Aircraft Incident

[TIME FOR CHANGE]

 

[alexe]

I saw some photos last pm where one of our S80's powered up and attempted to push a tug with the towbar, evidently after a pushback. The rumor is the pilot left the aircraft (with passengers aboard) afterwards. I'm told the motor(s) reached almost 100% power in the ramp area, according the the a/c's tattletale.

This supposedly happened in LAS (McCarran)

The tug's 1" plate construction naturally tore hell out of the forward wheelwell and forward fuselage sheetmetal (as the tug was pushed), broke the steering link, and made a beautiful 90 degree (almost) left hand bend in the towbar, all this, no doubt, roaching out the three panels that mount the NLG in the wheelwell (L, R, and draglink) and God-knows-what-else in the structure.

This was a low-time TWA aircraft (19k hrs or so) that had been brought up to snuff recently, I'm told.

Considering the damage and AMR's determination to get rid of the 80s now that there's an excuse, it's doubtful there's a repair in the airplane's future, rather, a one-way ticket to the Coors Light beer can factory would be more believeable.

WTF?? Did anyone hear anything about this? Sure is quiet.

Not even close to the truth.....I have first hand knowledge.

Aircraft was being pushed back...then was told by ramp control to tow to a taxiway..during the transition from reverse to forward tug lost control and ended up under the aircraft. Capt. jammed on the brakes when he saw the tug go under the aircraft. And like stated somewhere else...this happened in LAX.

 

[MCI transplant]

Boeing doesn't have the room at LGB anymore, MCI...

The C-17 assembly line off Wardlow is still active last I checked, but they've torn out most of the former Douglas Lakewood Ave. facility.....

<_< ------- Oh well! It was a thought!

 

[MCI transplant]

<_< ----- DAMN!----- Picking on TWA again!!!! :angry:

 

[aafsc]

<_< ------ Well aa! I'm glade you got your A&P tickets, and are now qualified to make such a judgment!!!! Well done! Did I ever tell you that at one time I worked for United Airlines, ramp service, on the West Coast ? Well I did! Took me all of a year before I decided it wasn't for me, and let Uncle Sam pay for my A&P tickets under the G.I. Bill!! ------- Always wondered how things would have turned out had I taken that United job offered me after I finished school? Oh well, if I had, I guess we wouldn't be having so much fun playing, now would we?

At one time I, thought about becoming an A&P. Anyway I said "most likely" it will be scrapped. If they decided to repair it, then obviously I was in error. Sometimes it is just not cost efficient to repair a badly damaged aircraft (the AA767-200 in LAX comes to mind). If it is repairable and the owner (lessor) demands it; as eolsen says, then AA has to repair it. If AA had owned it, I'm not so sure AA would repair it given their strong desire to replace the super 80s.

If you had taken that job UAL offered you after you finished school, you would have lost your pension, retiree medical, possibly be laid off or forced to relocate, and for sure be just as unhappy and miserable as the current UAL AMTs are working under Tilton's "leadership".

 

[MCI transplant]

At one time I, thought about becoming an A&P. Anyway I said "most likely" it will be scrapped. If they decided to repair it, then obviously I was in error. Sometimes it is just not cost efficient to repair a badly damaged aircraft (the AA767-200 in LAX comes to mind). If it is repairable and the owner (lessor) demands it; as eolsen says, then AA has to repair it. If AA had owned it, I'm not so sure AA would repair it given their strong desire to replace the super 80s.

If you had taken that job UAL offered you after you finished school, you would have lost your pension, retiree medical, possibly be laid off or forced to relocate, and for sure be just as unhappy and miserable as the current UAL AMTs are working under Tilton's "leadership".

<_< ------ aa ARE YOU TELLING ME I DID SOMETHING RIGHT BY GOING TO WORK FOR TWA????----- :huh: DAMN! NEVER THOUGHT I"DE SEE THE DAY!!!!

