Ed Force One - Iron Maiden's B747 damaged on the ground in SCEL
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Ed Force One - Iron Maiden's B747 damaged on the ground in SCEL
This morning, in SCEL, Ed Force One suffered a damage to its engine no.2. Still investigating what happened.
Sorry, I haven't found a link in English... Insólito: Avión De Iron Maiden Resultó Dañado En Aeropuerto De Santiago De Chile - ModoCharlie
Sorry, I haven't found a link in English... Insólito: Avión De Iron Maiden Resultó Dañado En Aeropuerto De Santiago De Chile - ModoCharlie
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Google Chrome translation:
In a story that is going around the world, the Boeing 747 'Ed Force One "Iron Maiden was at least one of the engine nacelles damaged this morning at the Arturo Merino Benitez Airport, Santiago de Chile. The fact was registered in this that has led laps in social networks, where shown at least external damage to the nacelle engine No. 2 (wing left, just in case) image.
We are waiting for further information, both aerodino repair, as the aircraft in which the rock group have to move to the city of Cordoba in Argentina.
In a story that is going around the world, the Boeing 747 'Ed Force One "Iron Maiden was at least one of the engine nacelles damaged this morning at the Arturo Merino Benitez Airport, Santiago de Chile. The fact was registered in this that has led laps in social networks, where shown at least external damage to the nacelle engine No. 2 (wing left, just in case) image.
We are waiting for further information, both aerodino repair, as the aircraft in which the rock group have to move to the city of Cordoba in Argentina.
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another post here again not in English but with a lot more photos.
Looks like a fuel truck went into it but could be wrong....
Ed Force One: avião do Iron Maiden se envolve em acidente no Chile ~ IRON MAIDEN 666 - BRASIL
Looks like a fuel truck went into it but could be wrong....
Ed Force One: avião do Iron Maiden se envolve em acidente no Chile ~ IRON MAIDEN 666 - BRASIL
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The Link above is in Portuguese... It says...
Um acidente no Aeroporto Internacional Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez em Santiago, capital do Chile, danificou dois motores do Ed Force One, Boeing 747-400 do Iron Maiden. Segundo as primeiras notícias, um veículo na pista teria se chocado com a aeronave da banda.
Ainda não há informações sobre a gravidade do acidente e suas consequências para os planos da banda, que deveria seguir para a Argentina e depois para o Brasil após o show na capital chilena.
Mais fotos e informações em breve...
An Accident at the International airport in Santiago, capital of chile, have damaged two Engines of Ed Force One, Iron Maiden's 747-400. According to initial reports, a ground vehicle may have colided with the bands aircraft [this part is deliberately vague as it isn't saying who hit whom]
There is still no information regarding the seriousness of the accident and its consequences on the bands plans, the band should be leaving for Argentina and then onwards to brazil are the show iin the chilean capital.
More fotos and info shortly
Um acidente no Aeroporto Internacional Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez em Santiago, capital do Chile, danificou dois motores do Ed Force One, Boeing 747-400 do Iron Maiden. Segundo as primeiras notícias, um veículo na pista teria se chocado com a aeronave da banda.
Ainda não há informações sobre a gravidade do acidente e suas consequências para os planos da banda, que deveria seguir para a Argentina e depois para o Brasil após o show na capital chilena.
Mais fotos e informações em breve...
An Accident at the International airport in Santiago, capital of chile, have damaged two Engines of Ed Force One, Iron Maiden's 747-400. According to initial reports, a ground vehicle may have colided with the bands aircraft [this part is deliberately vague as it isn't saying who hit whom]
There is still no information regarding the seriousness of the accident and its consequences on the bands plans, the band should be leaving for Argentina and then onwards to brazil are the show iin the chilean capital.
More fotos and info shortly
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On closer look at the pictures again, it looks like the tug to push/tow the aircraft tried to take a short-cut under the left wing but failed. Miserably. The cab of the tug has been ripped clean off and hydraulic fluid I am guessing from the tug has gone everywhere. Someone is now jobless....
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Ed Force One was this morning tethered to a tow truck to be taken for refuelling prior to flying over the Andes to Cordoba for the next show. On moving the steering pin that is part of the mechanism that connects the ground tug to the aircraft seemingly fell out. On making a turn the aircraft had no steering and collided with the ground tug badly damaging the undercarriage, two of the aircrafts engines and injuring two ground tug operators, both of whom have been taken to hospital. We hope of course that they make a full and speedy recovery and we will be closely monitoring their progress. The flight engineers are on site and evaluating the damage, but their initial report is that the engines have suffered large damage and will require an extended period of maintenance and possibly two new engines.
We are currently making contingency arrangements to get to the show in Cordoba tomorrow with band, crew and equipment intact. Fortunately the 20 tons of equipment had not been loaded onto Ed Force One at the time of the accident. Although this is tragic for our beautiful plane we do not expect this to affect our concert schedule including the next 2 shows in Cordoba and Buenos Aires. And we hope to find a new Ed Force One to continue this adventure with us in the near future. We will keep everyone updated when we know more, so keep checking only on this site for official news.
To finish on a high note however, our visit to Chile was a huge success with 58,000 fans coming to the show as totally brilliant as ever in the Stadium Nacional last night. We love you guys!
