Southwest Airlines jet catches fire after landing in Houston
Join Date: Aug 2008
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Well done ATC too
Seems the crew did OK.
Listening to the ATC recording, I was impressed by the calm way the controller handled things too, telling the pilot what she'd seen, then just getting on with re-directing other aircraft. I reckon the controllers deserve a credit mention too.
Listening to the ATC recording, I was impressed by the calm way the controller handled things too, telling the pilot what she'd seen, then just getting on with re-directing other aircraft. I reckon the controllers deserve a credit mention too.
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If paasengers arrive at an exit with handbaggage let them exit with them.
It can take longer and cause more delay trying to wrestle it off them.
Having said that the man in question was an absolute idiot to worry more about his bag than his life
It can take longer and cause more delay trying to wrestle it off them.
Having said that the man in question was an absolute idiot to worry more about his bag than his life
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Thanks for the inputs Brian. From the reports that are out now it appears they had a locked brake on landing thus causing the tire(Tyre for you Brits ;-) ) to blow. From the video it looks like both tires must have been flat. The right engine nacelle looks very close to the ground as if both tires are down.
I'll call my buddy who flies for SWA and get the real scoop.
I'll call my buddy who flies for SWA and get the real scoop.
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The irony is if the man had left his briefcase on the plane, his (or worse, his client's) papers would've been safely stowed rather than lost all over the tarmac. It could be an important contract or someone's will ... 
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good job and yes that clown of a pax, threw his brief case down the slide first and then followed......flustered at the end of the steps gathering his crap. That fire could have been sooo much worse.
to the crew......why the tyre deflated, well thats for the investigators.
to the crew......why the tyre deflated, well thats for the investigators.
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Not following instructions is not a gender issue.....
Peter,
It's not just the "women", how about the bloke with his briefcase who ends up chasing papers? Nothing personal, but your focus on "stupid women" seemed out of place
It's not just the "women", how about the bloke with his briefcase who ends up chasing papers? Nothing personal, but your focus on "stupid women" seemed out of place
Plumbum Pendular
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The pilots should be chastised for carrying out a landing which caused the tyre to burst and catch fire.
They should be then further chastised for not seeing the fire immediately and evacuating straight away, engines running or not.
The CC should be chastised for not realising straight away that there was a fire and initiating and evacuation immediately.
The CC should further be chastised for not wrestling bags off the PAX no matter how much that might block the exit.
The fire services should be chastised for taking so long to get to the aeroplane, how come they were not there waiting and ready!!!
They should then be further chastised for using the wrong extinguishant!!
They should be then further chastised for not seeing the fire immediately and evacuating straight away, engines running or not.
The CC should be chastised for not realising straight away that there was a fire and initiating and evacuation immediately.
The CC should further be chastised for not wrestling bags off the PAX no matter how much that might block the exit.
The fire services should be chastised for taking so long to get to the aeroplane, how come they were not there waiting and ready!!!
They should then be further chastised for using the wrong extinguishant!!
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fmgc
one reason to have a forum like this,,to argue and ventilate!
I think the most people that argue about "the long time" already understand and no longer have that impression,,they listen and learned
one reason to have a forum like this,,to argue and ventilate!
I think the most people that argue about "the long time" already understand and no longer have that impression,,they listen and learned
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fmcg,
I don't know if you are being serious or not. An immediate evacuation is not always the best way to deal with a fire. If it is possible that the fire can be contained and extinguished then it may be much safer for the passengers to stay on board at least until the true extent of the danger is known. If the behaviour of those passengers is any indication then imagine the chaos and injuries if they had evacuated from a much larger aeroplane, acheiving nothing but preventing the fire services from doing their job efficiently. It's all a difficult matter of judgement, based on as much information as you can gather but fire should not automatically indicate evacuation.
