A300: How to Fly and Land With NO Hydraulics

Airbus Industries ^ | Unknown | Airbus Industries

[IonImplantGuru]

You have just taken off in a DHL A300 cargo plane from Baghdad and you're on climbout. Boom! You feel a shudder and you know you've been hit by a ground to air missle. You have damage to one wing and it's on fire from leaking fuel. All hydraulics are lost, so you have no control over flight surfaces. Miraculously, both engines are still operating. Can you successfully fly, and land the aircraft? The link leads to site which has the Powerpoint document prepared by Airbus Industries describing the response by the DHL aircrew.

[IonImplantGuru]

The linked site also has a link to download a Powerpoint viewer from Microsoft if your PC is not already .ppt capable.

[atomicpossum]

Can you successfully fly, and land the aircraft?

Oh, yeah, I could land it. Just not successfully.

[Blzbba]

Who cares? DHL is a German-state-sponsored monopoly that is taking American business away from Fed Ex and UPS.

[IonImplantGuru]

For your ping list.

This is the DHL that was hit by a missle in 2003 in Baghdad. I know it's an old story, but this is the first I've seen on how they dealt with a total loss of hydraulics in flight. Pretty interesting info, but a long download if you're on dial-up.

[Professional Engineer]

If you can walk away, it's successful.

[Aeronaut]

[Dashing Dasher]

If the insurance company will renew you, that's successful.

[cardinal4]

I thought it was a DC-8 that was hit by the missile. I believe it also had an all Saudi crew..

[cmsgop]

I didn't know DHL had the A-300?

[aviator]

One thing that saved them was that they were climbing out at full power/180 kts just to get away from the ground.

If they had been trimmed for 250+ knots, the control pressures might have been too great to land.

[cardinal4]

If they had been trimmed for 250+ knots, the control pressures might have been too great to land.

They were hit pretty low, I doubt they could have indicated 250. I would have like to sit in on the overwieght landing inspection! A fully loaded DC-8 returning to the field right after takeoff would be way overwieght. Especially since it didnt have time to try a zero flap landing..

[RightWingRadio]

Amazing piece of flying. Simply amazing. Would give anything to hear the CVR and how they handled it. Obviously very well and by the numbers.

[U S Army EOD]

Hell, I could get it back on the ground with my eyes closed. Piece of cake.

[Archangelsk]

The pilots probably prostrated themselves in the direction of Capt. Al Haynes who first did it when his DC-9 lost all hydraulics (after the rear engine had an uncontained breach) and he successfully brought the plane in to Sioux City, Iowa. For the complete report on United 232 follow this link.

[Northern Yankee]

...You have damage to one wing and it's on fire from leaking fuel. All hydraulics are lost, so you have no control over flight surfaces. Miraculously, both engines are still operating. Can you successfully fly, and land the aircraft?

It depends... What's the inflight dinner? *grins*

Really though... it sounds fascinating... Saving for later.

Areonaut, are you planning to be at the EAA again this year? Gotta connect this time.

Saw Chuck Yeager last year. An incredible fellow.

[aviator]

Capt Al Haynes was flying a DC-10 during the event.

[IonImplantGuru]

The pilots probably prostrated themselves in the direction of Capt. Al Haynes who first did it when his DC-9 lost all hydraulics (after the rear engine had an uncontained breach) and he successfully brought the plane in to Sioux City, Iowa.

I'd say more like semi-successfully, Arch. Amazing bit of flying also, but it was a crash landing - as I remember the videos of it they got it to the runway but it hit hard, lost control, cartwheeled and broke up. There were many survivors, but more than a few dead.

[cardinal4]

The pilots probably prostrated themselves in the direction of Capt. Al Haynes who first did it when his DC-9 lost all hydraulics (after the rear engine had an uncontained breach) and he successfully brought the plane in to Sioux City, Iowa. For the complete report on United 232 follow this link.

It was a DC-10, actually. Which was what made it so impressive. The ability of the crew to save as many lives as they did, I mean. We saw the footage of the crash at FlightSafety. After the fireball erupted from the cornfield, you could see people wandering away from the crash towards the runway. I couldnt believe that people survived this crash, but many did..

[Aeronaut]

Areonaut, are you planning to be at the EAA again this year?

At this point in time that is the plan. The other guy in a parallel position will be in Baghdad at the time, though, and that may alter my plans.

[Moose4]

Just DAMN. I had no idea the wing damage was that bad.

That was a very fine job of piloting by that crew!

}:-)4