FedEx 767 landing without left main gear extended
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One can oberve quite nicely from that vid, that this type of inertia reel does not block when passing locking speed - as the ones for high altitude workers do, as does your car seatbelt - but instead gives a constant rate of descend (depending on the weight attached). So no, the height difference would not have been a problem.
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As far as the cockpit rope evacuation, remember one of the FedEx MEM crashes where the crew was faulted for tossing out flight kits and Christmas presents before all the folks were out of the plane? Can't blame them for being anxious to get out with a report of flames trailing the plane on landing.
From the NTSB report:
Evaluation of a witness-provided videotape of the emergency evacuation showed that about 152 seconds passed between the time that the first and last occupant exited the burning airplane. During this time, the crewmembers did not evacuate the airplane in an uninterrupted flow. Although the captain and cockpit jumpseat nonrevenue pilot evacuated relatively quickly, the videotape showed delays between subsequent evacuating crewmembers. During these delays, the escape ropes were available but unused, and several pieces of baggage were thrown from the airplane. The elapsed time between successive crewmembers exiting the airplane was as much as 63 seconds. During postaccident interviews, several crewmembers reported that they were offloading bags while they waited in line to exit the airplane through the cockpit exits. During subsequent documentation of the cockpit, jumpseat, and cargo compartments, investigators found no crewmember baggage. It is evident that the delays were the result of the offloading of crewmembers personal bags and not because they were waiting for other crewmembers to exit or had difficulty using the cockpit egress system. The Safety Board concludes that most of the FedEx pilots on board the accident airplane showed poor judgment and exposed themselves to unnecessary risk when they delayed their evacuation from a burning airplane to salvage personal items.
After the accident, FedEx issued a bulletin to crewmembers that stated, During an emergency evacuation each crewmember and jumpseater will evacuate in the most expeditious manner possible. No one will take an unnecessary risk by taking time to salvage personal articles.
After the accident, FedEx issued a bulletin to crewmembers that stated, During an emergency evacuation each crewmember and jumpseater will evacuate in the most expeditious manner possible. No one will take an unnecessary risk by taking time to salvage personal articles.
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I heard (somewhere) that one or other of the crew broke his heel.
That is a quite a nasty injury, my father got it via Royal Air Force training.
Took ages to recover.
That is a quite a nasty injury, my father got it via Royal Air Force training.
Took ages to recover.
I have used the 747 inertia reel and found it to be a very comfortable descent! Near constant speed the whole way down.
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The bank looks a lot steeper on the frontal shot than on the other videos.
Does anyone actually train escape rope evacuations? We only had to try that once, many moons ago, from a much lower airplane, IIRC with a gymnastic mat placed on the floor (and a maintenance technician guarding the pitot tubes). It certainly didn't look elegant and I'd imagine it to be quite a challenge from a higher plane (and from any plane for someone who doesn't regularly use ropes and maybe with hands trembling after a hair-raising landing).
Does anyone actually train escape rope evacuations? We only had to try that once, many moons ago, from a much lower airplane, IIRC with a gymnastic mat placed on the floor (and a maintenance technician guarding the pitot tubes). It certainly didn't look elegant and I'd imagine it to be quite a challenge from a higher plane (and from any plane for someone who doesn't regularly use ropes and maybe with hands trembling after a hair-raising landing).
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Yep, during type training on 74 classic and 400 and md11, the diaper on the 74 is a pain in the ... but the descent is very controlled, worked as advertised. And you have the slide on the upperdeck, just give it a good kick ...
There were five reels installed on the B747 Classic. I remember one captain telling us that there were none for us. If needed, he’d have one in each hand, one foot in each of the other two and the fifth between his teeth. Just to be sure of a soft landing.
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The reporter in the clip above mentioned that the sparks resulted from one of the engines that was scraping "on the pavement". Weird runway at LAX if it has a pavement. Who is it there for? Has it a zebra crossing as well?
It's also insightful that the reporter considered the potential damage to the pavement and the consequent debris that might ensue. Perhaps he's an old Airfield Ops hand.
Every pod scrape and wheel rim gouging not only creates damage and FOD at the time but breaks the sealed surface allowing erosion and stone hazard until the runway is resurfaced. Routine runway inspections really have to concentrate on these areas. The most useful bit of kit in an Operations vehicle is a dust pan and brush...
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A few thoughts on aircraft recovery.
1. Fuel. Before recovery, it's a good idea to get as much fuel off as possible to reduce lifting effort required. Even at the end of a flight, I'd expect there to be several tonnes remaining. I'd doubt if LAX has any more bowsers available than large UK airports, i.e. none as all refuelling is done through on-stand hydrants. Even when a bowser of sufficient capacity is available, the fuel comeing off is considered contaminated and unless the airline agrees for it to be put in another of its own aircraft, disposal is problematic. Expect at least 24 hours for this to be arranged.
