February 15th 09, 03:45 PM
Finally, Mr. Diblin has researched the actual stats. Supprised us
there have been 14 such incidents in 38 years, but actually remembered
almost all.
How many flights do you recall?
How many unpowered commercial landings since 2001?
All airline drivers should be glider bums.
Thanks Joe.
michael
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When jetliners become gliders
By Joseph A. Diblin
For The Daily Item
The continued interest in the Hudson River ditching of US Airways
Flight 1549 prompted a couple of former flyboys to learn if there had
been other “unpowered” jet airline landings. I asked former flight
surgeon and pilot Dr. Robert Yannaconne, of Watsontown, to search the
Internet for possible information. He located some surprising results.
According to the Internet report, during the period 1963 - 2001, there
were 14 other unpowered jet airliner landings in various places in the
world where the jet became a glider. When we tallied up the number of
passengers and crew involved in the 14 landings, they added up to
1,329, of which 148 were killed and 1,180 survived. If we think about
a huge jet aircraft having no power and being forced to set down on
land or water, with many passengers surviving, it is rather
remarkable. Pilot skill and good training were favorable factors.
The two common causes of the jet engine failures were fuel exhaustion
and ice or hail ingestion. Birds were not mentioned in this report.
Since the Internet account is quite lengthy, I will present just a few
representative landings.
Case # 1: Aug. 2001, Air Transat. The jet-powered airliner was
cruising across the Atlantic Ocean at 39,000 feet on a scheduled
flight from Toronto to Lisbon when the right engine stopped. The left
engine quit 13 minutes later. Both stopped as a result of fuel
starvation caused by a leak in the fuel system. After the second
engine stopped, the crew were able to glide the jet for 20 minutes, or
about 115 miles, to Lajes Airfield in the Azores, and avert a mid-
ocean ditching. None of the crew or 293 passengers were seriously
injured. Although the landing gear was damaged during the high-speed
landing, the crew was able to stop the aircraft on the runway.
Case # 2: July 1983, Air Canada. The plane ran out of fuel because the
crew miscalculated the amount on board. They made a safe emergency
landing at an abandoned airfield with no serious injuries. The number
of passengers was not reported.
Case #3: May 1988, TACA Airlines. The flight was approaching the New
Orleans airport when it encountered precipitation with large hail.
Both jet engines failed at 16,000 feet. The crew had to execute an
emergency landing on a grass strip of a levee in the Intercoastal
Waterway. During the landing, none of the 45 persons on board were
injured. The aircraft was repaired and actually flown off the levee.
Case #4: April 1977, Southern Airways. During a flight over Georgia, a
DC-9 twin jet flew into a thunderstorm and both engines failed after
ingesting hail. The pilot made a forced landing on a road, but struck
some trees on the roll. Two of the four crew members and 60 of the 81
passengers died.
Case #5: Oct. 1963: Aeroflot. The Russian airliner was on a flight
from Estonia to Moscow when a landing gear problem required diversion
to Leningrad. Having to hold airborne about 13 miles from Leningrad
Airport, the plane ran out of fuel. Similar to the US Airways “Hudson
River miracle,” the Russian crew managed to safely land the jet on a
nearby river where it remained floating. The jet was towed to the
shore and all 52 occupants survived.
Case #6: Dec. 1991: SAS Airlines. On departure from Stockholm, Sweden
to Copenhagen, Denmark, both jet engines lost power due to ice
ingestion. The ice had formed on the surfaces of the wings overnight
and had not been fully removed before takeoff by the de-icing crew.
During takeoff, clear ice broke off the wings and was ingested by the
jet engines shortly after becoming airborne, resulting in engine
failure. The crew made a no-power landing, causing the fuselage to
break. However, none on board were killed.
During 40 years of flight, I have studied all phases of aviation
safety and the accompanying statistics. Year after year, aviation has
a far better safety record than that of cars and drivers. When one
thinks of the thousands and thousands of takeoffs and landings, it is
a remarkable record.
There is an old saying in aviation: “The most dangerous part of a trip
by air is the drive by car to the airport.” Those who have never
flown, or who do so infrequently, tend to fear flying. Humans tend to
fear what we don’t know or understand.
Trust the statistics.
-- Joseph A. Diblin, of Northumberland, was a four-engine pilot during
World War II and has worked as a test pilot and civilian flight
instructor. Contact him at 473-2594.
there have been 14 such incidents in 38 years, but actually remembered
almost all.
