounts of force when compared to oxygen.

not sure what pressure a CRJ tyre is put under, but its no bigger than a kiddies bicycle tyre, even smaller perhaps,
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Old 13th Nov 2008, 14:55
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Thoughts are with the Eng who I may well know can anybody pm me his name ? Nitrogen is used as it is dry and inert, no corrosion problems etc. as there was with air. Oxygen is only used for inflating anything in error.
Not CRJ but Nosewheels typically 110 - 130 psi Mains 170 - 210 psi.
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Old 13th Nov 2008, 15:20
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Very sorry to hear of this incident and thoughts go out to the Eng and his family at this time

Tyre pressures on commercial jets rarely exceed 200 psi. Many incidents similar to this in the past have been caused by the use of faulty charging regulators (or no regulator at all!) Charging in Bar's instead of PSI has also caused some accidents.

Stay alert out there!
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Old 13th Nov 2008, 15:31
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My thoughts are with the engineer and his family ! I hope for a quick recovery...

Nitrogen is used as it is an inert gas thus will not explode due to heat after an RTO etc. The main gear on a 777 is at 220psi , 74's are similar with an A319/20 main gear being at 200psi.. The main causes are overinflation, ie using bar instead of psi - faulty guage etc or just a faulty wheel assembly.
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Old 13th Nov 2008, 15:35
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Devil

Terrible news following on from the EGR accident in TFS a few months back that claimed the life of a ground engineer. Once again shows easily the 'mundane' tasks can turn around and bite you in the backside. Lost count of how many wheels I've inflated but certainly makes you think
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Old 13th Nov 2008, 15:36
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not sure what pressure a CRJ tyre is put under, but its no bigger than a kiddies bicycle tyre, even smaller perhaps,

Might only be that size still deadly. I was about 10 feet from a piper aztec wheel that let go years ago - aircraft jacked up had trouble getting the retaining nut off the axle. when the retaining nut finally came off, there was a hell of a bang at which point the whole wheel left the aircraft, one half of the wheel hub cleared the hangar without touching the floor hitting the hangar wall about 50 feet away leaving the wheel about 10ft from the aircraft. the tire was about 2ft high lying on its side with the tube still inflated. cause ? the 6 wheel hub blots all sheared, only the axle hub bold holding the wheel on.

An aztec tire is all of 30 ish psi and about a foot in diameter ... so I will let you guess what a couple of hundred psi and a larger wheel can do.....

I just hope the guy is ok at the end of it
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Old 13th Nov 2008, 15:42
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so I will let you guess what a couple of hundred psi and a larger wheel can do.....
I've seen a tire burst that took off the landing gear doors.
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Old 13th Nov 2008, 17:05
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Just highlights the dangers that are all around us everyday.
Yet what is probably more dangerous, remove-ing wheels without deflating
Even when fitting a new wheel; put it on and torque it up before inflating, there's a better chance the halves will stay together if the hub is cracked.
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Old 13th Nov 2008, 17:38
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And deflate the tyre before you loosen the axle nut on removal....
Uninstalled tyres should only be filled if a proper safetycage is available (made out of heavy steel bars to catch flying debris), but on many line stations this is not availble. We have to inflate uninstalled wheels to get a shipset ready on our wheelchange trolley, so that we can change a wheel on a short turnaround if necessary without causing a delay.
Best wishes to the colleague.
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Old 13th Nov 2008, 20:28
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Some time since the last post. Like a previous post I know a Storm engineer and although not looking for a public identification wonder if there has been any news tonight as to his condition?

Hoping for better news.

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Old 13th Nov 2008, 20:50
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Flight Global reporting

"A Lufthansa CityLine technician at Manchester has apparently been seriously injured while servicing a Bombardier CRJ aircraft that was bound for Hamburg on a ferry flight.
There is evidence that the individual was injured by an explosion, and unverified reports point to a possible tyre burst.
A spokesman for the German regional carrier says: "There was an incident at Manchester Airport this morning involving a technician at Lufthansa CityLine. We have no further information about what happened at the moment.
"We can confirm, however, that a large bang was heard around the aircraft and the terminal building."
He adds that the technician is undergoing treatment at a local emergency unit for his injuries."

I too hope he is OK
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Old 13th Nov 2008, 22:31
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To me it serves as a powerfull reminder to always use the self locking inflation adaptor.
If the wheel should let go, at least you will not be right next to it!

Hope he recovers.
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Old 14th Nov 2008, 06:08
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Sir George.

For those who know Storm guys at MAN, it wasn't one of them, the person was indeed identified as a German national who had come to MAN to repair a tech Lufthansa CRJ aircraft, horrific incident and as an engineer who worked at MAN for many years and inflated many a tyre, i truly hope the guy makes a as full a recovery as possible.
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Old 14th Nov 2008, 08:08
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Things that go bang...

When I was working in Miami there was an incident in Hialeah (a suburb near the airport that had a lot of shops doing support work).

Someone got it wrong and inflated the tire of a tire/wheel assembly to 10 times the correct pressure, according to rumour. Anyway, the damned thing must have been tight like a banjo string because as it was being transported it exploded in the back of the white van and ripped the vehicle apart. The driver was lucky to get away with just being deafened instead of being killed.

This is just another reminder to stay away from the sides of high-pressure tires when possible. Of course we usually end up crawling around right next to them on a pre-flight when that is not a good idea!
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Old 14th Nov 2008, 08:28
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Terribly sad news.

Someone mentioned a comparison between the use of nitrogen and oxygen to inflate a tyre. The comparison should only be made between AIR and nitrogen. The use of oxygen for this purpose is highly likely to cause a chemical explosion.

I recall a tragic case at a caravan dealer (next to Blackbushe airport) where two young mechanics used a welding O2 cylinder to inflate a tyre. The resulting explosion blew off the rim of the wheel, into the face of one of them, decapitating him.

The use of oil or grease anywhere near an oxygen cylinder outlet is also likely to cause a similar explosive effect.

Just wanted to clarify this as some of us do come into contact with bottled oxygen and the dangers (of what seems an essential gas for life) can't be overstated.
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