2. Removal of load. Really tricky, probably near-impossible with fuselage at an angle, to get equipment on. Also, likely requires power to aircraft to operate doors, powered floor etc (does the 767F have powered floor?)
3. Lifting the wing. The best method is airbags. Hopefully the various airports on the West coast have got together to pool some kit, it's not worth each airport having their own. The last lift of this nature I know a lot about was the Virgin A340 at Heathrow. The lift here was seriously hampered by the geometry of the domed runway pavement. Each time they attempted a jack, the angles would change with the danger of the whole thing slipping off. That recovery took nearly 3 days. Don't even think about strops and cranes. It's difficult to impossible to strop a fuselage without buckling it.
4. Repairs in situ to enable towing. Under-wing props are massive things, even getting one or two on-site is a big undertaking. Then there's the problem of getting a level surface (see above) and securing the site for safe working under the wing.
5. Assessing damage in situ before towing. Engines are held on by very few fastenings and are easily compromised - check out DC10 loss of engine on departure, O'Hare 1979. Nasty business if the pod falls off during the tow!
6. Actually, might be number 1, thinking about it. Getting someone to agree to do all this work in expectation of getting paid. Do FedEx have a comprehensive maintenance agreement with anyone at LAX? Do they have the resources to do the work? Will they insist on shipping in their own people and kit from elsewhere? It can be a nightmare getting these agreements in place. The airport authority have a vested interest in getting the wreck off their property although as the reporter said, it's quiet at the moment so not the same pressure as in normal times.
I guess now the initial drama and excitement have died down, we'll not hear too much about the detail of the recovery. Pity, this old Airfield Ops hand would like to see how they tackle this one.
1. Fuel. Before recovery, it's a good idea to get as much fuel off as possible to reduce lifting effort required. Even at the end of a flight, I'd expect there to be several tonnes remaining. I'd doubt if LAX has any more bowsers available than large UK airports, i.e. none as all refuelling is done through on-stand hydrants. Even when a bowser of sufficient capacity is available, the fuel comeing off is considered contaminated and unless the airline agrees for it to be put in another of its own aircraft, disposal is problematic. Expect at least 24 hours for this to be arranged.
2. Removal of load. Really tricky, probably near-impossible with fuselage at an angle, to get equipment on. Also, likely requires power to aircraft to operate doors, powered floor etc (does the 767F have powered floor?)
3. Lifting the wing. The best method is airbags. Hopefully the various airports on the West coast have got together to pool some kit, it's not worth each airport having their own. The last lift of this nature I know a lot about was the Virgin A340 at Heathrow. The lift here was seriously hampered by the geometry of the domed runway pavement. Each time they attempted a jack, the angles would change with the danger of the whole thing slipping off. That recovery took nearly 3 days. Don't even think about strops and cranes. It's difficult to impossible to strop a fuselage without buckling it.
4. Repairs in situ to enable towing. Under-wing props are massive things, even getting one or two on-site is a big undertaking. Then there's the problem of getting a level surface (see above) and securing the site for safe working under the wing.
5. Assessing damage in situ before towing. Engines are held on by very few fastenings and are easily compromised - check out DC10 loss of engine on departure, O'Hare 1979. Nasty business if the pod falls off during the tow!
6. Actually, might be number 1, thinking about it. Getting someone to agree to do all this work in expectation of getting paid. Do FedEx have a comprehensive maintenance agreement with anyone at LAX? Do they have the resources to do the work? Will they insist on shipping in their own people and kit from elsewhere? It can be a nightmare getting these agreements in place. The airport authority have a vested interest in getting the wreck off their property although as the reporter said, it's quiet at the moment so not the same pressure as in normal times.
I guess now the initial drama and excitement have died down, we'll not hear too much about the detail of the recovery. Pity, this old Airfield Ops hand would like to see how they tackle this one.
Last edited by TheOddOne; 21st Aug 2020 at 11:33.
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It's also what those in the roads sector and engineering in general refer to the road surface as. E.g. we have Pavement Management Systems and similar asset management tools, which deals with the entire paved area rather than just the occasional bit of what laymen would call a pavement. Which, incidentally, are actually called footways.
Why no slide, is it weight saving or disarming before ground crews pop the door.? The rope out the window is barely better than nothing I guess but would hate to be lying injured under a burning aircraft.
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I've updated the LiveATC audio I posted above with a better edit of the vectors for the emergency landing. The original Part 2 file did not have the correct edited ATC audio.
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Has the aircraft been recovered? Tried googling for any info - non found. Love to see time-lapse video or similar
Capt Quentin McHale
My guess is that he/she is referring to the brake reaction rod not being installed correctly.
My guess is that he/she is referring to the brake reaction rod not being installed correctly.