744 F lost inboard flap, impacted fuselage and tail

[underfire]

"A MyCargo Airlines Boeing 747-400 freighter on behalf of Saudi Arabian Airlines, registration TC-ACM performing freight flight SV-931 (dep Sep 15th) from Dammam (Saudi Arabia) to Frankfurt/Main (Germany), landed on Frankfurt's runway 07R with the crew maintaining routine communication and taxied to the apron.
A post flight inspection revealed the right hand inboard trailing edge foreflap was missing from the airframe, the leading edge of the vertical stabilizer showed a dent, the fuselage a hole.
On Sep 18th 2018 Germany's BFU reported, the occurrence was reported to the BFU, the occurrence was rated an accident and is being investigated. Due to the ongoing investigation no further information like, whether the missing flap could be found/recovered or whether the crew did notice any anomaly and when, can be provided. Those details will probably become available in the preliminary or interim report respective final report."

[eckhard]

This is a known weakness in the 747 design. There have been numerous instances of fore-flap failures, jamming and separation over the years. I believe something similar happened on the maiden flight of the prototype in 1969?

[Webby737]

I remember showing the AAIB around a Garuda B747 (-200?) as an apprentice about 25 years ago. Exactly the same problem, they had lost the inboard fore-flap on approach to LGW. It made a nice hole in the fuselage, it must have been interesting for the pax sitting next to it.
We found the attachment bolts rattling around in the flap fairings but no sign of any of the nuts !

[Notso Fantastic]

Long ago, the RH inboard aft flap of a Classic BA 747 failed at one end on training circuits, swung around and burst in through door 4 and carried on spearing through several rows of seats. The photographs were chilling.

[DaveReidUK]

Originally Posted by Notso Fantastic

Long ago, the RH inboard aft flap of a Classic BA 747 failed at one end on training circuits, swung around and burst in through door 4 and carried on spearing through several rows of seats. The photographs were chilling.

BA had a number of 747 flap failures in the '70s, but if it's the one I'm thinking of (G-AWNB on a training detail from Prestwick in May 1975) it was a foreflap which ended up in the sea, but not before hitting 4R so hard that the door was forced inwards and debris from the door, chute, etc was scattered through the rear cabin (which was of course, happily, unoccupied).

[Wan Wei Luke]

I helped find and recover an inboard flap from a 747 in early 1998. It fell off an inbound flight to Kai Tak and instead landed directly on the numbers of the westerly runaway at CLK, a few weeks before that airport officially opened.

[megan]

Looking at the way the flaps bounce around on landing I've always been surprised how they manage to survive.

You Tube

[Atlas Shrugged]

If things don't flex, they crack!!

That first Silkway ship in the video is is one of the sexiest 74's I've seen for a while !!

[megan]

If things don't flex, they crack

I don't call all that jumping about flexing, to my eye it seems to be a result of play in linkages. Perhaps someone who KNOWS what s/he is talking about can comment. Even a single Cessna has flap slop.

[stilton]

Am I missing something ?

After watching the video of that Silkway
747 landing agree it is a bit firm


What I don’t understand is all the rudder
action, large deflections in both directions
all the way down


Yet there’s no wind, the windsock is limp

[Sqwak7700]

Wind not limp, but doesn’t look stronger than 7-10 knots. But you are still right, way too much rudder use there. There should only be one application and that right during the flare.

Almost looks like the pilot was concentrating on moving the rudder so much that they forgot to flare.