Aircraft News Weblog

Category: Emergency

  • Q400 Landing Gear Collapse: Causes and Impact

    A Q400 aircraft landing at Halifax International Airport in Nova Scotia suffered a landing gear collapse after an uneventful flight. The Transportation Safety Board initial report found that the aircraft had a tire failure on takeoff. Upon landing, the tire remnants started rotating. This caused enough vibration for the main landing gear to unlock and collapse.

    When the propeller contacted the runway the blades broke off and the engine was badly damaged. The aircrew declared a Mayday and secured the aircraft for an emergency evacuation on the runway. All passengers and crew successfully left the aircraft with no serious injuries.

    As the investigation continues I would like to describe the configuration of the landing gear on the Q400. On the Down selection, the gear doors open. The main landing gear is hydraulically lowered aft from the engine nacelle. The Actuator linkage travels overcenter and locks, the landing gear doors then close again. It is held in the down position by hydraulic pressure and large springs.

    The Q400 is over 25 years old and is no longer in production. It is operated all over the world and has proven to be a reliable aircraft. The failure of the landing gear due to tire remnants vibration is not a new problem. It is unlikely the investigation will call for major modifications as a solution to this accident.

  • Singapore Airlines B777 Fire on Landing

    Singapore Airlines Flt SQ368 to Milan returned to Singapore Changi airport after a low oil indication on the right hand engine. The crew handled the return by the book and the aircraft landed with no issues and to a round of applause from the 222 passengers on board. However, the applause was short lived as it became apparent the right hand wing was fully engulfed in flames. Remarkably the passengers and crew remained on board and calmly waited for the emergency services to extinguish the flames before disembarking via a set of steps! This would not have been believable in a work of fiction but there a videos from the aircraft passengers who passed the time recording the event through the aircraft windows. Kudos to them and the crew for not rushing into an uncertain mass evacuation and possible injury at the first sign of danger. I can  only assume the crew were following the instructions of the emergency services to remain on board. The following is a media release from the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore. 

    Media Release

    27 Jun 2016

    CAAS Media Statement on Singapore Airlines (SQ368) Incident

    Early this morning, SQ368, a Singapore Airlines (SIA) B777 aircraft bound for Milan, chose to return to Singapore as the indicator for its right engine had shown oil loss.
    Shortly after landing, a fire was observed to have occurred in the vicinity of the aircraft’s right engine. Changi’s Airport Emergency Service, which was already on standby, responded promptly and the fire was extinguished within 5 minutes. SATS also contributed to ensuring the safety of the passengers and flight crew. No one was hurt during the incident.
    The runway on which the aircraft landed was closed for about 5 hours for repairs and clean-up. Landings and take-offs continued on the other runway. Whilst some flights were impacted, all flights were able to take off within one hour of their scheduled departure times.  
    CAAS will be investigating to determine the causes of the incident. The Ministry of Transport’s Air Accident Investigation Bureau will also be conducting an independent investigation.  

  • Spirit Airlines Pressurization Problems

    A Spirit Airlines flight out of Detroit was forced to turn back shortly after takeoff on Friday due to possible loss of cabin pressure, the airline said.

    Flight 417 took off at about 6:30 a.m. local time from Detroit Metropolitan Airport en route to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Spirit Airlines said in a statement.

    Not long after takeoff, the flight turned back to the airport and landed safely “following a possible loss of cabin pressure,” it said. No injuries were reported.
    It was not immediately clear what had indicated a loss of cabin pressure or exactly how long into the flight the issue became evident. Airline officials were not immediately available to provide additional details.
    People identifying themselves as passengers on the flight posted photographs of themselves to social media with bright yellow oxygen masks affixed to their faces. The masks, which prevent the lightheadedness and unconsciousness cabin pressure loss can result in, are typically deployed during cabin pressure issues.

    (Reporting by Laila Kearney; Editing by James Dalgleish)