Metroliner Wheels Up Landing YBBN
Webtrak shows TFX141 doing airwork from 0128 to 0230 local. Looks like he did a couple of trips out over the bay and a couple of circuits before landing. There is a TFX arrival from BK just before 141 lands.
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Australia
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The Metro that did the landing at Hamilton in NZ broke the L/H dragbrace so the gear was partially sticking out on that side. From memory the l/h flap was hardly damaged but the keelsons were badly damaged and there was a large hole just aft of the cargo door.
Yep, I've seen those bulldozers lined up at every airport just itching to get out there and push wrecks off the runway
Sad to see the old thing like that, I spent many nights in her.
Join Date: Oct 2000
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Often the emergency selector on the floor gets kicked into the wrong position when the locking pin falls out. The location is vulnerable to being kicked and the pip pin falls out allowing the selector to rotate towards emergency/hand pump selection. Gear then becomes slow to move up or down when driven by engine driven pumps relying on leakage past the partially closed valve. This is reasonably common on a Metro, I have seen this defect half dozen times in 15 years on Metros. Usually resolved when crew does check list and fully selects the above mentioned valve into the emergency position, then pumps the gear down.
I don't agree that the metro has a good extend/retract system, the roller bearings that run on the steel cams that control the gear are particularly vulnerable to collapsing and causing jams.
Looks like no one was hurt which is the main thing. A bit of aluminium, few rivets, it will be just like a new one
I don't agree that the metro has a good extend/retract system, the roller bearings that run on the steel cams that control the gear are particularly vulnerable to collapsing and causing jams.
Looks like no one was hurt which is the main thing. A bit of aluminium, few rivets, it will be just like a new one
The emergency gear selector will certainly cause problems if it is selected to emergency (forward or partly so) position. This valve is normally open to allow hydraulic fluid to return to the reservoir from the return end of the right nose and both inboard main actuators. These are the actuators that are pressurised by the emergency hand pump to provide positive pressure for the down cycle of the gear in the event of a normal extension system failure. If this valve is not in its normal position it will cause slow retraction and most likely prevent the gear from retracting fully.
However this should only happen with a normal retraction cycle.
My experience with this valve was that it had little effect on the extension cycle.
Does any one know for sure if the flaps were available? If so this would suggest that the hydraulic system was not the root cause of the failure of the gear to extend.
That is not to say that there was not an electrical control problem with the gear system.
However if that was the case then the emergency extension should have been capable of getting the gear down.
It seems to me that this crew must have been faced with two separate problems with the gear.
The other possibility is that they were unable to extend one of the main legs and then they correctly followed the flight manual procedure and landed gear up. Does any one know if this was the case?
With all due respect to Cat1234 the Metro gear system is almost bullet proof although I agree that his senario is possible.
The investigation and report will be really interesting and may point to some possible defects that are really just appearing. Maybe the age/hours of the Metro's really are beginning to catch up with them.
However this should only happen with a normal retraction cycle.
My experience with this valve was that it had little effect on the extension cycle.
Does any one know for sure if the flaps were available? If so this would suggest that the hydraulic system was not the root cause of the failure of the gear to extend.
That is not to say that there was not an electrical control problem with the gear system.
However if that was the case then the emergency extension should have been capable of getting the gear down.
It seems to me that this crew must have been faced with two separate problems with the gear.
The other possibility is that they were unable to extend one of the main legs and then they correctly followed the flight manual procedure and landed gear up. Does any one know if this was the case?
With all due respect to Cat1234 the Metro gear system is almost bullet proof although I agree that his senario is possible.
The investigation and report will be really interesting and may point to some possible defects that are really just appearing. Maybe the age/hours of the Metro's really are beginning to catch up with them.