UAL 757 - Texarkana
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UAL 757 - Texarkana
Jet has to land at Texarkana. .. .Fire interrupts United flight carrying 107 to San Francisco. .. .BY GREG BISCHOF TEXARKANA GAZETTE. . TEXARKANA - A fire in the cockpit of a United Airlines 757 forced the commercial passenger jet to descend from. .35,000 feet and make an emergency landing Tuesday at Texarkana Regional Airport.. .. . United Airlines Flight 275, which originated in Orlando, Fla., and was heading for San Francisco, carried 107. .passengers and crew members. No one reported injuries in the landing shortly before 8:45 a.m., said Airport Director. .Steve Luebbert.. .. . The pilot contacted the airport's traffic control tower shortly before 8:15 a.m. to notify it of the cockpit fire. .and request an emergency landing while the plane was still about 20 minutes from Texarkana.. .. . The tower relayed the information to the Texarkana Emergency Communication Center, which dispatched police, fire and. .emergency medical services.. .. . "Both the pilot and the copilot had to go on oxygen because of the fire and smoke," said Texarkana Emergency. .Management Coordinator Dave Hall. "They were just about right over Texarkana when they called to find the nearest. .airport to land at.". .. . "Once flames and smoke appeared in the cockpit, the pilots had to make a rapid descent from 35,000 feet," Luebbert. .said.. .. . The pilot notified the tower shortly before 8:30 a.m. that the crew had put out the cockpit fire, but he said he. .still intended to make an emergency landing.. .. . The aircraft touched down safely and taxied to the tarmac five minutes later.. .. . Heat generated by the flames, coupled with the sub-zero temperatures outside while the plane was in flight,. .apparently caused the windshield in front of the copilot to crack during the sharp descent, Luebbert said.. .. . "They had to slow the plane down so the aerodynamics of flight wouldn't cause the windshield to implode," he said.. .. . Once on the ground, emergency officials used a hydraulic scissors lift to take the passengers off three at a time.. .The airport does not have a ramp to fit on such a large plane.. .. . Several of the passengers said they had flown on planes that made emergency landings before, but this one seemed. .much more serious.. .. . Kelly Baldwin and her 11-month-old daughter Briahna of Orlando were on their way to San Francisco for a visit when. .the lights went out throughout the passenger cabin and Baldwin began to smell smoke.. .. . "The pilot came on the speaker and told us we had to make an emergency landing," she said. "The flight attendant. .told us to bend down and grab our ankles, if we could, and keep our heads down.". .. . Baldwin said she put her infant daughter on the aircraft's floor on blankets and pillows and held her in place while. .the plane landed.. .. . "She [Briahna] got a little scared but she came through it all right," Baldwin said. "We were all thankful the. .landing went as smooth as it did.". .. . For Greg Weatherby of San Francisco, it was the flight attendants screaming, "Brace, brace, brace," and "Keep your. .head down," that put him on edge.. .. . "There was a rush of relief when we finally landed safely and it was a good landing," he said. "It was almost. .surreal because you know you have seen this in the movies, and all of the sudden you are there.". .. . United Airlines dispatched one of its smaller 737s from Denver to Texarkana in the afternoon to get the passengers. .to their original destination, Luebbert said.. .. . Even if the 757 were repaired, it could not have taken off with the load of passengers and baggage it brought in.. .Texarkana's runways are not long enough to allow takeoff of a large commercial airliner loaded with crew and cargo.. .. . At press time, emergency crews had not determined the cause of the fire. Luebbert said it may have been electrical.
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A Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said there was a possibility the fire was caused by a window heater. The pilots aboard Flight 275 reported smoke and a small fire in the cockpit. The fire was extinguished before the plane landed.. .. .Airwise News 6Mar02
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FAA pinpoints likely fire culprit. .. .Staff photo by Greg FelkinsPassengers walk to the Texarkana Regional Airport terminal Tuesday after their United 757 flight made an emergency landing. . .. .By GREG BISCHOF Texarkana Gazette. .. .A windshield de-icer malfunction apparently caused the cockpit fire of a United Airlines 757, forcing the passenger jet to make an emergency landing at Texarkana Regional Airport on Tuesday. . .. .A preliminary investigation by Federal Aviation Administration officials indicates the de-icer's controls failed, causing it to run continuously until the device may have overheated, said Airport Director Steve Luebbert.. .. .The malfunction then apparently sparked flames, which prompted the pilots of United Airline Flight 275 to make a sharp descent from a 35,000-foot altitude toward Texarkana--about 30 miles northwest the aircraft's location. . .. .However, the pilots managed to land the Orlando, Fla., to San Francisco-bound flight safely shortly before 8:45 a.m. Tuesday at Texarkana Regional.. .. .The de-icer, when functioning properly, randomly shoots warm air toward the interior portions of the pilot's and co-pilot's front windshields. This is done in order to keep ice from forming on the windscreens' exterior and blocking the pilots' view, officials said. . .. .Without these defrosters, ice can form easily on the exterior portion of the cockpit's front windshields since temperatures are usually sub-zero at 30,000-foot altitudes and higher.. .. .Since the investigation is only preliminary, Luebbert cautioned air travelers not to jump to conclusions because such preliminary information may prove to be wrong, he said. . .. .The real mystery lies in finding out why the de-icer controls on the co-pilot's side failed, Luebbert