EVA Air's 777 hits pole during taxi at Toronto

[hayzel7773]

Why is there damage to the wing tip too? Part of the wingtip was dented and part of it was sheered off.

[Jet II]

Originally Posted by tdracer

Looks like the damage stops at the main spar - fortunate since if it penetrated further there would likely have been a massive fuel leak.

Its nowhere near the tank. Fuel tank stops at Rib 37 - the pole hit around Rib 47.

[JammedStab]

Originally Posted by IBE8720

I hope I am not understanding your reply. Are you trying to tell me that your wing could hit something and you may not notice it?

2 years ago, I hit a bird in an A320 and I felt the impact. Very slight, but felt it. Also heard it and even smelt it(bird went through the engine).
A wing hitting another aircraft.......

I believe that this is quite possible. And there can be a significant difference between hitting something a 400 km/h(which is only about 200 knots, and 10 knots.

As well, with all the bumps that one can feel from a taxiway from rough surface to centerline lights which can be quite loud, it wouldn't surprise me if a collision sound was misinterpreted as just another bump on one of the landing gear.

[hayzel7773]

Even the pax barely felt it. They described it as vibrations that happened twice before the plane suddenly just stopped.

[Capn Bloggs]

Originally Posted by IBE

Not to mention the unusual and unexpected force of being pulled to one side by hitting a stationary object secured to the ground.

Err, the pole was knocked over and yes, I agree with Jammed Stab... a multi-hundred tonne 777 is NOT going to do multi-360s just because it hit a skinny, frangible light pole.

Do you really think a 777 crew would just keep on going if they had any thought that they had hit something?

[JammedStab]

Originally Posted by IBE8720

I hope I am not understanding your reply. Are you trying to tell me that your wing could hit something and you may not notice it?

2 years ago, I hit a bird in an A320 and I felt the impact. Very slight, but felt it. Also heard it and even smelt it(bird went through the engine).
A wing hitting another aircraft.......

I have never taxied into something causing damage so I can't tell with first hand knowledge what it is like.

But, I give you some examples....

This 747 started taxiing while still being de-iced and knocked over two de-icing vehicles.

It is obvious that they didn't know that they hit anything because they only stopped suddenly after taxiing 95 feet due to an urgent message from the ground crew.
"After he had taxied 95 feet, the captain stopped the aircraft suddenly when he heard a radio message directing him to shut down the engines. The horizontal stabilizers of the aircraft had struck the telescopic booms of the de-icing vehicles, causing the occupants of the cherry-pickers to fall and knocking the de-icing vehicles over on their sides."

Transportation Safety Board of Canada - Aviation Investigation Report A95Q0015



These pilots hit the tow vehicle in their 747 after starting to taxi without clearance from the marshaller. The gash in the engine resulted in a significant fuel leak. The pilots thought that the impact was their nosewheels making the noise.

"The flight crew were not aware that a collision with the tow vehicle had occurred."

"During this right turn, the aircraft collided with the stationary tow vehicle. The outer side of engine number two (left inner) struck the front section of the tow vehicle, causing damage to, among other things, the engine nacelle and parts of the engine fuel system. The flight crew heard a light thud and a “juddering” during the turn, and thought that this was due to the nose wheel skidding on the ground during such a tight turn"

https://www.skybrary.aero/bookshelf/books/1369.pdf



If you listen to the youtube tape linked in the first post of this thread. You will hear the pilot say at 1:05 that "we didn't feel that we hit the pole, just the xxxxx of the aircraft".

[hoss183]

Originally Posted by IBE8720

I hope I am not understanding your reply. Are you trying to tell me that your wing could hit something and you may not notice it?

2 years ago, I hit a bird in an A320 and I felt the impact. Very slight, but felt it. Also heard it and even smelt it(bird went through the engine).
A wing hitting another aircraft.......

Lets take a gull, say 1kg, travelling at 400kt = 205m/s
Kinetic energy is = 1/2mv^2
Which for the gull would be 0.5 x 1 x 205 ^2 = 21, 012 Joules.

The lamp post is not so clear as we dont know its exact mass in the horizontal move, but lets say it was 100kg, being accelerated up to the speed of the taxiing a/c, lets say 15kt = 7m/s
Kinetic energy = 2450 joules

The lamp post imparts approx 1/10th of the energy that the bird does.