Try here for live webcast.
http://www.cbs2.com/
My prayers to all involved.
On the live CBS2 feed, the close up shows the front wheels. They appear to be loose, moving due to the airflow.
I saw somwthing like this once while in the AF.
Not as big of an aircraft as this, but it wasn't pretty.
Trying a rear wheels up causes the tail to drag.
Prayers up here, strong and long. Bring her in easy Cap, easy as you go....
MSNBC commentator says such a twisted landing gear is VERY unusual. He has never heard/seen anything like this.
How much longer until touchdown?
Fox's Shepard Smith pointed out that the Frog airplane, a 300A Airbus, cannot dump fuel. It has no doubt flown around to consume fuel to lessen the danger of fire when a "soft" landing is attempted.
Such landings are often pulled off without injuring anyone aboard. Let us pray that this is such a landing.
Fox's Shepard Smith pointed out that the Frog airplane, a 300A Airbus, cannot dump fuel. It has no doubt flown around to consume fuel to lessen the danger of fire when a "soft" landing is attempted.
Such landings are often pulled off without injuring anyone aboard. Let us pray that this is such a landing.
FoxNews has really dropped the ball on this.
MSNBC is showing full coverage, no breaks for commercials.
CNN is showing full coverage with commercial breaks.
FoxNews does now have a side window showing the plane, but O'Reilly is interviewing Trump.
Fox's Shepard Smith pointed out that the Frog airplane, a 300A Airbus, cannot dump fuel. It has no doubt flown around to consume fuel to lessen the danger of fire when a "soft" landing is attempted.
Such landings are often pulled off without injuring anyone aboard. Let us pray that this is such a landing.
Fox's Shepard Smith pointed out that the Frog airplane, a 300A Airbus, cannot dump fuel. It has no doubt flown around to consume fuel to lessen the danger of fire when a "soft" landing is attempted.
Such landings are often pulled off without injuring anyone aboard. Let us pray that this is such a landing.
MSNBC:
Jet Blue confirms 140 passengers, 6 crew aboard.
I'm on the phone with my boyfriend who is an aeronautical engineer and he says this isn't good at all. Play for these people and their poor families who might be watching this right now. I can't imagine anything worse.
When the landing gear was lowered, the flight crew received landing gear control and interface unit (LGCIU) faults. A visual fly-by revealed the nose wheels were rotated 90 degrees from the desired direction for landing. A normal touchdown was made, after which, the captain commanded an emergency evacuation using the overwing exits. Examination of the airplane revealed the external 'O' rings in the steering control valve had extruded and by-passed pressurized hydraulic fluid to rotate the nose wheels. This event had occurred before, and the manufacturer had issued a service bulletin. The operator had not complied with the service bulletin, nor were they required to comply with it.
Scissor link broke. If the over center is down and locked it ought to straighten when it touches down.
Robert Hager on MSNBC saying it would probably be good if the nose gear breaks off and they skid on the plane nose.
bttt
Saw the shots of the emergency crews on the ground at LAX. I expect I'll see Joe Patroni somewhere among them.
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.