Posted on 09/21/2005 8:25:21 PM PDT by HighWheeler
After looking carfully at the replays of the JetBlue landing tonight, I noticed during landing that the nosegear flames and fires were pulsing on and off during the landing. The flames became quite fierce during the "roll"out of the aircraft, but would diminish and suddenly flame-on strongly again.
If you watch the landing carefully, you will see the times that the flames pulse on are the moments when the nose gear is scraping on the painted stripe on the runway.
This is very significant.
The FAA, airlines and manufacturers are always concerned with fire and especially fire avoidance and fire suppression. Fire is the number one enemy of ships, aircraft, and buildings. The fact that the tarmac paint could erupt in flames is a highly significant observation, especially where sources of flames are always a priority in accident investigation.
Imagine if there had been any available fuel source from the plane associated with this landing, leaking fuel, hydraulic fluid, or lubricant. The outcome could instead have been a significant disaster. The FAA and these airfields will need to find a far less flamable paint for these stripes.
I did. I take it back-- looks like he drifted on to centerline just as the rubber burned through, and the paint stripes appeared to coordinate exactly with flare-ups in the sparks. The metal sparks appeared to be igniting the paint stripes at least 5 times that looked exactly in sync with the painted stripes.
There are little raised markers that are also on the centerline, so the centerline can be seen during rainy or cluttered conditions. Maybe they could have contributed to the sparks or flame, too.
LOL, Just admit you were wrong and move on :-)
"Answer: Ceramic stripes"
Naaa. Give each evacuee passenger $2,000 vouchers and then point fingers at whose to blame.
Don't have it. Someone please find the MSNBC clip and post a link.
I hope they don't use aluminum chips in that paint for reflectivity, aluminum is a main fuel in the Space Shuttle's solid rocket engines.
ROFLMAO, It's Bush's fault
already posted. Inge_CAV's son noticed that in the original thread.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1488925/posts?q=1&&page=1251#1363
thanks for the link! FReepers are a very observant bunch! I wonder if anyone else in media has caught this?
I have admitted I was wrong. But I think it's much more likely a coating friction issue than a flammability issue. The thread starter made an astute observation of the apparent link with the stripes.
I thought I had heard everything. Now, I hear that our airport runways have flammable stripes on them. In fact our entire road system has painted stripes on them. Does dry runway or highway paint burn? Will we see terrorists dropping matches on our highways? "Hello 911, my street is on fire".
You may want to view the video in post #6 above for confirmation.
I just Thank God they landed safely, I'll not spend much debating this deal, a 250,000 pound passenger jet with it's wheels grinding into any surface tends to heat things up a bit, I just hope there wasn't any Spotted Owls on the runway :-)
It's likely the hub assembly of the wheel was aluminum alloy.
I'm still trying to figure out why they didn't foam the runway, unless they didn't have that capability-- and you'd think LA of all places would have first-rate firefighting capability.
Ditto what HighWheeler says-- see the video then say that. Notice how he drifts right to centerline as the rollout progresses.
"I'm still trying to figure out why they didn't foam the runway,"
That's a good point. But that also would make an interesting debate. If they had used the foam, we might not have found out that the paint was such an effective ignition source/fuel for starting fires.
I'm with you on the ignition source but not on the fuel. I think an analysis would show that even total burning of a paint stripe would not release enough energy to create those flames. But igniting a part on the LG, yes.
I think you've sparked a flame war.
That was a beautiful landing, considering the problem!
Good sex is exciting.
A good hockey game is exciting.
An good emergency landing should be boring as hell.
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