UPS smoke/fire landing at PHL
 

last night, a UPS dc-8-70 performed an emr landing at PHilly after indication of smoke. However after landing, heat and smoke intensified and may burned through the aft fuselage. Very likely to be a write off. Source of the smoke is yet unidentified.
S:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/02/08/ups.plane.fire/
Photo:
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...ajk10202080928

Commercial website link removed by moderator...

Will be interesting to find out what exactly was in those "normal customer packages":hmm:

Let's hope they find something abnormal or illegal

And let's hope somebody's hiney lands in jail as well....good thing it was a domestic sector...:mad:

Quite so - HAZMAT and cargo/cabin events (I know I know - "IF" that is tjhe case) make a mockery of all the ETOPS rules we must follow.

Would be interested to know exactly how long it took to get the thing on the ground from when they first detected the smoke.

I can't imagine that the aircraft had too much flying left in her with all the fire damage!

Good job guys.

Happened few years back on a FEDEX MD-10 as well...diverted into Stewart and burned to the ground in short order..along the lines of 20mins if I recall correctly??? :ooh:

I dare say that contraband/dangerous goods are shipped all the time, especially by UPS and FEDEX, albeit unknowingly. They depend on the honestly of their customers to declare the contents of the package. Of course, anyone that would ship contraband or dangerous goods against the rules, isn't going to have a problem lying straight-faced to the package clerk.

Initial distress call was within like 5nm from the runway, so I hear.

FEDEX DC-10 Stewart Field Sept 1996
 

Some interesting comments and yes, good job UPS pilots.

First off, the ETOPS rules wouldn't help you if you were in a 4 engine jet like the DC8 or whatever. You would be out over the water and YIKES...ditching might be your only option and that isn't a good one.

the initial call only 5 miles away...sorta doubt it, but that might have been when approach control handed off DC8 to tower and the call was repeated.

The DC8 can reverse inboard engines in flight to help get down. Think of this,the plane was probably in the middle 30's (flight levels of course guys)when it happened..they could have been 5 miles OVER THE TOP OF PHL.

Lucky the control cables were not burned, though they are steel and should handle some heart, collapsing floors are something else.


HAZMAT is a huge problem and I don't know how we have been so lucky with passenger planes carrying cargo. Even before 9/11, responsible people called for better and safer ways of flying.


Does anyone have the names of the pilots at UPS? I have a couple of friends there.

jon

Its scheduled destination was PHL. Descent had commenced some 24 minutes prior.

I guess my poorly stated point about ETOPS rules are that they are of little help to us when we catch fire. I am equally frightened in four engined planes sipping on a gin in the back too! If you cannot stop the fire prior to breaking up then you are buggered whatever plane you are in.

The DC-8-70F is not capable of using reverse in the air. This was an ATL-PHL flight.

It's true, they were handed off normally and just got the smoke indicator when contacting Tower. While reading back the clearance, they report "Cleared to land and ah listen we just got a cargo smoke indicator come on can we have the equipment?" TWR says they will bring out the fire equipment, at some 4 mins prior to touchdown:
http://aviation-safety.net/database/...?id=20060208-0

I had it in my mind that the ability to reverse the inners only ever applied to DC-8s equipped with JT-3s and even that was taken away a very long time ago.

The idea that you could apply reverse to the inboard CFM-56s on a DC-8-70 is surely completely fanciful if not totally ridiculous?

>>The DC-8-70F is not capable of using reverse in the air.

Uh, I wouldn't be so sure <g>...

Just be below 300 knots when you stow them.

Here's one reference:

"...One thing you might not know, the DC-8 can use and we do use them, specially going to San Jose, CA and JFK, the thrust reversers in flight. 2 and 3 can be used inflight to full reverse thrust. 1 and 4 can only be used when the gear is down."

http://www.forjets.netfirms.com/page3.html

DC8-71-73 thrust reversers in air.

OK boys and girls we have one for and one against. Anyone who has actually flown the DC8 71-73 series want to weigh in here?

I recall a friend who flys at UPS saying that the TR's could be used while airborne (inboard) but that they only help a little.

I have flown the DC9 and 737 (and some other jets) but not the DC8.

Someone who really knows, please tell us all.

regards

jon

I think professionals will find listening to the tower ATC recording very interesting.

It is on liveatc.net

The archive you are looking for is Feb 7 2330-0000 and the initial contact is at 25:00 into the recording. I bet you have to replay the last 5 minutes a couple of times to see what I mean.:ooh:

Glad it ended safely.