Virgin jet forced to make high-speed landing

[Greg McDonald]

From News.com.au:

A VIRGIN Blue jet with 55 passengers on board was forced to make a high-speed landing at Melbourne airport in what air safety investigators are treating as a serious incident.

The scare follows a host of safety issues with Australian planes that began three weeks ago when an explosion on a Qantas 747 blew a hole in the fuselage.

The 78-seat Virgin Blue Embraer jet from Sydney was close to landing at 8.50pm on Sunday when the pilot experienced problems extending the flaps and the slats.

Emergency services were immediately put on standby as the Brazilian-built plane approached, The Australian reports.

The flaps, at the rear of the wing, and the slats, on the front, deploy to increase the wing's surface area and slow the plane when landing.

A Virgin Blue spokesman said Sunday's problems involved a sensor controlling the slats.

He said the pilot followed set guidelines with the flaps only partially extended and the slats not extended at all.

"As a matter of practice, the flight crew notified air traffic control that alternate procedures were being adopted for landing," he said.

"Then air traffic control, in turn, as a safety precaution put emergency services at the airport on standby."

[Josh F]

A VIRGIN Blue jet with 55 passengers on board was forced to make a high-speed landing at Melbourne airport in what air safety investigators are treating as a serious incident.

The scare follows a host of safety issues with Australian planes that began three weeks ago when an explosion on a Qantas 747 blew a hole in the fuselage.

The 78-seat Virgin Blue Embraer jet from Sydney was close to landing at 8.50pm on Sunday when the pilot experienced problems extending the plane's flaps and slats. Emergency services were immediately put on standby as the Brazilian-built jetliner approached the airport.

The flaps, at the rear of the wing, and the slats, on the front, deploy to increase the wing's surface area and slow the plane when landing.

A Virgin Blue spokesman said Sunday's problems involved a sensor controlling the slats.

He said the pilot followed set guidelines, with the flaps only partially extended and the slats not extended.

"As a matter of practice, the flight crew notified air traffic control that alternate procedures were being adopted for landing," the spokesman said.

"Then air traffic control, in turn, as a safety precaution put emergency services at the airport on standby. The aircraft landed without incident, and following a subsequent maintenance inspection, the sensor was reset and the flaps were checked for correct operation.

"The aircraft returned to service the following day. We of course notified the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, as per standard procedure." Landings with flaps and slats unextended must be made at higher speeds to prevent an aerodynamic stall.

Attempting to fly with either unevenly deployed would unbalance the aircraft and could cause it to roll, although modern aircraft have mechanisms that stop the panels deploying too far if a problem is sensed.

An ATSB spokesman said pilots trained for such incidents.

"A flapless approach is ... obviously not a routine activity that's done daily, but it's certainly a common thing that's practised in simulators," he said.

The Australian

[NickN]

Interesting, those are basically brand new aircraft.

[Andrew P]

DJ using Embraer on the SYD-MEl route????

[Marty H]

Interesting, those are basically brand new aircraft.

They go u/s quite a bit, Embaer are much like the Hyundai of plane manufactuers.

[Marty H]

DJ using Embraer on the SYD-MEl route????

1345 departs MEL and Arrives back at around 1900 and terminates.

[Andrew McLaughlin]

DJ using Embraer on the SYD-MEl route????

You'll find the E-Jets on many east coast routes during off peak times where they struggle to fill a 737.

[NickN]

Embaer are much like the Hyundai of plane manufactuers

If only Hyundai made cars like Embraer make planes!

[Michael Arentz]

I think news.com.au got it a little wrong.

http://www.extremechickenwrestling.com/borkedlgear.jpg

[Andrew McLaughlin]

They go u/s quite a bit, Embaer are much like the Hyundai of plane manufactuers.


That's pretty rough there Marty...according to Virgin they've got a dispatch rate up there with the 737s and improving.

[NickN]

I think news.com.au got it a little wrong.


Absolutely nothing surprising there!!!!

Any why would a jet with landing gear failure want to land at high speed. What a stupid heading.

[Adrian B]

Never let the truth or fact get n the way of a sensationalised headline. Did some mention that they feared for their lives???

[Bill S]

They go u/s quite a bit, Embaer are much like the Hyundai of plane manufactuers.

That'd be funny if it were remotely correct.

[ChrisG.]

You know, Hyundai's might be cheap, but has anyone else noticed how they just keep going and going? I've driven my fair share of old Hyundai's, and I swear you've gotta drop a 2 ton truck on top of them before they stop.

So if the Embraer's are like Hyundai's, you won't have one breaking down on you, :D.

