Kuwait Airbus lands in Ras Al Khaimah 2am local
 

Diverted from Dubai, due to NO nose wheel down indication, several touch and goes to RAk, and makes several main wheel touch and goes, then a "positive" main wheel touch down.
Nose gear extends, but all main tyres blown.
Next time landing, no nose gear lock indication. Wheel fires, extinguised by fire crew, and pax off loaded.
The fire crew only qualified yesterday, and on the first shift had a real shout.

Congratulation to the flight deck crew, and the fire crew.

RAK still closed, so I might not go to the Gulf football cup final, stay at pool, less trauma....

Glf

Provided the alleged incident is true, does the A320 FCOM actually recommend doing high-g turns, or touch and goes to release any abnormal L/G?

On my 'Bus, you basically try the gravity extension twice and then proceed to the LDG WITH ABNORMAL L/G checklist and land with what you've got.
The chances of causing further grief to the airframe/components/L/G with high v/s touchdowns should also be considered.

In any case, well done to the crew. We all know the "Any landing you walk away from is...etc." adage... :-) but a little bit of constructive critique with the benefit of hindsight does no harm!

What kind of airbus was it?

A 320
 

I will wait until the local news papers and TV report it tonight, and try to give more updated info.

Kuwait Airways Web site "quote"
 

Kuwait Airways Flight Makes Emergency Landing Jan 30, 2007 http://www.kuwait-airways.com/images/news/cargo_uld.jpgKuwait Airways Dubai bound flight KU 675 made an emergency landing at the Ras Al-Khaimah airport in the UAE, at 12:45 AM, early Tuesady morning ( 30 Jan 2007 ) . The Rapid Response Team Director, Amar Al-Ajmi said that the Airbus A320 had left Kuwait Airport at 10:10 p.m. local time with 112 passengers and seven crew members onboard and as the flight was landing at Dubai, the pilot discovered that the landing gear was stuck. Also one of the plane's wheels was not extending so the plane's pilot radioed air traffic controllers in Dubai with the problem at 1: 48 a.m.
Al-Ajmi said that the pilot immediately followed all safety procedures provided by the aircraft's manufacturers and the plane was diverted to Ras Al-Khaimah because of high traffic at Dubai's airport
He mentioned that the plane made an emergency landing in Ras Al-Khaimah where passengers exited the planes through the emergency exits, and the aircraft landed safely.
During the procedures, a few passengers were injured while using the emergency exits. But there were no major casualties. The injured passengers received medical attention upon landing as an emergency team of technicians from the Kuwait Airways Corporation left for Ras Al-Khaimah as soon as the plane was diverted, where the team was set up to take care of the passengers.
The Kuwait Airways Corporation would like to extend its gratitude to the passengers and crew onboard KU flight 675 for their cooperation. Special appreciations to Emirates Civil Aviation Department, Authorities and Officials at the Ras Al-Khaimah Airport for their effective cooperation and swift action.

Is this a suitable confirmation of the event.....

I thought they normally did it the other way round. :\

A press release from the state owned Kuwait News Agency:

Kuwaiti CP, PM thank UAE Authorities for replacement flight

ABU DHABI, Jan 30 (KUNA) -- His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah thanked, Tuesday, the Emirati authorities headed by UAE President, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nuhayyan, for offering a replacement to the Kuwaiti plane which made an emergency landing in the UAE last night.
The UAE's concern for the safety of the Kuwait Airways passengers who arrived in Ras Al-Khaimah last night after its landing gear malfunctioned is greatly appreciated, Sheikh Nawaf said.
The Crown Prince thanked the medical teams who had helped some passengers with mild injuries.
Sheikh Nawaf and Sheikh Nasser wished the injured a speedy recovery and a safe return home.
The Kuwait Airways plane was headed to Dubai when one of its wheels failed to extend. The plane remained in the air for two hours before making an emergency landing in the Ras Al-Khaimah airport.
Eleven passengers were wounded during the landing.
http://www.kuna.net.kw/home/story.as...en&DSNO=947382

Picture from GulfNews

http://gulfnews.com/images/07/01/30/..._airways_5.jpg

Seems that it came to rest pointing across the runway from this image.

