Posted on 05/25/2008 9:24:02 AM PDT by Paleo Conservative
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - An American Kalitta Air cargo plane slid off the runway at Brussels's Zaventem airport on Sunday and broke in two but there were no casualties, the fire brigade spokesman said.
The Boeing aircraft's five crew all escaped through an inflatable emergency slide, spokesman Francis Boileau said. Four of them had minor injuries.
Boileau did not know if the accident happened during take off or landing, but said that apart from its cargo of cars and equipment, the jet was full of fuel.
He said the plane came to a halt some 200 metres (650 feet) from the runway and only 10 metres (30 feet) from a railway line.
"There was a danger of an explosion just after the accident because it was full of kerosene, about 100 tonnes of it, and there was a big leakage when it broke," Boileau said.
The fire brigade had secured the leakage within 30 minutes, he said.
"We see from the large tracks on the runway that the pilot tried to stop the aircraft, because he understood he could not bring it up into the air, and he drove it off the runway," Boileau said.
The Kalitta Air company's website says it is a Michigan Limited Liability Company owned by Conrad Kalitta. It started in November 2000 with three Boeing 747 aircraft and the fleet has grown to a present total of 18 B 747 freighters.
Right after you apply the duct tape and a little Gorilla glue.....
“..who should have known with a full fuel load, it’s obvious the plane was taking off and not landing.”
What difference does it make to an MSM reporter whether the plane takes off or lands as long as he is the first one to report the story.
No, it was carrying jet fuel in the fuel tanks and cargo in the belly cargo holds and main deck.
“Kerosene...as in jet fuel?
Is it common for a jet to carry such a payload?”
Yes. Otherwise it would be called a “glider”.
God must have a plan for that crew.
A “Did we pay our insurance premium this month” moment.
LOL!
Interesting units the English paper uses to describe dimensions on aircraft....:^)
One lucky crew...
Yes. I was on our school newspaper many years ago, and even as a schoolboy I knew—having been so informed—that you put as many facts as you can into the opening paragraph, without overloading it too awkwardly.
Also, again without being awkward, you write the entire article in order of decreasing importance, the main facts first, the subsidiary facts in descending order of importance, so the editor can cut the wherever he pleases to fit the available space and leave room for pictures or ads.
Some stories need to be told as stories, or narratives, but most stories should be written with the facts up front.
First the new generations of reporters after Watergate started burying facts because they were awkward politically; then they started leaving them out entirely; and finally after doing this for years they forgot the basic principles of story composition, since facts or truth were no longer important to them anyway, under the overwhelming pressure of ideology first and foremost.
These habits are often noticeable even in completely apolitical stories like this one.
It's from Reuter's... they're not a big fan of facts.
Most likely cargo shifting in the bay. The most likely culprit for this is someone loading the cargo improperly, which was either improperly balanced in the first place or that broke free, slid around, and altered the balance of the plane.
Didn't he fly L1011 before?
Shifting cargo or the sudden failure of a plane component which permitted the massive mechanical failure seen in the picture.
My apology if your statement was being facetious, given the way the plane was broken like an egg.
It might be that the cargo was loaded properly, but that the weight was just too much. That would result in insufficient lift. The question might be; did the plane break resulting in an aborted takeoff that left the plane broken and off the runway?
Or did the takeoff get aborted due to insufficient lift, resulting in the plane leaving the runway and then breaking? A video of the takeoff would be quite enlightening.
If you were really good, you would take advantage of this incident to create two smaller planes from the parts. Much of the work has already been done.
"We see from the large tracks on the runway that the pilot tried to stop the aircraft, because he understood he could not bring it up into the air, and he drove it off the runway," Boileau said.
Looks like Boileau has trouble making up his mind.
And step in dog crap as you attempt to stroll around.
Lots and lots of dog crap.
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