Busdrvr said:
"Ual could learn a few things from an ol'pro like Northwest."
You mean like determining which airport to actually land at? Or how to hull loss an A320 in a low speed fender bender? Whatever....
[post="196063"][/post]
Well....no. How about "How not to almost ram a 747 into a mountain (San Bruno) or along the lines of "How to pay your bills 101". Perhaps, "How not to worry about other solvent airline companies when yours is in the toilet". "Old pros" don't almost run out of fuel over the Pacific either. ...Associated Press story as published in the
San Francisco Chronicle Saturday, March 20, 1999
(referring to incident #406180)
Headline: Mishandled takeoff prompts new training for long-haul pilots
Author: GLEN JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer
© 1999 Associated Press
© 1999 San Francisco Chronicle
(03-20) 00:52 EST WASHINGTON (AP) -- A United Airlines jumbo jet that lost power in an engine during takeoff from San Francisco dipped low enough that its thunderous roar set off car alarms and sent airport neighbors scurrying for cover.
The pilot of the Boeing 747 so badly mishandled the recovery last summer that the plane cleared the 1,576-foot-high San Bruno Mountain, a few miles to the north, by only 100 feet, government and airline officials said.
``Pull up! Pull up!'' shouted other pilots in the cockpit, as the electronic voice in the plane's ground-proximity device warned: ``Terrain! Terrain!''
Now the Federal Aviation Administration has ordered new training for the airline's long-haul pilots. While all pilots must make at least three takeoffs and landings every 90 days, the crews that fly United's long trips must now make at least one set of them in a real plane, not the flight simulators routinely used.
The problem is a simple one: Long trips entail a lot of flying but only one set of takeoffs and landings. Also, airlines send along two crews to guard against pilot fatigue, so pilots sitting at the controls for departure aren't the ones there for arrival.
Because of that division of labor, the pilot flying United Flight 863 last summer had made only one takeoff and landing in a real plane during the previous year. When real trouble hit, government and airline investigators found, he reacted wrongly.
Details on what happened on June 28 at San Francisco International Airport surfaced Friday in The Wall Street Journal. Because the pilots reported the incident through a voluntary self-disclosure program, neither the airline nor the government would comment extensively.
The newspaper's account was gleaned through interviews and information gained via the Freedom of Information Act.
The flight was to be flown in one of the most modern planes in the sky, the Boeing 747-400. It is distinctive because it has a lengthy upper deck and turned-up wing tips.
The plane was destined for Sydney, Australia, with 307 people aboard. Up on the flight deck, there were two sets of pilots, one to relieve the other in flight. Both sets normally rest in bunks just off the flight deck.
As Flight 863 lifted off the runway for its 14-hour, 25-minute journey, it was hit with one of the most practiced airplane emergencies, a failed engine. The plane's right inboard engine, one of four mounted on the wings, stalled. The co-pilot, who was flying the plane, correctly responded by shutting it down.
What he did next created near-fatal problems.
Because it was overpowered on the left, the plane started to turn to the right. The correct response would have been stepping on the left rudder pedal, which would straighten the nose. Instead the pilot aboard Flight 863 turned the control wheel to the left. That deployed panels on the plane's wing, reducing its lift.
Suddenly the stick began to shake, an automatic warning indicating a loss of lift is imminent. ``Push down! Push down!'' the extra flight crew yelled, which would have implemented a tactic to gain speed.
By then the plane was off course and headed for San Bruno Mountain. Now the ground-proximity device was belching its warning.
Although the plane cleared the mountain, it startled nearby residents.
``I thought I was going to have to go under the couch,'' the Journal quoted one as saying
FYI Bus, NWA's 747-400 program is the FAA Industry Template. Love ya!