HZ-FAB A320 Possible Missile Attack Saudi Arabia
 

An apparent attack on A320 HZ-FAB by Houthi militia units after landing in Abha, Saudi Arabia.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....9e0301df5d.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....41b6830281.jpg

What systems run through that area of the fuselage?

Airbubba

Conflicting reports suggest hit while parked.

I read about this earlier today but it was described as a fire
https://www.euroweeklynews.com/2021/...-saudi-arabia/

RT reporting drones carrying IEDs flown into the airport zone, suggesting HZ-FAB was on the ground when damaged...

DaveReidUK
Nil by mouth
INSCRINIUM

Thanks for the updates. :ok: I'm sure some of the confusion comes from translation. It looks like the plane came in from Dammam, Saudi Arabia at around 0930Z. Some reports say it was hit on the runway but that could be the taxiway or ramp. Were the pax onboard or was it parked empty on a turn with possibly some crew onboard? I doubt that the fuel truck in the picture was hooked up after the attack. But, having flown in the Kingdom, I'm not sure.

Taking into account a connected fuel truck most probably it was hit at the stand. And with absence of passengers talking about it - with no passengers on board.

Bang going into the airframe. Metal bent in. That is bang. Someone is nuts enough to attack an aircraft in that place. I wonder why?

​​​​​​There is no fragmentation penetration, just a localised overpressure. Fairly small device.

I'm thinking... this is not explosive, To fracture the skin, and fold it back, takes some force, but the markings around the area don't tie in with an explosive focal point. T-Bar may well be right about the ramp rash on this one.

IMO they do NOT look like two pictures of the same hole. The shape of the holes appear to be different.

No, I think it's the same hole, just at a different angle. There is a 90° sharp edge in the upper right in both photos, and the other edges seem to match if you incorporate a rotation in the view.

Contains photos of what is left of the 'drones' on the tarmac.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/1806911/saudi-arabia
Similar here:
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/g...of-Iranian-UAV

fdr;

Not Ramp Rash... Puncture from a winged UAV that did not detonate or only partially detonated. Same type of UAV that has been used for years in the local area.

Flying tin-opener more like.

Wild and inaccurate reporting aside, it looks like a fairly simple repair to get that A/C airworthy again?

Can you do structural repairs? It is a BMS repair drawing. With the area of damage, a reskin is the safer option on the stress side of things. Because I would not CRS it. The repair has to survive the XXXXX number of cycles. It is not "Do a Trip"

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....ad9c788d26.jpg


An image grab taken from undated footage aired by Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) televison on April 28, 2019, shows an alleged Iranian Revolutionary Guards' drone, named Ababil III, taking off from an undisclosed location.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....2265a36bee.jpg

Nil by mouth

Actually a quite extensive repair from the photos.

Replace fuselage pod, booms empennage, gear, ailerons. Then there's the engine overhaul and a new prop.

Don`t forget avionics. Might run upwards of $500USD total and a week in the shop.

What is a bit frightening with this info is:
1) how cheap and crude you can today make an effective ground to air weapon delivering an explosive charge..
2) This time it was against a parked aircraft with impact velocity in the 60 Kts range I am guessing . Now imagine the same impact and subsequent explosion with an aircraft doing 2 or 300 Kts
The only good news is that to catch a 300Kts moving object with a 60 Kts drone you can only do this opposite to each other , and will need very serious skills by the drone pilot that I doubts those idiots have.,