GulfNews story at: http://gulfnews.com/nation/General/10100689.html

looks like a 320 with off wing slide not deploying ! possibily trying to turn off rwy?

I don't think that it is a 321.The ones I am familiar with have doors not overwing exits,and the slides are in the fuselage under the door.The trouble is there is no such thing as a standard airbus.

KU operates only the A320 (of the A32X series). Good result and thankfully, all escaped without serious injuries.

That is maybe why the articles state that it is an A320 :zzz:

Nothing like getting the boys' name checks in first, eh ?

and their dad's, and their grandad's and their great-grandad's....

Don't
 

To the younger aviators out there, those new to the fold: do everything you can to avoid becoming a test pilot.

A landing without the nose gear down and locked is a big deal, emotionally, but not mechanically.

Yet it is certainly not as big a deal as doing 'how many?' touch and go's to free the nose gear.

How do I know this?

Look at the damage done to the main gear.

Would you want to have been responsible for that?

There are videos everywhere of aircraft performing wheels-up and partial wheels-up landings.

And on those videos we see lots of sparks as the plane makes its way straight down the runway; no sliding about, no fish-tailing from side to side.

Yes there's damage.

Paint scraped off the undersides is definitely damage; and there's the hull's integrity to consider.

But that's for the engineers, later, and the paint shop.

Other than that, nothing serious, not even to the low slung engines.

Shocking, but true.

Hard to believe, undoubtedly.

But the evidence is in.

Unquestionably, the pilots of the Kuwait Airways A320 did what they thought best.

They tried to resolve the problem.

And maybe it might have worked, given a different set of circumstances.

On this day, it didn't.

Lessons learned?

Don't be a test pilot.

Didn't VS land a big bus safely at LHR several years ago without one side of it's main gear down?
Also I seem to have read reports before of Airbuses with gear problems.

Yes they did.

As it happens, I spent a day with the lads and lasses at LATCC some time ago.

The Duty Supervisor told me how the Captain was offered the opportunity to divert to Stansted.

Apparently, the British Airport Authority, owners of Heathrow, were concerned about the loss of an available runway should VS plough up 27L.

The reply from the Captain was unemotional, and very simple.

"Mayday, Mayday, Mayday," and with that, he was vectored unceremoniously to an uneventful landing on 27L.

As for the loss of capacity, I cannot help with the details.

It didn't seem terribly important, so I didn't ask.

Nonetheless, for those that are interested, the BAA provide a service which is matched against safety.

It appears that 42 planes, or movements, an hour is the optimum for safety and service.

That may have changed, given aircraft are often vectored onto final "following a (name the carrier) B747 2.5 miles ahead".

That was G-VSKY back in November 1997. I know that one because it was the incident that started my interest in aviation failures, how pilots deal with them (I seem to remember the pilot re-wrote the manual shortly before landing and did a good job) and all the forensics that take place to deduce the cause.

The reason it attracted my attention was that I was on the aircraft on its trip to LAX, woke up the next morning to hear about its antics on the return flight.

I also seem to remember a bunch of landings at Manchester without the regulation number of wheels.

Mayday??
 

Hmmmm. As ATC, unless there is a fuel shortage, I hardly consider a landing gear issue to be a "MAYDAY" matter.

Where is the need for immediate assistance? Why should we give them priority, only to divert everybody else after this aicraft has blocked the runway?

I can understand why they wouldn't want to go to another airport where they might not have the logistical support required to get the aircraft (or passengers) taken care of but MAYDAY?

Rather childish from the captain, IMVHO.

LX

Quote:

Rather childish from the captain, IMVHO:=

Easy for you sitting on your seat to address a professional person dealing with an emergency situation; SAVING LIVES,calling his decision as childish.
Let us rise up to the calling, rather than making unprofessional remarks such as these.
The Good Samaritan