How many flights do you recall?
How many unpowered commercial landings since 2001?
All airline drivers should be glider bums.
Thanks Joe.
michael
----------------------------------------------------------------
When jetliners become gliders
By Joseph A. Diblin
For The Daily Item
The continued interest in the Hudson River ditching of US Airways
Flight 1549 prompted a couple of former flyboys to learn if there had
been other “unpowered” jet airline landings. I asked former flight
surgeon and pilot Dr. Robert Yannaconne, of Watsontown, to search the
Internet for possible information. He located some surprising results.
According to the Internet report, during the period 1963 - 2001, there
were 14 other unpowered jet airliner landings in various places in the
world where the jet became a glider. When we tallied up the number of
passengers and crew involved in the 14 landings, they added up to
1,329, of which 148 were killed and 1,180 survived. If we think about
a huge jet aircraft having no power and being forced to set down on
land or water, with many passengers surviving, it is rather
remarkable. Pilot skill and good training were favorable factors.
The two common causes of the jet engine failures were fuel exhaustion
and ice or hail ingestion. Birds were not mentioned in this report.
Since the Internet account is quite lengthy, I will present just a few
representative landings.
Case # 1: Aug. 2001, Air Transat. The jet-powered airliner was
cruising across the Atlantic Ocean at 39,000 feet on a scheduled
flight from Toronto to Lisbon when the right engine stopped. The left
engine quit 13 minutes later. Both stopped as a result of fuel
starvation caused by a leak in the fuel system. After the second
engine stopped, the crew were able to glide the jet for 20 minutes, or
about 115 miles, to Lajes Airfield in the Azores, and avert a mid-
ocean ditching. None of the crew or 293 passengers were seriously
injured. Although the landing gear was damaged during the high-speed
landing, the crew was able to stop the aircraft on the runway.
Case # 2: July 1983, Air Canada. The plane ran out of fuel because the
crew miscalculated the amount on board. They made a safe emergency
landing at an abandoned airfield with no serious injuries. The number
of passengers was not reported.
Case #3: May 1988, TACA Airlines. The flight was approaching the New
Orleans airport when it encountered precipitation with large hail.
Both jet engines failed at 16,000 feet. The crew had to execute an
emergency landing on a grass strip of a levee in the Intercoastal
Waterway. During the landing, none of the 45 persons on board were
injured. The aircraft was repaired and actually flown off the levee.
Case #4: April 1977, Southern Airways. During a flight over Georgia, a
DC-9 twin jet flew into a thunderstorm and both engines failed after
ingesting hail. The pilot made a forced landing on a road, but struck
some trees on the roll. Two of the four crew members and 60 of the 81
passengers died.
Case #5: Oct. 1963: Aeroflot. The Russian airliner was on a flight
from Estonia to Moscow when a landing gear problem required diversion
to Leningrad. Having to hold airborne about 13 miles from Leningrad
Airport, the plane ran out of fuel. Similar to the US Airways “Hudson
River miracle,” the Russian crew managed to safely land the jet on a
nearby river where it remained floating. The jet was towed to the
shore and all 52 occupants survived.
Case #6: Dec. 1991: SAS Airlines. On departure from Stockholm, Sweden
to Copenhagen, Denmark, both jet engines lost power due to ice
ingestion. The ice had formed on the surfaces of the wings overnight
and had not been fully removed before takeoff by the de-icing crew.
During takeoff, clear ice broke off the wings and was ingested by the
jet engines shortly after becoming airborne, resulting in engine
failure. The crew made a no-power landing, causing the fuselage to
break. However, none on board were killed.
During 40 years of flight, I have studied all phases of aviation
safety and the accompanying statistics. Year after year, aviation has
a far better safety record than that of cars and drivers. When one
thinks of the thousands and thousands of takeoffs and landings, it is
a remarkable record.
There is an old saying in aviation: “The most dangerous part of a trip
by air is the drive by car to the airport.” Those who have never
flown, or who do so infrequently, tend to fear flying. Humans tend to
fear what we don’t know or understand.
Trust the statistics.
-- Joseph A. Diblin, of Northumberland, was a four-engine pilot during
World War II and has worked as a test pilot and civilian flight
instructor. Contact him at 473-2594.