Chris

[Bill S]

You know, Hyundai's might be cheap, but has anyone else noticed how they just keep going and going? I've driven my fair share of old Hyundai's, and I swear you've gotta drop a 2 ton truck on top of them before they stop.

Quick thread hijack sorry - Not all of them were/are.
A mate of mine had one that was so bad, he very nearly parked it out the front of the Hyundai HQ in Sydney to pour petrol over it and burn it in protest.

[ChrisG.]

Ahh, that sucks.

Maybe it's just the old one's that keep going and going?

However, it'd be very unfair to compare the unbreakable Hyundai, to the unbreakable Hilux. Even Top Gear proved you can't break a Hilux. Maybe that's what you've gotta drop onto a Hyundai to get it to break?

Chris

[Zac M]

which e-jet was it?

[Ash W]

Interesting, those are basically brand new aircraft.


Just goes to show that you can have a fault on what is more or less a brand new aircraft. They don't need to be 17 years old to have problems.

[Bill S]

Just goes to show that you can have a fault on what is more or less a brand new aircraft. They don't need to be 17 years old to have problems.

That was pretty much my point in the other thread, about the uninformed comments on the 'unreliable' 747-300's.

[ChrisG.]

But does that mean that Boeing is the Hyundai of the sky's as well? :confused:

Because they break down just as much.

Sorry to say Marty, but your case appears to have holes in it. :cool:

Chris

[Adam P.]

Nooo. Saabs!!!

Or Airbii.

Any aeroplane for that matter. They're complex beasts, they break down. Fact of life for any airline.

[Stuart Trevena]

Hi All,

So why wasn't this incident on this news (TV Media) and beaten up, like what they have done with Qantas over the past several weeks???

This is no different to the Qantas Flight from Adelaide I think that couldn't retact the Landing gear Doors, exceprt this happened on a Brand New Jet!!

As it was coming in faster than normal, wasn't passenger safety as risk??
I know they weren't.

But the media (TV Networks) should have done something about this as they can't beat up one airline and ignor the others in Australia.

VB doesn't have a perfect track record either, it somehow manages to get swept under the carpet, as far as the media are concerned.

Stuart

[Anthony T]

I think you will find that Virgin Blue are a bit more proactive when dealing with the media on these sorts of issues by providing the media with information with about various incidents. Qantas tends to be reactive after the media finds out about incidents from passengers, who have just disembarked ashen faced from a flight which returned to the gate, and after having scribbled thier last will & testement on the back of a barf bag. :p

Virgin Blue also tend to invite the media to a better party:D

Anthony T

[Kent Broadhead]

Is DJ (VB) currently negotiating with its engineers? No?

I think we have an answer re. the beat-ups.

Mind you the 744 incident (yes, I should have the reg. memorised by now, but don't) was a major one, so you can't blame the media for keeping tabs.

kent

[Hugh Jarse]

Some of you armchair experts crack me up :D

Qantaslink have had Q400's for several of years and they still have significant dispatch reliability problems (in spite of having some of the best engineers I've had the pleasure of knowing). You should hear what they have to say about build quality. They spend much of their time making right what should have been done properly at assembly.

The fact is that no matter who the manufacturer is, you will always have problems with new aircraft.

[John Thoroughgood]

Gotta agree with you, Hugh!
Guess it doesn't matter whether its automobiles or aircraft, anything coming off a production line can be expected to have teething problems of one sort or another.
With the number of and complexity of parts in an aircraft, it surprises me a little that we don't here more of these, generally minor, hiccups.

P.S. My little 98 Hyundai has 285,402Kms on it today, and is still purring along. Now my previous Subaru......grrr!!!!

[Adam P.]

we don't here more of these, generally minor, hiccups.
I think you've answered your own question there, John. You don't hear about them because they're minor - and not newsworthy.

Just because it's not in the news doesn't mean it doesn't happen. And just because it IS in the news doesn't mean it's abnormal.

[John Thoroughgood]

Hi Adam. Yes, you hit the nail on the head there.
I admit that I didn't really make myself clear- thinking more of a mention within these threads, rather than a full media onslaught when aviation is, as at present the Flavour of the Month.
Surely it must soon be Cityrail's turn again for the Media Dartboard. Lol
Cheers John

[damien b]

Is DJ (VB) currently negotiating with its engineers? No?

I think we have an answer re. the beat-ups.

Mind you the 744 incident (yes, I should have the reg. memorised by now, but don't) was a major one, so you can't blame the media for keeping tabs.

kent

I know that the union and QF reached an agreement on the 18th of July on the new EBA, was it voted in, or is the EBA still under negotiations?