Jetstar A330 Tow Incident at Melb

[John C]

I have personally witnessed Jetstar towbarless tugs moving A320's at what I consider to be inappropriate speeds.

If I was taxying the aeroplane it would have been too fast, so way too fast for a tow.

[JamesL]

Hi John,

JQ's training for the towbarless tugs in MEL was rated as per the specifications of the tug which was 40km/h which is also the regulated max speed of a vehicle on a taxiway under the MELAIR ADA system.

Regards,

[Daniel M]

What about corners, say, alpha into golf ?

[John C]

Hi James

As a generalisation 21 knots or 40 km/h is way too fast for an aeroplane under tow. It might be ok on a long stretch like taxiway S without any turns, but I have seen them take the 90 degree turns around S, Y and A seemingly without slowing down. When taxying the aeroplane the most we would do for those sorts of turns is 10 kts, less if wet.


It is all ok if it is going ok (if that makes sense!) but if the machine has to stop quickly, having 60 or so tonnes of jet unbraked is problematic. I know they carry a brake rider on board, but there is a level of coordination required to get that person to apply the brakes, by which time it is too late.

I am sure it is all within the spec, and I admit I have never towed an aeroplane, but having flown jets since 1994 and flown turboprops well before that, I wouldn't be comfortable with the machines being moved around the way I see them being moved.

[JamesL]

Oh and we all agree John, I do not work for JQ, I know a few that do thus the comment.

Daniel I know where your going with this, however would not know the specific answer to that question, I know when I tow with a bar, we tow at between 10-15km/h

[Nigel C]

I'm yet to see a tug go faster than 30 at Syd (measured by Lidar), and that's with no aircraft attached. I don't know if they ever get that fast all hooked up with an aircraft.
JamesL, for what it's worth, YSSY has a limit of 60 on the Twy's

[Fred C]

Hi All,

The speed limit on taxiways is not relevant when towing an aircraft. It is the aircraft maintenance manual that determines the allowable towing speed of an aircraft. I will check for sure when I get a chance.

From experience, anything over 15km/h is scary when you have that much weight behind you. ie: A 767, A330 747.

Corners are taken at less than 10 km/h and that is with the tug accelerating (ie pulling the aircraft). You should never take a corner with the aircraft pushing you through it.

[Nigel C]

Originally Posted by Fred C

The speed limit on taxiways is not relevant when towing an aircraft.

Agreed and nor should it be. Safety should be the no-1 concern.
It's a whole new topic really, but I'm surprised there's such a difference in Twy speed limits down in Mel compared to Syd. They are 2 different airports, sure, but they were once flying the same Federal Airports Corporation banner. Happy to be corrected on this, but I'd imagine airside driving rules would have been fairly universal across all FAC controlled airports, with only minor changes for each port's peculiarities?

From experience, anything over 15km/h is scary when you have that much weight behind you. ie: A 767, A330 747.

Corners are taken at less than 10 km/h and that is with the tug accelerating (ie pulling the aircraft). You should never take a corner with the aircraft pushing you through it.

Even in a straight line over 15 is scary fast? I suppose the tugs do bounce around a bit on minor bumps, so any faster and that bounce gets exacerbated.
How noticable is the push of the aircraft behind you when you need to brake? And I presume all braking should be done before a corner, and not during it?

[Daniel M]

Nigel, what are the other speed limits at SYD (for interests sake) ?

MEL has some ridiculous limits on it's airside roads, one in particular on a stretch of road that is basically open paddocks on both sides, yet it is restricted to 15km/h which is basically coasting. From what I've heard, they implemented these speed limits only so that they could win some sort of international safety award, but in terms of practicality for airport workers driving on these roads, it is beyond ridiculous.

[Paul F]

Yes I agree 15km/h on a road with wide open spaces on both sides is ridiculous, yet I can drive down a road with shops and schools each side at 40- 60km/h