Posted on 09/14/2009 8:26:26 PM PDT by 444Flyer
Flames and smoke spew from beneath a passenger jet as it hurtles along a runway after making a dramatic belly landing.
The aircraft was forced to crashland after part of its undercarriage failed to drop into position.
The 78 passengers and crew emerged largely unhurt, although one flight attendant was taken to hospital for observation and five passengers were treated for shock.
Enlarge Flames and smoke are seen coming from the rear of a Fokker 100 airplane as it makes an emergency landing on the tarmac of Stuttgart's airport.
The Fokker 100 had left Tegel airport in Berlin yesterday morning. But when it reached Stuttgart in southern Germany the pilot reported problems with the landing gear. He made a number of low passes over the airport so that ground staff could try to see the problem.
Passengers then had to brace themselves for a number of sharp manoeuvres as the pilot tried to shake the wheels loose. Finally they were told to prepare for a crash landing, with only the plane's nose wheel in position.
The Lufthansa flight, operated by Contact Air, came down on a layer of fire-retardant foam on the runway. Those inside escaped on emergency slides.
Among them was the leader of Germany's Social Democrat party, Franz Muentefering. 'It was a serious, serious situation,' he said, congratulating the crew's handling of the situation before adding: 'Once in a lifetime is enough for something like this.'
Some 200 Britons were stranded in Italy last night after a holiday jet was hit by a string of failures. First the generators on the Airbus failed, leaving passengers destined for Stansted sweltering on the tarmac at Naples with no air conditioning. There was another delay when oxygen masks unexpectedly deployed from the ceiling.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Thanks for the pic. Amazing landing, amazing pilot. And passengers ‘largely’ uninjured. A happy ending to a scary situation.
I love stories about Fokkers almost as much as stories about Uranus. The jokes write themselves.
“Fokker? I barely knew her!” ... etc.
Glad no one was hurt
| Why not land on the lawn? |
|
“Glad no one was hurt.”
Incredible really, looking at those pics.
(man that's a lot of Fokkers!)
...problem was...them Fokkers were Messerschmidts!
The pilot deserves a lot of credit. A Hero.
Wow! Look at that Fokker go!!!
Grass and dirt are not predictable in terms of how the aircraft will behave when various parts dig in and others don't ... there is a better chance of keeping it straight on the runway.
That Fokker is smokin’!
Hello folks. Today on our station, we have veteran WWII ace pilot John “joystick” Tugger. Mr. Tugger, may I call you John?
Sure, go right ahead.
So, John, I understand you have a book out now that was written with some other WWII pilots, and it details some of the more thrilling dogfights you have all been through. Is that right?
Yes. We had gotten together a couple of years back and were retelling some of our war stories when someone came up with the idea for this book. The rest is history that can be purchased at Amazon.
Do you mind giving our listening audience one of your stories now?
Not at all, but if you don’t mind I’ll shorten it a bit compared to the book. We were flying escort for a daylight raid into Germany. We had already been in the air for quite a while and were getting close to the coast so we were watching, but the Germans had this tactic of coming at us out of the sun to cover their approach. Before I knew it four of these fokkers were coming right at me...
Allow me to interrupt here for a moment here, John. Fokker, spelled f-o-k-k-e-r was a manufacturer of aircraft for Germany. Isn’t that right?
No, These fokkers were Messerschmitts.
I took liberty in shortening the story...LOL!
|
Indeed, a little luck and a lot of skill and courage. Reminiscent of that pilot in NY, Sully.
I may have been late, darn ya, but only because I took the time to do the joke right.
Actually all I really remembered was the punch line...paraphrased the rest...but you get credit for giving it full justice....:o)
I am so going to steal that line.
LOL - all ya really need is the punch line. The rest can be built to suit.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.