Posted on 11/16/2001 1:09:52 PM PST by Solson
Compiled By AviationNow.com Staff
12-Nov-2001 1:26 PM U.S. EST
Technical information on the American Airbus A300 that crashed near New York John F. Kennedy Airport on Nov. 12:
Aircraft Type: Airbus A300-605R
Registration: N14053
Manufacturer Fuselage No: 420
Rollout date: December 1986
Delivery date: July 12, 1988 to American Airlines by Airbus
Owner: Chase Manhattan Bank (leased to American Airlines)
Engines: Two General Electric CF6-80C2A5s
Airframe maintenance information
Last A Check: Nov. 11, 2001
Last B Check: Oct. 3, 2001
Last Heavy Maintenance Check: Dec. 9, 1999 (N14053 was scheduled for heavy maintenance visit in July 2002).
Engine Maintenance Information
No. 1 Engine: 694 hours since last overhaul
No. 2 Engine: 9,788 hours since last overhaul; 2,887 hours since last shop inspection. (Overhauls typically done every 10,000 hours).
Notes:
American operated 35 A300-600s, including N14053. Of the remaining 34, 10 are owned by the airline.
N14053 was the oldest of American's 35 A300-600s, although it was the seventh A300-600 to join the carrier's fleet.
Sources: American Airlines, Back Information Services, JP Airline Fleets Int'l.
Author wins the Booby prize for reporting the most obvious fact possible. He must've gone to school for years to be able to find out such facts as these.
"the vertical stabilizer was the first piece of debris found, followed by the rudder about 200 yards further down the flight path."
This seems odd, though. The rudder is attached to the fin; so, it should've come off with the fin. And, if it subsequently separated from the fin, why would it have been found further down the flight path. Significantly so -- since the airframe went down a half mile away, the rudder was a full quarter of the way further down the track.
Is the rudder also separately attached to the tailcone? So that it might have been left "hanging", before it too separated?
What kind of noise did they hear? Why no detail on this?
Perhaps the heavier piece fell more quickly which is why it was the first to hit the water.
This is one thing I find interesting...
Black said the Airbus stopped sending transponder signals at an altitude of about 3,000 feet, indicating that something -- such as a major structural failure -- cut the unit's power. "Primary" target returns -- indicating aircraft or large pieces of debris without working transponders -- began at that point, Black said.
Yes. I believe the 'takeoff roll' may indicate a roll maneuver to put the aircraft on its proper heading after takeoff, approximately 253 seconds into the flight. Just a guess.
Which occurred at 144 seconds, 37 seconds after the first "airframe rattle" (a travel distance of, say, a bit more than a mile-and-a-half).
Could the first "airframe rattle" be the vertical stab coming loose, but not separating? Then, could the "wake turbulence" mentioned at 114 seconds be a "weathervaning" effect from the slowly detaching fin? And does the second "airframe rattle" at 121 seconds denote the departure of the vertical stab and rudder some 6 seconds before one of the pilots announces "loss of control" at 127?
Seventeen seconds later, about half a mile away, the plane breaks up and goes straight down.
This chain of events seems to put the vertical stabilizer in its proper place on the flight path, a half mile short of impact.
I found that piece of information disturbing.
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