Go Back  PPRuNe Forums > Ground & Other Ops Forums > Engineers & Technicians
Reload this Page >

Boeing 777 "knocking" query

Wikiposts
Search
Engineers & Technicians In this day and age of increased CRM and safety awareness, a forum for the guys and girls who keep our a/c serviceable.

Boeing 777 "knocking" query

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 13th Feb 2019, 12:11
  #1 (permalink)  
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Lincs
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Boeing 777 "knocking" query

Hi, I'm not technically qualified as aircraft go, but wonder is anyone canthrow a little light on a recent flight I was on.

The 777/300 had just taken off from Bangkok and I was sat over the wngs by the right hand side window. I found it rather disconcerting when,from below the floor, a heavy thumping could be felt. This would happen, three or four knocks, then stop for a while and then start again. this continuied to go on for about and hour into the flight then it stopped.
I brought this to the attention of the cabin crew, but felt I was rather fobbed off as nothing to be cocerned about.
Could anyone enlighten as to what the cause of this knocking could be. I know it's a long shot, but would be very interested to replies.
wyrwb1 is offline  
Old 13th Feb 2019, 13:10
  #2 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Mordor
Posts: 1,315
Received 54 Likes on 29 Posts
An asylum seaker...



PDR
PDR1 is offline  
Old 13th Feb 2019, 14:39
  #3 (permalink)  
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Lincs
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Funnily enough that thought did occur to me.
wyrwb1 is offline  
Old 13th Feb 2019, 15:51
  #4 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Mordor
Posts: 1,315
Received 54 Likes on 29 Posts
I stress that this was a joke!

PDR
PDR1 is offline  
Old 13th Feb 2019, 17:05
  #5 (permalink)  
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Lincs
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Yes I realise that, but the thought really did occur to me.
i don’t know what is below that part of the floor and having 1000’s of miles to fly with the knocking, it was somewhat disconcerting.

Last edited by wyrwb1; 13th Feb 2019 at 17:19.
wyrwb1 is offline  
Old 13th Feb 2019, 19:49
  #6 (permalink)  

Avoid imitations
 
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Wandering the FIR and cyberspace often at highly unsociable times
Posts: 14,573
Received 422 Likes on 222 Posts
Maybe the co-pilot had locked the captain out of the cockpit.
ShyTorque is online now  
Old 14th Feb 2019, 02:56
  #7 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Thailand
Age: 81
Posts: 601
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes on 2 Posts
"About an hour into the flight"? Perhaps it was hydraulics being used until it reached the cruise when all systems should have settled down?
oldpax is offline  
Old 15th Feb 2019, 07:40
  #8 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: The Winchester
Posts: 6,553
Received 5 Likes on 5 Posts
Difficult to guess...

You do sometimes gets clunks if a cargo container is slightly lose in it’s locks so that would be a candidate if you were sat towards the trailing edge of the wing, but if you were further forward, e.g, very close around Door 3 on a -300 you are not above the holds, you are sat above major components of the air conditioning system, the centre wing fuel tank with it’s associated pumps, valves,plumbing etc, and the main gear bays. I’m not sure what is meant by the hydraulics settling down...there’s certainly a lot of hydraulic system action during gear retraction but after that no so much and a lot of the system associated with the gear is actually depressurised once the gear is sat in it’s uplocks.

wiggy is offline  
Old 15th Feb 2019, 09:40
  #9 (permalink)  
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Lincs
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I was sat about 5 rows back from the door, pretty much just rear of the centre of the wing.
i don’t know if the pilot did anything or was even aware of the knocking, but strange that it stopped, never to reappear, after a couple of hours flight.
wyrwb1 is offline  
Old 15th Feb 2019, 16:40
  #10 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Dec 1998
Location: .
Posts: 2,994
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
recirc fans!
spannersatcx is offline  
Old 15th Feb 2019, 18:16
  #11 (permalink)  
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Lincs
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
This knocking was a “solid” thumping under the floor. Never experienced anything like it on any other flight and I have been on a few.
wyrwb1 is offline  
Old 19th Feb 2019, 14:15
  #12 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: In the southwest of it
Posts: 16
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
There are a couple of possibilities; on most airplanes, the wings are attached to the fuse., by "male and females"
castings; a bushing goes across the hole and a close tolerance bolt attaches everything...
Years ago, we experienced the same issue, and finally they increased the tolerances between these parts , allowing them to "float": problem solved.

The other possibility is air in the hydraulic system; the banging can be quite alarming if you don't know the cause of it.
wrenchalot is offline  
Old 25th Feb 2019, 22:22
  #13 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: Norfolk
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Lumps of ice in the mixing manifolds. Aircon would have been on high cold on the ground in Bangkok.
Gibson9 is offline  
Old 28th Feb 2019, 12:32
  #14 (permalink)  
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Lincs
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Seems a good theory to me, although I have no idea what was below me. But, as I say, after a couple of hours there was no more bother.
wyrwb1 is offline  
Old 24th Mar 2019, 16:22
  #15 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Cyprus
Age: 39
Posts: 35
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
most likely the center hydraulic system ADP to assist center hydraulic demand during take off


lochias is offline  
Old 24th Mar 2019, 18:58
  #16 (permalink)  
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Lincs
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Thanks for that all you guys. Very interesting to have more of an idea what’s going on down below and what could have been the knocking.
wyrwb1 is offline  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off



Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.