said.. .. ."Finding out why the controls failed is going to take much more trouble shooting," he said.. .. .FAA officials came to Texarkana Regional Tuesday afternoon to conduct an initial investigation into what caused the fire aboard the commercial aircraft, which was carrying 107 passengers and aircrew members at the time of the incident.. .. .After FAA examiners dissected the de-icer and replaced the co-pilot's windshield, which apparently cracked under the extreme temperature differences on either side of it, the Boeing 757 took off about 9:15 a.m. Wednesday from Texarkana Regional to San Francisco. . .. .There the fire's cause will likely undergo further analysis by United Airlines flight engineers and mechanics and other maintenance crew, Luebbert said.. .. .United will then likely turn its findings over to the National Transportation Safety Board, which will be heading the overall investigation, while the FAA will be in charge of gathering all the data. Roland Herwig, an FAA official, couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday for more information about the FAA's role in the investigation.. .. .However, Luebbert said just finding out what happened could lead to larger measures on the part of Boeing, the jet's manufacturer. Once the exact cause is determined, Boeing will then have to determine if the fire was an isolated incident or if the problem may be more widespread or systemic, Luebbert said.. .. .Boeing will first have to determine if the fire could be attributed to a procedural problem caused by the aircrew, a maintenance problem or a design deficiency, he said.. .. .After landing Tuesday, all 107 passengers and crew members were deplaned with the help of a hydraulic scissor lift. The passengers left about 2:45 p.m. when United Airlines dispatched a 737 from Denver to pick them up and transport them to San Francisco.. .. .Jennifer Keighley, one of the passengers, said she and about 100 passengers arrived safely at San Francisco International Airport about 6 p.m. Tuesday.
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NTSB returns case to United . .. .By GREG BISCHOF Texarkana Gazette . .. .The National Transportation Safety Board has determined the cockpit fire aboard United Airlines Flight 275 wasn't serious enough to warrant board investigation.. .. .The board has decided to turn the investigation over to United Airlines, since the cockpit's fire damage wasn't great enough, nor were there any passenger injuries to warrant such an investigation by the NTSB, said Jason Ragogna, an air safety investigator for the board.. .. .A windshield de-icer malfunction apparently caused the cockpit fire inside the United Airlines 757, forcing the passenger jet to make an emergency landing at Texarkana Regional Airport on Tuesday. A preliminary investigation by United Airlines mechanics indicated the de-icer's controls failed, causing it to run continuously until the device may have overheated. The malfunction apparently ignited the flames, which prompted the pilots to land the Orlando, Fla., to San Francisco flight shortly before 8:45 a.m. Tuesday at Texarkana Regional.. .. .However, why the de-icer controls failed on the co-pilot's side remains undetermined.. .. .Federal Aviation Administration officials came to Texarkana Regional Tuesday afternoon to conduct an initial investigation into what caused the fire aboard the commercial aircraft, which was carrying 107 passengers and crew members at the time of the incident.. .. .After United Airlines mechanics dissected the de-icers and replaced the co-pilot's windshield, which apparently cracked under the extreme temperature differences on either side of it, the Boeing 757 took off about 9:15 a.m. Wednesday from Texarkana Regional to San Francisco. There the fire's cause is undergoing further analysis by United Airlines flight engineers and mechanics.. .. .Elizabeth Cory, public affairs deputy for the FAA's Chicago office, said it could take at least two to three weeks before a final determination about the fire's cause is reached. The FAA will, in the meantime, continue to help United Airlines collect data on the fire.
Hmmmm... Now if a Leatherman had been available, would the crew have been able to disconnect the runaway heater element?. .. .Nice thing they had an airport below instead of being over ocean.. .. .Maybe there is a CB that can be pulled -- I'd want to know where it is.
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But if as is being speculated it was a failure in the control mechanism (ie. switch to off, light goes out, heater still running) then they would not have known there was a problem until it started smoking/flaming. Even then the source might not have been obvious.. .There seems to have been a rash of smoke on 757 flightdecks the past few months. Anyone have details on the various causes (or cause !) ?
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Well,well,well!. .Should they have tried to analyse thorougly(even with manuals on their knees)which f......g CB belongs to what overheating device and where is the CB? I think no and they did a fine job to bring that airplane down as fast as possible. Well done. Someone disagrees? <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />
I agree that the crew did an excellent job in a nasty situation.. .. .So now that we know that this heater element can run away, wouldn't it be worthwhile to identify the CB before the next flight in case another switch or whatever fails the same way?
...randomly shoots warm air toward the interior portions of the pilot's and co-pilot's front windshields. This is done in order to keep ice from forming on the windscreens' exterior.... .As Ernie Gann might ask, "The elephant's pecker overheated?" <img border="0" title="" alt="[Eek!]" src="eek.gif" />
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FS. .******ed if you do , ******ed if you dont, but it said flames not smoke !. .Personally I am not sure what I would do, would you have a fag while on Oxygen ?????? <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />
