Posted on 09/21/2005 4:21:43 PM PDT by kingu
A Jet Blue aircraft just did a low altitude flyby of Long Beach airport after reporting some concern with their forward gear. The television helicopter caught an image of it - the gear is turned sideways and tilted.
Aircraft is heading out towards the ocean to drop fuel, will turn around, and attempt a 'soft field' landing, keeping the nose up as long as possible.
That is what FNC and other sources are stating.
Yes.... I heard it on their TV station link.. the lady said at 6:00 PM PST....
earlier, they said it would land at 5:25 PT....obviously, it hasn't; perhaps that's just to make sure that all Emergency equipment, etc., are in place, and to burn more fuel.
Page 1 FACTUAL REPORT - AVIATION
On February 16, 1999, at 1602 Eastern Standard Time, an Airbus A-320-231, N628AW, operated by
America West Airlines as flight 2811, received minor damage when it landed at Port Columbus
International Airport (CMH), Columbus, Ohio, with the nose wheels rotated 90 degrees. There were
no injuries to the 2 certificated pilots, 3 flight attendants and 26 passengers. Visual
meteorological conditions prevailed for the scheduled passenger flight which had departed from
Newark (EWR), New Jersey, about 1404. Flight 2811 was operated on an instrument flight rules
flight plan conducted under 14 CFR Part 121.
According to statements from the flight crew, flight 2811 was uneventful until the landing gear was
lowered prior to landing at CMH. After the landing gear was extended to the down-and-locked
position, the flight crew received indications of dual landing gear control and interface unit
(LGCIU) faults.
The flight crew entered into a holding pattern and attempted to troubleshoot the faults; however,
they were unable to determine the source of the problem. The flight crew then prepared for a
landing at CMH, with nosewheel steering and thrust reversers inoperative due to the faults. During
the final approach, at the flight crew's request, the control tower performed a visual check of the
landing gear, which revealed that the nosewheels were rotated about 90 degrees.
The flight crew then initiated a missed approach and declared an emergency. The cabin crew was
notified of an impending emergency landing, and the cabin and passengers were prepared for the
landing. The captain initiated the approach, and described the touchdown as soft. The airplane
stopped on the 10,250-foot-long runway with about 2,500 feet of runway remaining. Damage was
limited to the nose landing gear tires and rims.
The captain reported that after landing, he noticed smoke was drifting up on the right side of the
airplane. He said he attempted to contact the control tower and confirm if a fire was present, but
was unable due to frequency congestion. He then initiated an emergency evacuation using the left
and right side overwing exits.
A review of the air/ground communications, as recorded by the Columbus Air Traffic Control Tower,
did not reveal a congested frequency when the emergency evacuation was initiated.
According to Airbus, nose wheel steering was hydraulically actuated through either the cockpit
tiller and/or the rudder pedals.
A post-incident visual inspection of the nose landing gear assembly revealed no anomalies. The
steering control module was replaced, and a subsequent functional check of the nosewheel steering
was successful.
This space for binding
National Transportation Safety Board
FACTUAL REPORT
AVIATION
NTSB ID:
Occurrence Date:
Occurrence Type:
FACTUAL REPORT - AVIATION Page 1a
Narrative (Continued)
Incident
02/16/1999
NYC99IA062
The steering control module was a sealed unit, opened only during overhaul, with no specified
overhaul time, and had accumulated 3,860 hours since last overhauled on March 3, 1998. It was
shipped to Messier-Bugatti, the manufacturer, and examined under the supervision of the French
Bureau Enquetes Accidents (BEA). The examination revealed that the external hydraulic O-ring seals
on the steering control module's selector valve were extruded (distorted out of the seal's groove).
A small offset was found in the steering control valve.
Airbus further reported that while the offset would have been measurable, it would not have been
noticeable under normal operations. Additionally, during landing gear extension, the brake and
steering control unit (BSCU) would have been energized and hydraulic pressure would have been
directed toward the steering servo valve. The BSCU would have then commanded a small rotation of
the nose wheel to check for proper movement. Any disagreement between the commanded position and
actual position of the nose wheel would have deactivated the nose wheel steering. However, if
hydraulic pressure had bypassed the steering control valve, there would have been continued
pressurization to the servo valve, and because of the servo valve's inherent offset, in-flight
rotation of the nose wheels.
Procedures existed for removal of hydraulic pressure from the steering control module. However,
once the nosewheel strut had deflected 90 degrees, the centering cam would have been rotated to a
flat area, and would have been incapable of overriding the 3,000 PSI hydraulic system, and
returning the nose wheels to a centered position.
Documents from Airbus indicated there have been three similar incidents in which A320 airplanes
landed with the nose wheels rotated about 90 degrees. Examination of the steering control modules
on two of the airplanes revealed extrusion of the selector valve's external seals similar to that
found on N628AW. Airbus had attributed the extrusion failures to the lack of a backup seal or the
effects of aging on the seals. As a result of these incidents, Airbus issued Service Bulletin (SB)
A320-32-1197 on October 8, 1998, to recommend replacement of the external seals on the steering
control module's selector valve on A320 and A321 airplanes within 18 months of the SB's issuance.
At the time of the incident, neither the French Direction General de l'Aviation Civile (DGAC), or
the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), had adopted the service bulletin as an airworthiness
directive. The operator was not required to comply with the service bulletin, and had not complied
with it.
On March 24, 1999, the DGAC issued Airworthiness Directive (AD) 1999-124-129(B) to require
compliance with the SB. On December 17, 1999, the FAA issued AD 99-23-09 which was based upon the
French AD, with a 12 month time of compliance for modification of the nose wheel steering control
valve.
Have to get that face time on TV. Shameful!
LA on citywide tactical alert.
Because of potential looters, I guess.
Especially if they left the ground lock pin or collar on.
MSNBC has a pilot on right now that has landed an Airbus with this exact problem.
Said the gear didn't snap but the plane just vibrated, violently, to a stop.
He's on the south side of Catalina island, about 26 miles from LAX
Pilot just said he's dialing in seal beach VOR, at 6000 feet, heading towards seal beach.
Thrust reversers don't open before the plane hits the ground. They operate when air ground sense tells the computer there is weight on the mains. They will deploy before the nose touches if the levers are pulled.
Yes, since 3:17 Pacific --- God be with the pilots and Lord have mercy.
They're pretty well prepared on the ground.
I couldn't spell your name, or I would have pinged you to my question in my #224.
MSNBC
Bill Tracey, pilot, on phone. He is contradicting what Hager said. Tracey said anything is better than nothing -- because the landing gear is the stongest part of the airplane.
Hager said it would be better for the nose gear to break off and them skid in.
3 hours, wow! Can you imagine the human dynamics that have surfaced in that plane?
Some folks have emerged as natural leaders, others as total buttheads. Others have forged relationships with their fellow passengers that probably would never have occured otherwise.
25L....it's literally right outside my office. Everyone here in the office is praying hard!!
Was everyone ok?
Hooray.... "The mayor" has arrived, the plane can land now...!
MSNBC as usual with these live breaking things, seems to be doing the best job.
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