Posted on 01/17/2008 6:17:58 AM PST by UKTory
OTOH, maybe part of getting landing slots in Beijing is that the emergency chutes had to be made from bamboo shoots?
My only experience with a chute was when it deployed into the walkway when the door was opened to deplane.
We had to wait a fairly long time to exit the plane without any explanation.
Leaving the plane, you couldn't help but notice a slashed blob of material attached to the plane, and being held against the walkway wall by airline people leaning on it while passengers walked past.
Funny, I don't remember it they were thanking people for flying TWA.
Hmm, a new short-field approach strategy? ;-) Those aluminum brakes'll do that...
Seriously though, the aircraft looks remarkably intact. Boeing builds 'em tough...
First things first...Thank you, Lord, for the safety of the passengers and crew.
Usually the words jet airplane and crash landing are accompanied by grim statistics.
Now for levity. Reminds me of a George Carlinism:
“Non-stop” flight. I don’t know about you, but I want mine to stop...preferably at the end.”
I’d bet you’re right. It’ll probably be repaired and put back into service...
Looks to me that the main landing gear collapsed and was dragged under the plane, partially exiting at the wing root.
IMHO one or both wings are scrap and likely both engines are junk due to ingesting mud and turf.
Bet we see a cell phone or security cam video in an hour or two.
Would be amazing video...
Not likely. The 777 engines can digest birds without even blinking. You should look it up on YouTube. There are some pretty impressive tests those monsters have passed.
A bird wouldn't stop one, or even slow it down.
Heathrow south runway is now re-opened for departures only.
That was fast ...
No fireball=no crash. This is what the military would call a “hard landing.”
I'm not a pilot, expert or anything like that. I've got lots of miles though. Ever flown into Anchorage in February or Vegas in July? Hooo boy.
One time into Anchorage in a 747, were were bouncing around like it was a 6 seater prop job...we were just at the very end of the pavement and we dipped like a roller coaster(complete with screams in the cabin), tagged one wheel, bounced up, engines revved a little, he got us level, cut power and we dropped and banged the pavement hard. The pilot cranked the reversers as hard as I've ever felt. I hope for no repeats of that one.
My anecdotal story makes me wonder if pilot error and wind shear didn't combine to push this into the turf ahead of the tarmac. Glad no one was killed.
"Julian will meet me when the BOAC lands..."
Anyone named Julian there to meet any of the passengers?
Not so fast. Has terrorism been ruled out? And if so, why has that been ruled out so quickly? How do we know there weren’t a bunch of towel-heads running around out on the tarmac that yanked up a cable stretched across it right as the jet came in, eh? Maybe they took out the undercarriage with an RPG. Way too early to tell about all that and what not.
And then there’s the distinct possibility that Bush loosened up some of the fastening bolts to the undercarriage. Can’t dismiss that one with an offhanded wave at all.
NevertheIess, and that notwithstanding, think the most likely scenario is that the plane ran into unusually large concentrations of extraterrestrial gas.
About 20 feet off the ground the right wing almost dips into the runway. Hard landing on only one main gear. Plane comes off the ground, levels and the damn wing dips down again.
Here we go again, only one main gear is in contact with the ground and we are using up a lot of runway.
Instead of aborting the pilot pushes it down hard and all of the landing gear are finally in contact with ground with a resounding crash. Very hard braking and shuddering until the plane comes to a stop.
The pilot was greeting passengers as we left and I asked him,
ME - “You were a Navy Guy, right?”
Pilot - “Why yes I was!”
ME - “Good landing, although I was a little concerned when I saw mail boxes flashing past the window.”
Pilot - Ha Ha Ha!
The plane came to rest almost 90 degrees to the runway, but the tire tracks show it lined up with the runway when they first hit the grass.
If the right side gear and #2 engine hit the grass first (and there is a slope towards the perimeter road), this would accunt for the pulling to right and its final resting place nearly 90 degrees to the runway.
Even with all these witness statements, I'm still going pilot error.
What’s the age of the person that wrote the article?
“Plane seemed to “drop like a stone.”
Some kind of stall?
***Based on that scientific research, I rank your suggestion third in most likely causes behind (2) a passenger using their mobile phone and (1) the co-pilot saying “what does this button do?”.***
Lol
Gravity.
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