ATR wing damage in flight
 

Not sure what happened here as the description isn’t very helpful.

Either way, it doesn’t look good.

https://storage.googleapis.com/state...9.10.53-am.png

Center WingBox of Hop! Air France ATR-42, damaged in mid-air. ? News In Flight

Indeed it isn't. It's clearly not what most people would understand by a "centre wing box".

I'd be interested to see a photo showing the left MLG. The BEA are investiigating the incident.

Folks,
Seems that ATSs are a bit fragile, some will remember the structural failure at the top of the fin in a Virgin Australia aircraft.
As it apparently did not happen on landing, ????, doesn't seem likely it was a bird strike. Is it just my eyes, or does it look like part of that fairing failed in tension.
Tootle pip!!

Other reports say MLG door separated and hit the composite fairing. Looks dramatic but no structural damage from what I can see. Must have caused quite some noise in the cabin though...



Many moons ago I did an evaluation of various makes/models and I was surprised to learn in the process that the ATR72 has the lowest structural weight per seat of ANY post-war airliner, which is a key selling point in high airport/ATC fee regions (which are MTOW driven).

Why the panic?

That's neither wing, fuselage nor structural damage, but surely a non-structural fairing which - unusually - has been impacted by something.

Hardly cause for alarm for the aircraft type as such.

["http://https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=208217"]

The Flight Radar trace seems to show a sudden speed excursion to 340 Knots, coincident with a sudden altitude loss from 10K' to 7.5K'.

If it turns out to have been a departing MLG door that did the impacting, then a cause for alarm is exactly what it is, and it's fortunate that it was only secondary structure that was damaged.

Aircraft have been lost under similar circumstances: Report on the accident to BAe HS 748, G-ASPL at Nailstone, Leicestershire on 26 June 1981

According to that article, the pilot either didn't know or claimed not to know what caused the noise. If a door came loose, shouldn't there have been some sort of indication in the cockpit?

That indication was or should have been the intercom from the Cabin Crew.


"Did you hear that Captain"


Other than that NO.

As farvas I remember the main gear Doors a fixed to the landing gear and does not have a separate actuator. It is secured to the airframe with pianohinges. If one piano hinge fails the door is free to fall outward and I’m sure it will be ripped completely of if the happens.
As others have mentioned it damaged some non structural composite panels.

Hmm 340 knots. One might put the gear down at such a speed to slow down and then....lose a gear door.

Wonder what the full story is.

"Air France"...


So what is reflecting the flash?

340 knts in an ATR. Right.

Is this your best guess at the story? Hmmm, high speed on the radar(could be winds affecting the speed), sudden descent, gear door mysteriously flies off. Something unusual happened.

The 340 kts is groundspeed, not IAS.

I was about to point out the same thing...


It's obviously been clouted by something but despite rumours of an MLG door departing the airframe there's no other pictures/anything more official of any airframe parts missing other than the damage shown above. My first thought was a part of a prop blade had detatched, given the look and position of the damage.

‘Ding!’ ‘MLG DOOOR FELL OFF’

I can't imagine a gear door going that far up before it went aft, there's more to the story....

http://airlinergallery.nl/atr42airfrance.jpg

Can a MLG door get up there and cause that sort of damage ?