Delta One LHR-JFK return to LHR?
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Delta One LHR-JFK return to LHR?
Delta 767 just gone over my house sounding like a Wellington bomber. Currently 4000ft circling to the west of LHR. Delta one LHR-JFK. Looks like now on approach to reland at lhr.
Join Date: Oct 2000
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Propellerhead. I suspect it was held on radar, often the best way to deal with the situation.
Excuse my ignorance, Dave, but what is the RAT please? Thanks.
Excuse my ignorance, Dave, but what is the RAT please? Thanks.
reported bird strike? returned to LHR
Ram Air Turbine. small fan which deploys into the airflow to provide electrical power generation.
There is a hydraulic driven generator that can be used to generate electrical power if needed., however the RAT is primarily intended to provide hydraulics to the flight control surfaces in the event of a dual engine power loss.
BTW, the RAT is known to be extremely noisy when deployed.
What would be the scenarios for a RAT deployment, while still apparently having sufficient engine power to hold and then return?
A "just in case" deployment due to ratty (
) engine indications? Or might an accidental RAT deployment itself have been the reason for aborting the flight?
A "just in case" deployment due to ratty (
) engine indications? Or might an accidental RAT deployment itself have been the reason for aborting the flight?
I missed seeing this but Mrs PB -ex BA Ops and an airport child said she heard an extremely unusual noise and an aircraft that seemed to be going no where, on LHR easterlies things just fly past Camberley.
I am sure ATC had it all under control but orbiting a widebody at 4000 ft over a fairly populated area seems a slightly odd choice-a few miles west and its very open all the way to Basingstoke. Also on easterlies quite lot of Inbounds off Ockham pass between Camberley and Bracknell at 4-6000 feet .
Ever had to hold someone this close in to LHR Mr HD?
I am sure ATC had it all under control but orbiting a widebody at 4000 ft over a fairly populated area seems a slightly odd choice-a few miles west and its very open all the way to Basingstoke. Also on easterlies quite lot of Inbounds off Ockham pass between Camberley and Bracknell at 4-6000 feet .
Ever had to hold someone this close in to LHR Mr HD?
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What would be the scenarios for a RAT deployment, while still apparently having sufficient engine power to hold and then return?
A "just in case" deployment due to ratty ( ) engine indications? Or might an accidental RAT deployment itself have been the reason for aborting the flight?
A "just in case" deployment due to ratty (
) engine indications? Or might an accidental RAT deployment itself have been the reason for aborting the flight?Once deployed, the RAT stays out until maintenance can re-stow it on the ground. So, they had the pinwheel buzz going all the way.
Needless to say, the feds weren't happy and didn't wait for the mailman to deliver the captain's license revocation, it was delivered in person:
The agency delivered the revocation to the pilot, John Henry Gilfoil of Los Altos, Calif. An agency spokeman, Fred Farrar, called the revocation of Captain Gilfoil's airline transport pilot certificate a ''drastic and unusual action.''
Captain Gilfoil was flying a Boeing 767 on Delta's Flight 810 from Los Angeles to Cincinnati on June 30 when the power failed at about 1,700 feet. None of the 197 passengers or eight crew members were injured in that plunge that lasted about a minute before the crew was able to restart the engines.
The aviation agency said Captain Gilfoil had violated Delta and F.A.A. regulations and ''operated Flight 810 in a reckless manner so as to endanger life and property.''
Captain Gilfoil was flying a Boeing 767 on Delta's Flight 810 from Los Angeles to Cincinnati on June 30 when the power failed at about 1,700 feet. None of the 197 passengers or eight crew members were injured in that plunge that lasted about a minute before the crew was able to restart the engines.
The aviation agency said Captain Gilfoil had violated Delta and F.A.A. regulations and ''operated Flight 810 in a reckless manner so as to endanger life and property.''
Boeing was not amused either but later relocated some switches to make the knobology less challenging.
A Boeing Co. official said Thursday that there is no ready explanation of how a veteran airline captain activated the wrong controls--pulling two round fuel cutoff knobs instead of pushing a square button two inches away--and caused a Delta Boeing 767 to plunge within 600 feet of the Pacific after taking off from Los Angeles International Airport.
The pilot, according to federal investigators, reacted to an amber warning light telling him there was a problem with the engines' fuel flow. The Boeing official said the original fuel problem was not critical and could have easily been corrected by pulling back the throttle and pushing the square button.
"One's a square button and the others are round knobs," said Elizabeth Reese, the spokeswoman for Seattle-based Boeing. "How could he make such a mistake? That's a good question."
The pilot, according to federal investigators, reacted to an amber warning light telling him there was a problem with the engines' fuel flow. The Boeing official said the original fuel problem was not critical and could have easily been corrected by pulling back the throttle and pushing the square button.
"One's a square button and the others are round knobs," said Elizabeth Reese, the spokeswoman for Seattle-based Boeing. "How could he make such a mistake? That's a good question."
I'm not aware of an accidental B-767 RAT deployment airborne but I've sure heard of it on preflight. More than once, someone is reaching for the battery switch on the overhead panel and somehow pushes the guarded RAT switch instead. The RAT deploy mechanism is powered by the hot battery bus so the RAT will pop out even if the battery switch is off. Not a great way to impress your coworker who may be doing the walkaround while you are inside setting up the cockpit.
I can well remember going on an air test in a DC-10 which involved deploying the RAT. It made a hell of a noise and created quite a bit of vibration. I seem to remember that the RAT was cleared for M.82 but 210 knots IAS was enough for me!
