MinnesotaSmith
Membership Revoked
Hultgreen-Curie Syndrome strikes again.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/air-india-forgotten-landing-gear-low-fuel/
Plane nearly ran out of fuel after pilots forgot to bring up landing gear
Hugh Morris 7/28/2017
"Two pilots have been suspended from duty after their aircraft, carrying 99 passengers, nearly ran out of fuel because they forgot to retract the landing gear after take-off.
Air India Flight AI676 was en route to [Bombay] from Kolkata on July 22 but was forced to divert to Nagpur when the crew became alarmed by the speed at which the aircraft was losing fuel thanks to the additional drag created by the extended wheels.
Landing gear on a British Airways aircraft
An unidentified source told the Times of India that the “brand new Airbus A320”, one of the most fuel efficient aircraft in existence, had struggled to climb after take-off, prompting the pilots to settle on an altitude of 24,000 feet as opposed to a usual cruising height of 35,000 feet. The source, who made a point of saying that both pilots were women, said it flew like this at 230 knots - as opposed to around 500 knots - for about an hour-and-a-half, while the extended landing gear dragged heavily on the aircraft.
At this point, 90 minutes into a two-and-a-half-hour flight, the crew requested permission to divert to Nagpur as their fuel would have run out before reaching [Bombay].
FAQ | What is the landing gear and why does it need to be retracted?
What is the landing gear?
The landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft used for landing and take-off. A typical arrangement used on most commercial airliners is a pair of wheels at the front, then two pairs in the centre of the aircraft under the wings, and one each side of the fuselage.
Skis, skids or floats can also be used to aircraft operating in different environments.
Why does it need to retract?
This is to improve performance and fuel efficiency, aiding aerodynamics. Accommodating a retractable set-up means additional weight - as opposed to static - and the requirement of establishing protocol for when the landing gear fails to deploy in its intended manner. Most aircraft have a number of other means of deploying its gear.
Has something like this happened before?
Further evidence of the decreased fuel efficiency created by extended landing gear can be seen in the emergency landing of Hapag-Lloyd Flight 3378 in 2000. The aircraft, flying from Crete to Hannover, was forced to keep its landing gear out as a precaution after take-off as a malfunction had prevented its retraction.
Planning for a diversion to Munich, the aircraft began to lose fuel rapidly, on account of the increased drag, forcing the crew to instead head for Vienna. Even the Austrian airport proved too far as the aircraft ran out of fuel 22km short of the runway, causing it to crash land 660m short. Some 26 people received minor injuries while using the escape slides.
When preparing to land, they decided to lower the landing gear. At this point they realised that the wheels had been out all the while from Kolkata,” said the source.
A playback of the flight from FlightRadar24.com shows it failing to reach an altitude higher than 24,000 feet but put the aircraft’s speed at just over 300 knots.
A spokesperson for Air India told the Times of India the pilots have been “de-rostered” and the airline is investigating.
The problem is more often experienced in reverse when pilots have difficulty lowering the landing gear during an approach. Such landings are called “belly landings” as aircraft attempt to negotiate a touchdown without wheels. This has been known to occur because crew simply forget to lower the gear. One such incident happened to a light aircraft in 2015 when a pilot, distracted by a moose on the runway in Alaska, forgot to lower the landing gear, meaning his twin-engine Piper PA 31-350 landed on its belly, skidding across the tarmac.
The report from the National Transportation Safety Board read: “While on final approach, an airplane that landed in front of him reported a moose in the vicinity of the runway. An airport maintenance person announced on the common traffic advisory frequency that he was attempting to chase the moose off of the runway. The pilot became distracted trying to avoid wake turbulence from the preceding airplane and monitor the location of the vehicle and moose and failed to extend the landing gear prior to landing.”
