Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Engine on Air France flight explodes midair; plane lands safely in Labrador
Air France Flight AF066 from Paris to Los Angeles on Saturday had been going smoothly, but that all changed more than five hours into the journey, when passengers heard a loud bang, then felt the plane shake and drop before cruising back up. The cause: One of the Airbus A380's four engines had exploded, right as the plane passed over part of Greenland, the New York Times reports.
Qantas grounded their entire fleet (at the time consisting of 6 A380s) in November 2010 when they lost an engine mid flight in a similar situation. Qantas uses the other engine choice, the Rolls Royce Trent 900 . Air France and the mideast airlines all use the Engine Alliance GP7000 engines.
I haven't heard of Air France enacting a similar fleetwide grounding. If you book a flight the search engine still says A380 for equipment.
The first delivery of a DC-10 was in summer of 1971 and it was to AA. American Airlines ordered 35 of the model.
American Airlines Flight 191 was a regularly scheduled passenger flight operated by American Airlines from O'Hare International Airport in Chicago to Los Angeles International Airport. A McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 used for this flight on May 25, 1979, crashed moments after takeoff from Chicago. All 258 passengers and 13 crew on board were killed, along with two people on the ground. It is the deadliest aviation accident to have occurred in the United States.
The Flight 191 crash in 1979 highlighted a major deficiency in the DC-10 design: its lack of a locking mechanism to maintain the position of the leading-edge slats in the event of a hydraulic or pneumatic actuation failure.
Following the Chicago crash, the FAA withdrew the DC-10's type certificate on June 6, 1979, which grounded U.S. DC-10s. It also banned all DC-10s from U.S. airspace. These measures were rescinded on July 13 after modifications were made to the slat actuation and position systems, along with stall warning and power supply changes.
Some people may think that the FAA would be more willing to withdraw a type certificate on the A380 because no airline in the Americas flies one, but the USA airlines were heavily invested in the DC-10.
65 United Airlines
35 American Airlines
22 Northwest Airlines
13 Western Airlines
11 Laker Airways
146 were ordered by USA airlines
A total of 446 DC-10s were delivered all total, many to USA airlines, and many after the incident.
But only 15 passenger DC-10s were ordered after the incident.
5 Mexicana
3 Thai Airways International
2 Aeromexico
2 Japan Airlines Co.
1 Zambia Airways
1 Biman Bangladesh Airlines
1 Ghana Airways
Last edited by PacoMartin; 10-02-2017 at 08:46 AM..
And an interesting article on recovering the aircraft.
That is interesting. Especially the part about replacing the engine with a nonworking new engine (strictly for weight balance).
Also the comment that it might not make it nonstop back to France. I can't imagine landing that thing in Iceland.
Goose Bay to Gander is only 395 miles. It seems as if this plane was flying OK on three engines, so I'm surprised they didn't fly to Gander, which seems like a better equipped airport.
That is interesting. Especially the part about replacing the engine with a nonworking new engine (strictly for weight balance).
Also the comment that it might not make it nonstop back to France. I can't imagine landing that thing in Iceland.
Goose Bay to Gander is only 395 miles. It seems as if this plane was flying OK on three engines, so I'm surprised they didn't fly to Gander, which seems like a better equipped airport.
Losing one engine on a 4-holer is not necessarily a 'nearest suitable' situation, you're right, but I assume the type of failure this aircraft had deemed it one. Goose and Gander are good airports most of the time. The weather can sometimes be rough at one or the other.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
grounding a fleet for 5 weeks
