Posted on 07/06/2013 12:02:24 PM PDT by FreedomPoster
Now there is a very distinct possibility.
FOX news just had an aviation expert who said that the wing tanks are "self sealing" in case of crash.
Earlier report indicated flight was cleared for a different runway.
Yep - looks like he tagged the breakwater at the end of the runway when he came in. I’ve flown into SFO lots of times and you really get the impression that you’re going to hit the water.
My last flight was September, 2002, for all the reasons you have cited.
From 1979 to 2002 I flew everywhere. Now I drive.
It is no more than being in crowded city bus in the sky anyway.
I pack what I want, leave when I want, rest when I want, get there when I want. And no more poking in the belly, or pat downs. Screw the TSA!
Do they even allow a vis approach in the 777?
Let's hope it wasn't due to folks grabbing their luggage before exiting the plane.
I thought I was the only one thinking ‘bird strike’. I’m still thinking that! Look what a bird strike did to that flight in NY.. The one with the hero pilot!
“Written off” in this case means the insurance company writes the airline a check and takes ownership of the wreckage. The insurance company will sell it to a salvage company who can recover parts for resale. Pretty much like when you total an automobile.
It’s actually a real testament to the 777 that the thing is lying in one piece, at all. Kudos to the designers.
Did the lawyers arrive before EMS?
No one on TV has said a word about that; I noticed it too on ABC’s first pics just after they aired the film, a couple of hours ago. Wonder if that’s what’s floating in the water?
Joining the thread late...
I think it may be under the Port side wing! They are spraying foam in that location now!
FNC
48 injured
2 dead
Now I'm agonna give my summation, from observations, and knock down some weird theories.
It almost surely suffered a tail strike, certainly by end of rocky end of over-run area, even possibly in water.
Only one heavy strike mark, so landing gear do not appear to have struck rock berm, only centerline (tail).
Aircraft almost certainly did NOT cartwheel.
Aircraft came to rest in a very short distance, indicating sheared mains or sideways sliding.
Post-accident fires can be immediate and violent, or start later and slower, or any combination thereof. Having a post-crash fire after a landing is not unusual, nor is it unusual for the aircraft to be successfully evacuated.
Been some strange theories floating, but tailstrikes (landing short) happen, probably always will.
Often accidents are the result of a chain of small failures that accumulate into a big one. There could be myriad mini-failures here...fatigue, sun-in-the-eyes, wind gust, power loss for whatever reason, control malfunction...who knows. But the end result is a tailstrike that could have turned out much, much worse than it did.
FNC now reporting fire dept source saying 48 injured and 2 killed.
“Not to argue too much, but engines are not designed to shear off on a hard/crash landing”
Actually the Boeing engines have shear pins and they are designed to break away on a hard landing. You don’t want a 1200 degree engine glowing like a cherry up agains’t the plane. So unfortunatley it looks like this engine did not get away from the plane like its supposed to and probably ignited the plane.
“Looking at the other plane that was waiting to take off, it’s a miracle that the crashed plane didn’t slide into the jet that was waiting.”
I hope that crew doesn’t have any pressing plans. They will be sequestered for several days, while the NTSB interviews them.
Quickly perusing aviation transport forums I see that at least some jet turbine engine mounting systems have bolts that are designed to shear given a high enough lateral load. There are generally only 3 or 4 bolts, with each mount specialized to accommodate a normal load in a specific plane but all designed to breakaway if necessary.
ABC’s Claudia Callan (?) still reporting the plane flipped-over.
There’s still an engine (port) missing from plane and debris field. No one on TV’s said a word about it, even the so-called pilot “experts”.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.