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just looking at the pictures of the tug and the wording of the press release. you can see the towbar is still attached to the tug and the tug is at a right angle to the aircraft.
I believe that the training for a tug driver says in the event of a separation you should accelerate out of the way of the aircraft as fast as you can and that it is the responsibility of the person on the aircraft brakes to stop the aircraft. if I am correct then one possible scenario is a towbar separation which was noticed by the tug which then turned sharp left to get out of the way, the brakeman however did not notice the separation or was not able to stop the aircraft in time and effectively ran the tug over.
and before anyone asks it is not that common for the tug to be in contact with the aircraft during a towing operation.
I believe that the training for a tug driver says in the event of a separation you should accelerate out of the way of the aircraft as fast as you can and that it is the responsibility of the person on the aircraft brakes to stop the aircraft. if I am correct then one possible scenario is a towbar separation which was noticed by the tug which then turned sharp left to get out of the way, the brakeman however did not notice the separation or was not able to stop the aircraft in time and effectively ran the tug over.
and before anyone asks it is not that common for the tug to be in contact with the aircraft during a towing operation.
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and before anyone asks it is not that common for the tug to be in contact with the aircraft during a towing operation.
Edited to add that I'm not talking about jockeying bizjets around an FBO ramp, but moving commercial heavies around without tug-flightdeck comms is nuts, and at my home base, if you don't have comms due to APU inop or whatever, you get an Airfield Ops escort.
Last edited by sb_sfo; 12th Mar 2016 at 16:25. Reason: clarity
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My bet is that the steering lockpin fell out during the tow. Can't tell from the picture, but I would bet that the towbar head is still attached to the airplane. For those that aren't familiar, the 747 steering pin has a spring-loaded ball about halfway down the pin length to lock it in place, but they have fallen out before. If the ground handler used a 777 pin instead (same diameter, but the locking ball is at the end) you could expect a similar result as this. UA modified their 747 fleet to use a longer pin that drops in from the top, as gravity is your friend, but most other operators left theirs unmodded to insert the pin from below.
If the pin drops out during a tow, the next turn you make with the tug will have the hydraulic pressure centering the gear, and the shear bolts will break, leaving the tow head on the aircraft and the tug/bar combination wandering free. If the tug is turning, it will continue, and the aircraft will go straight until it piles into the tug, generally with the results seen here.
If the pin drops out during a tow, the next turn you make with the tug will have the hydraulic pressure centering the gear, and the shear bolts will break, leaving the tow head on the aircraft and the tug/bar combination wandering free. If the tug is turning, it will continue, and the aircraft will go straight until it piles into the tug, generally with the results seen here.
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Happens more often than you'd like to believe. I assume that the front bit of the towbar is still stuck to the aircraft and the shear pins did their job and popped the bar off, only for the aircraft to run over the tug.
None of the airports I've worked at have had mandatory communication between tug and engineer/brake rider during towing so I doubt they were in communication either.
Hoping for a speedy recovery for the two tug guys
None of the airports I've worked at have had mandatory communication between tug and engineer/brake rider during towing so I doubt they were in communication either.
Hoping for a speedy recovery for the two tug guys
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Whether comms between a towed aircraft and the tug is mandated or not, it's stupid and unprofessional to do without. A DC headset is about $250, and a good extension cable from these folks Cables is about $110. I wonder what the insurance company that is going to pay for the damage to this aircraft is going to say about the ground handler that is too cheap to buy the proper equipment to do the job?
And, if you're towing without comms, how in the world are you going to get the word to the tug to yield to traffic, change of tow route, et cetera?
Note to beancounters: Yeah, you can probably get away with this 99 times out of 100, but that 1 time will bite you real good. 2 guys in the hospital, minimum $3,000,000 damage to the airplane, high drag/side load pylon inspection, the cab ripped off the tug, and god knows how much for the trip interruption and negative publicity. Smart move, that. The difference between third-world and first-world aviation can be seen right here.
And, if you're towing without comms, how in the world are you going to get the word to the tug to yield to traffic, change of tow route, et cetera?
Note to beancounters: Yeah, you can probably get away with this 99 times out of 100, but that 1 time will bite you real good. 2 guys in the hospital, minimum $3,000,000 damage to the airplane, high drag/side load pylon inspection, the cab ripped off the tug, and god knows how much for the trip interruption and negative publicity. Smart move, that. The difference between third-world and first-world aviation can be seen right here.
Edited to add that I'm not talking about jockeying bizjets around an FBO ramp, but moving commercial heavies around without tug-flightdeck comms is nuts, and at my home base, if you don't have comms due to APU inop or whatever, you get an Airfield Ops escort.
Operators across the airport have done it like that for more than a decade, yet to have an accident.
Different when you're using a towbar though. Then you need someone riding the brakes, but there are no requirements to maintain intercom contact. But nobody here ever uses a towbar for towing anymore, just for push-backs.
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to clarify with the coms, the aircraft and the tug would both be in contact with ATC but the aircraft and the tug would probably not be in contact with each other. this is certainly not uncommon in Europe, I am sure there would have been coms during the pushback but possibly not in the tow.
to clarify with the coms, the aircraft and the tug would both be in contact with ATC but the aircraft and the tug would probably not be in contact with each other. this is certainly not uncommon in Europe, I am sure there would have been coms during the pushback but possibly not in the tow.