A remarkable video from 2011 shows a LOT Polish Airlines Boeing 767 landing at Warsaw Chopin Airport without its landing gear, grinding to a halt on the runway on only its fuselage. There were no injuries."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/air-india-forgotten-landing-gear-low-fuel/
Plane nearly ran out of fuel after pilots forgot to bring up landing gear
Hugh Morris 7/28/2017
"Two pilots have been suspended from duty after their aircraft, carrying 99 passengers, nearly ran out of fuel because they forgot to retract the landing gear after take-off.
Air India Flight AI676 was en route to [Bombay] from Kolkata on July 22 but was forced to divert to Nagpur when the crew became alarmed by the speed at which the aircraft was losing fuel thanks to the additional drag created by the extended wheels.
Landing gear on a British Airways aircraft
An unidentified source told the Times of India that the “brand new Airbus A320”, one of the most fuel efficient aircraft in existence, had struggled to climb after take-off, prompting the pilots to settle on an altitude of 24,000 feet as opposed to a usual cruising height of 35,000 feet. The source, who made a point of saying that both pilots were women, said it flew like this at 230 knots - as opposed to around 500 knots - for about an hour-and-a-half, while the extended landing gear dragged heavily on the aircraft.
At this point, 90 minutes into a two-and-a-half-hour flight, the crew requested permission to divert to Nagpur as their fuel would have run out before reaching [Bombay].
FAQ | What is the landing gear and why does it need to be retracted?
What is the landing gear?
The landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft used for landing and take-off. A typical arrangement used on most commercial airliners is a pair of wheels at the front, then two pairs in the centre of the aircraft under the wings, and one each side of the fuselage.
Skis, skids or floats can also be used to aircraft operating in different environments.
Why does it need to retract?
This is to improve performance and fuel efficiency, aiding aerodynamics. Accommodating a retractable set-up means additional weight - as opposed to static - and the requirement of establishing protocol for when the landing gear fails to deploy in its intended manner. Most aircraft have a number of other means of deploying its gear.
Has something like this happened before?
Further evidence of the decreased fuel efficiency created by extended landing gear can be seen in the emergency landing of Hapag-Lloyd Flight 3378 in 2000. The aircraft, flying from Crete to Hannover, was forced to keep its landing gear out as a precaution after take-off as a malfunction had prevented its retraction.
Planning for a diversion to Munich, the aircraft began to lose fuel rapidly, on account of the increased drag, forcing the crew to instead head for Vienna. Even the Austrian airport proved too far as the aircraft ran out of fuel 22km short of the runway, causing it to crash land 660m short. Some 26 people received minor injuries while using the escape slides.
When preparing to land, they decided to lower the landing gear. At this point they realised that the wheels had been out all the while from Kolkata,” said the source.
A playback of the flight from FlightRadar24.com shows it failing to reach an altitude higher than 24,000 feet but put the aircraft’s speed at just over 300 knots.
A spokesperson for Air India told the Times of India the pilots have been “de-rostered” and the airline is investigating.
The problem is more often experienced in reverse when pilots have difficulty lowering the landing gear during an approach. Such landings are called “belly landings” as aircraft attempt to negotiate a touchdown without wheels. This has been known to occur because crew simply forget to lower the gear. One such incident happened to a light aircraft in 2015 when a pilot, distracted by a moose on the runway in Alaska, forgot to lower the landing gear, meaning his twin-engine Piper PA 31-350 landed on its belly, skidding across the tarmac.
The report from the National Transportation Safety Board read: “While on final approach, an airplane that landed in front of him reported a moose in the vicinity of the runway. An airport maintenance person announced on the common traffic advisory frequency that he was attempting to chase the moose off of the runway. The pilot became distracted trying to avoid wake turbulence from the preceding airplane and monitor the location of the vehicle and moose and failed to extend the landing gear prior to landing.”
A remarkable video from 2011 shows a LOT Polish Airlines Boeing 767 landing at Warsaw Chopin Airport without its landing gear, grinding to a halt on the runway on only its fuselage. There were no injuries."