I don't know if you are being serious or not. An immediate evacuation is not always the best way to deal with a fire. If it is possible that the fire can be contained and extinguished then it may be much safer for the passengers to stay on board at least until the true extent of the danger is known. If the behaviour of those passengers is any indication then imagine the chaos and injuries if they had evacuated from a much larger aeroplane, acheiving nothing but preventing the fire services from doing their job efficiently. It's all a difficult matter of judgement, based on as much information as you can gather but fire should not automatically indicate evacuation.
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? Landing MEL = AntiSkid System Inoperative
Hmmm, dispatched with the AntiSkid System Inop???
NTSB Identification: CEN09IA294
Tuesday, May 12, 2009 ... Houston Hobby ... BOEING 737-3H4 ... N371SW ... landing on runway 22 (7,602 feet) ... three ... main landing gear tires blew-out ...
"...There were several inoperative items on the minimum equipment list (MEL), including the anti-skid system. A landing on runway 22 was required because of MEL landing weight restrictions.... in the touchdown zone of runway 22 and came to rest on the runway approximately 3,000 feet from the end. Smoke and fire became obvious soon after touchdown ..."
NTSB Identification: CEN09IA294
Tuesday, May 12, 2009 ... Houston Hobby ... BOEING 737-3H4 ... N371SW ... landing on runway 22 (7,602 feet) ... three ... main landing gear tires blew-out ...
"...There were several inoperative items on the minimum equipment list (MEL), including the anti-skid system. A landing on runway 22 was required because of MEL landing weight restrictions.... in the touchdown zone of runway 22 and came to rest on the runway approximately 3,000 feet from the end. Smoke and fire became obvious soon after touchdown ..."
Last edited by IGh; 9th Jul 2009 at 00:09.
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I had to order one evacuation in my airline career. It was a bomb threat and the push up stairs I asked for never showed up. I hated it when I said use the slides,because I knew people would be hurt but had no choice. Of coarse it was a false threat and we knew it probably was, but still we had to do the drill. I can understand the crew delaying the evacuation checklist until they knew they had to for the same reason. If they had declared an emergency in the air the fire trucks would have probably put the fire out and the evacuation wouldn't have been necessary. They didn't discover the problem until landing however.
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I think the crew did a fine job with the evac. It takes time to assess something you cant see, then inform the FA/s on what the problem is and more importantly where it is.
Bottom line is the evacuation proceeded quickly and out of the undamaged side of the aircraft.
The only thing I would change is to equip the FA's with a club, so that when the self important ignoramus appears with his luggage he/she can whack them on the head, thereby allowing the previously mentioned self important ignoramus, to slide down the slide without his precious and more important than any other life on the aircraft briefcase.
Well done SW
Bottom line is the evacuation proceeded quickly and out of the undamaged side of the aircraft.
The only thing I would change is to equip the FA's with a club, so that when the self important ignoramus appears with his luggage he/she can whack them on the head, thereby allowing the previously mentioned self important ignoramus, to slide down the slide without his precious and more important than any other life on the aircraft briefcase.
Well done SW
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I think the evacuation took too long to get started. "Assessing the situation", "checklists" -- not buying any of this. What's to assess? The plane's on fire! You need to get everyone off pronto. People die in plane fires -- sometimes many people. There are some sad examples of this such as Air Canada in Cincinnati, the Saudi L1011 fiasco in which 287 died:
Saudia Flight 163 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
After touchdown, the aeroplane continued to roll, and stopped on the taxiway 2 minutes 40 seconds after landing. The captain did not immediately order an emergency evacuation of the aircraft; rather the flight crew were instructed not to evacuate. The engines were not shut down for another 3 minutes and 15 seconds, preventing the rescue forces from reaching the aircraft. One final transmission was received after the plane stopped, indicating that the emergency evacuation was about to begin. With a delay in evacuating the passengers, fire consumed the aircraft on the ground, killing everyone aboard. The fire rapidly progressed forward through the cabin. All of the victims were found in the forward half of the fuselage, but no doors were opened. The cause of the lack of coordination of emergency efforts is not known.