AVIATION PING!................
Strange indeed - this will have the experts stumped for some time; backups plenty, no gear, no flaps.....
From my expert:
Bird strike likely, but was NOT the cause of the crash.
The cause was the loss of ALL THREE independent hydraulic systems and/or pilot error. The pilot error was to try and land so quickly before having time to assess the problems and go through all the proper check lists.
The gear can be lowered manually, so why didn’t they? TIME, panic.
“I MUST get back to the airport NOW!” itis.
What the hell kind of bird did it hit?
Okay just watch that video and read on this This makes absolutely no sense... No gear down no flaps down coming in at full power skitting on its belly into a concrete abutment
This is just pure craziness....
I’m going to say massively incompetent pilots who really were just trained monkeys for automation
And when the automation didn’t work they had no clue what the hell they were doing
“Official Explanation of South Korean Plane Crash Doesn’t Add Up”
Things may have changed, but back in my Airline days both the 737 and the DC-9 had two hydraulic systems and manual backup that would enable the plane to land rather normally. So you could take out both hydraulic systems, but still easily land the plane. For the larger planes (747 and DC10), you needed at least some hydraulics to land due to their size (but then they have at least 3 hydraulic systems).
So, I agree, this is not adding up. The only thing that I can think of is that the Korean crew was not trained on how to manually fly the plane, since, well, you have computers for that (LOL). It is a problem in 3rd World Countries where you spend most of your time trying to train the flight crew how to use the computers, and actual flying of the airplane, particularly in emergencies, is an afterthought.
Juan Brown of the Broncolerio YouTube channel put out a video a few hours ago. As usual, Juan was very informative and he went through several things about the crash. He questioned a complete hydraulic failure as there are 3 hydraulic systems so it would take something catastrophic to disable all 3. He questioned why the flight crew did not manually deploy the landing gear. And he questioned why the crew did not make a longer go around before trying to land. It was an interesting episode. And he blasted the airport for having the ILS system on an earthen mound at the end of the runway where it would be immovable. And then a concrete fence surrounding the airport. Even though the plane disintegrated when it it the ILS mound.
Crappy pilots is the most likely answer .
I had heard on the news that they were airborne for 4 minutes after announcing the mayday. I seems that would have been enough time to assess the situation and respond appropriately.
A CNN expert said that the runway was long enough that it should have been normally able to stop while skidding.
Point, There was a go-around. Why?
Point, The first approach was south to north/R 01 - R 19, and the second approach was north to south/R 19 - R 01. Why?
Point, On the go-around, the aircraft was functioning normally. (assumption)
Point, The bird strike occurred about the same time that the tower warned the aircraft of a potential for a bird strike, which was during it’s final (second) approach segment. (assumption)
Point, In checking Google maps, an overhead view reveals that there IS NOT any ILS infrastructure at the north end of the runway, and there is clearly enough room for an uncontrollable aircraft to skid to a stop without destroying itself.
Point, Did the pilots realize at the last minute/second, on the first landing approach (south to north/R 01 - R 19) that the ILS was at the (opposite) south end of the runway and NOT at the north end of the runway, and that they had to abort the landing and make an approach (north to south/R 19 - R 01) from the opposite direction?
Point, Do all landings have to be north to south in order/R 19 - R 01, to utilize the ILS?
Point, Does the fact that there is only an ILS at one end of the runway, answer questions one and two?
In my very humble opinion, as a former USAF aircraft mishap investigator, and having seen what damage to one hydraulic line can do to a jet...
I can see how a bird ingested into one engine could damage the hydraulic system, IF it was a big enough bird that sent bones, etc as shrapnel into enough lines inside the wing and engine pylon.
But, the whole thing is weird to me, because I couldn’t see on the video whether the mishap jet had flaps down during that crash. The thrust reverser on the right wing engine was not deployed, that is the cowl being ripped off by high-speed contact with the runway. Landing gear is not deployed, but it can be deployed via gravity.
All in all, a weird incident.