Airliners-India.com

Birendra · Member Joined: 15 Feb 2007 Posts: 1411

I follow aviation very closely as i have to travel a lot. I wanted to ask this question

Do aircraft parts often fall off the plane? as i have read about it on various occasions compiled herewith:

In August 2000, a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Boeing 747 was forced to make an emergency landing when some engine pieces plummeted to the ground and landed on a crowded Los Angeles beach.

On March 10, 2005, a couple taking a stroll through woodlands near Gatwick airport had a lucky escape when a door from a passing British Airways jet, crashed to earth. A part of the 70-pound door from a Boeing 777 had become dislodged just after take off and missed the couple by only 20 feet!

On August 11, 2006, a door fell off from a TAM Fokker 100 from Sao Paulo to Rio de Janeiro. It dropped off 18 minutes after departure but the plane was able to return to Sao Paulo without incident. Nobody was injured.

An engine exploded on a Japan Airlines flight bound for Tokyo with pieces of the engine falling on a neighborhood in Jakarta. The falling debris hurt no one but 16 homes were damaged.

The right wheel of a Blue Panorama Airlines Boeing 737 fell off after it departed from an airport in Spain and was forced to make an unscheduled landing amid emergency in Rome.

A similar incident happened near Los Angeles where an American Airlines Boeing 757 lost its right nose gear but managed to land safely with 105 passengers on board.

A landing gear door fell off a Delta Airlines Boeing 727 shortly after the plane took off from Boston's Logan International Airport. The 30-pound metal door crashed into an empty street in a quiet residential neighborhood.

The dislodging of the bolt from the “leading edge flaps” fell off from a Singapore Airlines B747-400 while flying over Sydney and fell on a roof.

My Questions:
1. What is the terminology for such an incident?
2. What is the pilots role in such a case?
3. What if the bolt fell into the ocean instead of somebody's roof and was never found? Will Singapore Airlines ever notice that a bolt was missing in the first place?
4. To protect their reputation, airlines will of course claim that the aircraft/s safety was never compromised. But how true is this?
5. Do aircraft parts often "fell" off the aircraft (there was another famous incident where a Continental Airlines aircraft had caused the Concorde to crash).
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Dictum meum pactum, "My word is my bond".

HAWK21M · Posted: Mon Jul 16, 2007 7:49 pm Post subject:

1. What is the terminology for such an incident? 
Aircraft Incident.

2. What is the pilots role in such a case? 
Pilot does not know what occured,but will react as per his QRH depending on the warnings.

3. What if the bolt fell into the ocean instead of somebody's roof and was never found? Will Singapore Airlines ever notice that a bolt was missing in the first place? 
Def,There are scheduled checks in place,or a snag will point to an unscheduled check.

4. To protect their reputation, airlines will of course claim that the aircraft/s safety was never compromised. But how true is this? 
Depends on the Airline.But remember documents don't lie.

5. Do aircraft parts often "fell" off the aircraft (there was another famous incident where a Continental Airlines aircraft had caused the Concorde to crash).
No.

regds
MEL
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Think of the Brighter side !!!

Birendra · Member Joined: 15 Feb 2007 Posts: 1411

HAWK21M · Posted: Tue Jul 17, 2007 1:18 pm Post subject:

TFOA....not out here though.If You were aware of the Answer why did you ask it Smile

You asked about pilots role during the flight.hence qrh reference.I was not reffering to post flight.

regds
MEL
_________________
Think of the Brighter side !!!

Birendra · Member Joined: 15 Feb 2007 Posts: 1411