Anybody missing something?
 

You would be surprised what is found on manoeuvring areas as FOD on an average day at a busy airport. Besides the usual dead birds, fasteners, (rivets et al), luggage handles, an occasional trim tab, partial fuselage/gear door panels, wheel fairings, (or parts thereof), inspection panels, exhaust rings, shards of tyre rubber, you name it. FOD is being deposited on manoeuvring areas at an airport near you. Almost every day.

Ever see the "Wall of FOD" Trophy Board at an airport worker's lounge? A common sight. The guys collect the FOD, and then display the item on a big board. Quite a conversation starter over tea and Hobnobs.

Be interesting to find out where this came from originally.

A few years ago, we came across a floating hulk of a catamaran, north of Cozumel and about half-way between Cuba and the Yucatan (junction of Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico). Once ID'd by hull markings, it turned out it had been last seen in mid-Atlantic 15 months before, during a race in which it had been dismasted and hull broken in a storm. Crew rescued - hulk drifted 1500-plus miles before we ran across it.

My money would be on the National Air Cargo 747F that flew PGUA-PHIK last Saturday.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....1bebe7edd8.jpg

Boeing 747 flap washes ashore on Guam

Flap Asymmetry!
 

Good luck of finding that in the QRH.
Flap 15 degree on one side.
Flap 13" 29N 144"47E on the other!?

Or Flapless landing.
Partial?
Happy landings
Cpt B

Did the FO miss that on the post flight walk-around? :)

Looks like you had it right: Accident: National B744 at Guam on May 11th 2019, dropped parts of flaps

It's always reassuring to have one's theories confirmed by Avherald. :O

That said, I'm interested in their comment that the flap separated on climbout, for which Avherald don't offer any evidence. As far as I can judge from similar events, when a 747 foreflap lets go it's more likely to be with approach/landing flap deployed (China Airlines, Korean, Cathay, MyCargo) than on departure (Air NZ).

The FR24 tracks for the inbound (top) and outbound (bottom) flights are interesting:

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....4d174481db.jpg

The red circle indicates the approximate location that the foreflap in the photo was washed up.

This may be a silly question (but I'll ask it anyway) - just how visible are the 747 foreflaps on a pre-departure walkaround, with the flaps stowed ?

David
Retracted or Stowed away?

Any 747 drivers?
Is Foreflap a term used?
Need to check my 737 stuff ,but looks a lot like the forward section on the Dobbel slotted Fowler flaps?
As opposed to the basic Leading edge Flaps inboard on the 737.
And as David said: Could it possibly be missed on a walk around.( Never mind indications in flightdeck)

Oh
And stuff that float often go walkabout a lot in current and wind before a quick rest at the beech!

Regards
Cpt B

Yes, it's a recognised term, though I've only ever seen it used with reference to the 747.

See AD/B747/202 Wing Inboard Foreflap Sequence Carriage Attachment, for example.

While many other aircraft have double-slotted flaps, I suspect the term foreflap had to be invented just for the 747 to identify the bit that tends to go AWOL. :O

You nailed it Dave!

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....e75aa569d3.jpg

Unless you do a full extension, you wont see it missing

Thanks. In that case, I wouldn't be at all surprised if the foreflap had been lost on final approach (as with most of its predecessors) rather than on the subsequent departure from Guam.

I guess we'll never know for sure either way.

Who does that? Besides maintenance...

Looks to me that it would have a hard time exiting in T\O configuration.
F1 or F5 ?

I've seen some chicken and egg sequences involving this flap release on landing.

after the incident a rap with your fist on the pointy centerbody in the engine tailpipe.. If it hums it's OK, if it just goes thud, time to check the flaps as well