AIRBUS - Yes!
Jet Blue flight 292 landed safely yesterday at LAX with cockeyed nose gear.
As we all know the Airbus A320 landed safely yesterday evening, but it brought one thing to my attention that is a bit disturbing.
It seems this drama went on for hours while the plane flew around burning off fuel. Most airliners are capable of dumping fuel in an emergency. Seeing as the A320 was flying in the LA area, it certainly could have gone out over the ocean and dumped most of its fuel and returned to LAX to attempt landing.
In this particular instance, dumping fuel was not an immediate necessity. There was nothing wrong with the planes ability to fly. If there had been a situation where the plane had to get on the ground fast, and chances for a successful landing were less than optimal, the ability to dump fuel would have been crucial.
Another thought I had was this: If the plane was completely capable of flying, why didn’t they just continue on to JFK International where I’m sure they have every bit the safety and rescue ability that LAX has. That way at least when the plane landed the people would be where they needed to go and burning off the fuel would have accomplished something.
The overall reason for today’s blog is not to point out the petty (although the ability to dump fuel is a concern) rather it is to congratulate the Captain and Crew for an outstanding job well done. If in airline pilot training class they need a video of how to safely land a plane in that situation, video of that landing would be the bellwether example.
Also, big kudos to the fine folks at Airbus. Nobody would have bet that the landing gear structure would have stayed in place while dragging what was left of the tires and wheels, with weight on it at speed. Way to build ‘em guys (and gals)!
As we all know the Airbus A320 landed safely yesterday evening, but it brought one thing to my attention that is a bit disturbing.
It seems this drama went on for hours while the plane flew around burning off fuel. Most airliners are capable of dumping fuel in an emergency. Seeing as the A320 was flying in the LA area, it certainly could have gone out over the ocean and dumped most of its fuel and returned to LAX to attempt landing.
In this particular instance, dumping fuel was not an immediate necessity. There was nothing wrong with the planes ability to fly. If there had been a situation where the plane had to get on the ground fast, and chances for a successful landing were less than optimal, the ability to dump fuel would have been crucial.
Another thought I had was this: If the plane was completely capable of flying, why didn’t they just continue on to JFK International where I’m sure they have every bit the safety and rescue ability that LAX has. That way at least when the plane landed the people would be where they needed to go and burning off the fuel would have accomplished something.
The overall reason for today’s blog is not to point out the petty (although the ability to dump fuel is a concern) rather it is to congratulate the Captain and Crew for an outstanding job well done. If in airline pilot training class they need a video of how to safely land a plane in that situation, video of that landing would be the bellwether example.
Also, big kudos to the fine folks at Airbus. Nobody would have bet that the landing gear structure would have stayed in place while dragging what was left of the tires and wheels, with weight on it at speed. Way to build ‘em guys (and gals)!
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