Qantas 747 jet lands with gaping hole in fuselage

[4X4]

As he was always a guy that likes to keep people at arm's length, he hasn't seen anyone since the accident.

[flylock shox]

^ Nice!

I wouldn't worry about him being alone though. He should have no problem pulling himself up by his own bootstraps.

[Eastern Girl]

Originally Posted by arsenal

Or the british airways pilot who got sucked partially out of the cockpit, when his windscreen blew out. The co-pilot ended up landing the plane, and there about 3 or 4 other people in the cockpit with him, holding onto the pilot.

This was on Mayday too. The pilot actually survived. Felt so bad for the co-pilot, all the shots of him he looked so devastated. The ambulance crew was trying to comfort him. Really difficult to watch. It's really quite amazing what these pilots can do.

(I really don't know why I watch Mayday. It's all quite terrifying.)

[STeeLy]

Originally Posted by Eastern Girl

This was on Mayday too. The pilot actually survived. Felt so bad for the co-pilot, all the shots of him he looked so devastated. The ambulance crew was trying to comfort him. Really difficult to watch. It's really quite amazing what these pilots can do.

(I really don't know why I watch Mayday. It's all quite terrifying.)

I think Mayday is a very interesting show... terrifying as it maybe but, they really go in depth into the details of the crash and the investigation of the crash.

I love watching it in flight or just before a flight... to the dismay of the people I'm flying with :P

Props to the Qantas pilots who landed it... but I do have a question about it though:
How would a hole like that affect the airflow AROUND the plane as well as the overall aerodynamics of the plane?

[Dan02]

Originally Posted by Eastern Girl

(I really don't know why I watch Mayday. It's all quite terrifying.)

Until you realize almost all the shows they do are from the 80s. Man that was a dangerous time to fly.

[Eastern Girl]

Originally Posted by STeeLy

I think Mayday is a very interesting show... terrifying as it maybe but, they really go in depth into the details of the crash and the investigation of the crash.

I love watching it in flight or just before a flight... to the dismay of the people I'm flying with :P

Yeah, I tend to watch episodes before I fly too. Not sure why I do it.

The show is good, in the sense that it outlines all the possibilities they investigated and how they narrowed it down to their final conclusion. It's quite impressive, as the investigations are quite colossal and thorough. But, I still get a feeling of dread in my stomach after watching it.

I know they tend to be events from years ago, but just the idea that one tiny human error, like say, putting screws in a windshield that are about a quarter of an inch too short could cause such chaos, that's unsettling.

[3 Justin 3]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

that's nothing, 2 pilots actually landed this airplane



they had a story on this on the discovery channel show Mayday. it was a plane that was past it's life cycle running thousands of hours over what it should have been, and as a result had stress fractures that separately formed and eventually all connected together and tore the roof of the plane off midflight. the only death was a stewardess that was sucked out with the explosive decompression, but the pilots managed to land it and save all the passengers

I watched that episode. I don't think it was over is life cycle, it just had a lot of hours on it. Like 40 years old. One of the women saw a minor crack by a rivet, this is where it started. That one crack eventually spread and tore all that part of the plane off. The entire time the pilots couldn't talk to the passengers/stuartists. The fatality was a women who was well known with the company and many of the passengers, and was planning on to retire.

I hate and love watching Mayday, it fascinates me, but since I fly about once a year, I am left thinking about this stuff all the time. I am going to Europe in 3 weeks and I am fearing my plane will crash in the ocean and I will drown. The last episode I watched, the people cleaning the plane, before take off, forget to take the tape off like 2 of the sensors, which caused the stuff in the plane to malfunction, and they almost crashed in the ocean, luckily the pilot got out of the clouds to get his bearings quickly enough to straighten the plain from a freefall dive.

[Dan02]

Originally Posted by 3 Justin 3

I hate and love watching Mayday, it fascinates me, but since I fly about once a year, I am left thinking about this stuff all the time. I am going to Europe in 3 weeks and I am fearing my plane will crash in the ocean and I will drown.

Bah its much more likely that the impact with the water will kill you.

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by 3 Justin 3

I watched that episode. I don't think it was over is life cycle, it just had a lot of hours on it. Like 40 years old. One of the women saw a minor crack by a rivet, this is where it started.

If I'm not mistaken a main cause was the high cycle flying and salt water environment of the Hawaiin islands that contributed heavily to the corrosion that led to the fuselage failing.

SteeLy: The hole would have a noticeable effect to the pilots probably. Considering the explosive decompression caused one of the wing root fairings to blow off, those fairings are designed to smooth the airflow around where the wing meets the fuselage. I would assume after the "explosion" was noticed one of the first things the flight crew would have done was slow the aircraft down to minimize any further damage that could be caused.

The overall aerodynamics were probably ok, perhaps needing a little more engine power on that side of the aircraft to compensate for some increased drag due to the hole and missing fairing. Or they could just compensate with some left rudder.

[Morozee]

Investigator's suspect an Oxygen bottle exploded.

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/0...as-oxygen.html

[Ice]

Originally Posted by 3 Justin 3

I hate and love watching Mayday, it fascinates me, but since I fly about once a year, I am left thinking about this stuff all the time. I am going to Europe in 3 weeks and I am fearing my plane will crash in the ocean and I will drown. The last episode I watched, the people cleaning the plane, before take off, forget to take the tape off like 2 of the sensors, which caused the stuff in the plane to malfunction, and they almost crashed in the ocean, luckily the pilot got out of the clouds to get his bearings quickly enough to straighten the plain from a freefall dive.

Its barely even been a year since I got over my fear of flying and finally did it. I've never heard of this show, but it sounds like watching it could really set me back. In a weird way, I'm still curious though.

[henriksedin33]

Originally Posted by Ice

Its barely even been a year since I got over my fear of flying and finally did it. I've never heard of this show, but it sounds like watching it could really set me back. In a weird way, I'm still curious though.

I can definitely see where people get a fear of flying, but really, it's quite an irrational fear. You're much more likely to be killed on those LA freeways.

[Ice]

Originally Posted by henriksedin33

I can definitely see where people get a fear of flying, but really, it's quite an irrational fear. You're much more likely to be killed on those LA freeways.

You're probably the 10,000th person to tell me that.

I wanted to get over it for years, I knew it was keeping me from experiencing new places. I think having to drive from Montana to my home in the LA area in one day started the ball rolling. What a miserable drive that was. Then my son was invited to a private skate last summer with an NHL player back East. Initially I said no, because I couldn't see myself getting on a plane. Once enough people called me selfish, I think I realized it was the right time to get over it. I've done it four times now, and still have moments during the flight where I have anxiety, but for the most part, I'm pretty calm. At least now, there's at least a chance I'll get to see the Flames play in Calgary.

[mykalberta]

Originally Posted by henriksedin33

I can definitely see where people get a fear of flying, but really, it's quite an irrational fear. You're much more likely to be killed on those LA freeways.

I think the problem some have is on those LA freeways you have some control, in a plane you have no control.