 

[upsilon]

I've seen pictures and was told during push back at LAX the engines were started, but before the towbar was disconnected, an engine revved up, the aircraft moved forward, the towbar jack-knifed and the nose cone and nose wheel hit the tug.

 

[aafsc]

<_< ------ aa ARE YOU TELLING ME I DID SOMETHING RIGHT BY GOING TO WORK FOR TWA????----- :huh: DAMN! NEVER THOUGHT I"DE SEE THE DAY!!!!

During the 1960s the airlines were regulated. The prices were set by the government and the airlines competed with each other in terms of service. Back then, pretty much all airlines were great places to work. TWA and Pan Am were the kings of international service and Eastern, National (the original), Braniff, and the other still existing legacies dominated the domestic scene. TWA and Pan Am were very glamorous during their peaks but both started to decay in the 1980s only to die an emaciated death a short time later. All airlines were great in the 1960s, who would have known back then that so many of the greats would have failed? And of those legacies, that still survive, how almost all of them would totally decimate their workforces? I guess it is just luck where one ended up.

 

[The Goose]

I've seen pictures and was told during push back at LAX the engines were started, but before the towbar was disconnected, an engine revved up, the aircraft moved forward, the towbar jack-knifed and the nose cone and nose wheel hit the tug.

The pic uploaded is one of those I saw a couple nights ago. I can't imagine what possessed the pilot/fo to spool up the motor(s) and try pushing the tug. Impatience, byhaps?

New AD - Required flag/stencil to be painted on aircraft:

- Detach All Vehicles From Aircraft Before Flight -

 

[777 fixer]

If it's a leased aircraft, it can't be written off quite so easily. If the owners make the call to ask for repairs, AA's on the hook to repair the damage.

The aircraft in question is leased so you are probably right. They do have their work cutout for them that's for sure.

 

[DallasConehead]

I've heard from a former LAX Amt that under certain conditions the ramp can be really slick, and tugs will slide around. From the pics I saw, it looks like the pressure bulkhead has significant damage. Repairable? Everything is, but, I would be surprised if this one was repaired. Just my .02...

 

[Joe Patroni]

Absolutely true. As a former LAX AMT, I have see more than one MD-80 jacknife a tug, especially if its wet.

 

[Life_Platinum]

If it's a leased aircraft, it can't be written off quite so easily. If the owners make the call to ask for repairs, AA's on the hook to repair the damage.

I remember seeing N215 in the ORD hangar right after a nosegear collapse in 1989 or so. After it left the runway and bit the dirt, the a/c hit a concrete manhole structure head on.

Tore up everything from just below the cockpit floor to where the forward stairs would have been.

They sent in a structural team from TUL, who worked on her for a couple weeks to prep it for ferry to TUL, and she was back in service within a month or so.

This same aircraft (N961TW) was nearly written off on 6/20/06 when it landed with the nose wheel unable to be lowered at ORD. Although nearly fully nearly fully loaded with LAX passengers at that time, no one appeared to be injured.

It seems to me that a 10 year old MD-80 with only 19000 hours on the airframe suggests to me that this aircraft as well as other AA MD-80s may not being optimally used. Many of the OZ 9s and the NW 9s averaged more than 2500 hours per year during their long careers. AA just sent another 7 MD-80s to ROW this week, and now have less than 280 of these birds in their fleet.

 

[jimntx]

The pic uploaded is one of those I saw a couple nights ago. I can't imagine what possessed the pilot/fo to spool up the motor(s) and try pushing the tug. Impatience, byhaps?

New AD - Required flag/stencil to be painted on aircraft:

- Detach All Vehicles From Aircraft Before Flight -

Now that's funny!

Right up there with DO NOT USE THIS HAIRDRYER IN THE SHOWER!

 

[tech2101]

I've seen pictures and was told during push back at LAX the engines were started, but before the towbar was disconnected, an engine revved up, the aircraft moved forward, the towbar jack-knifed and the nose cone and nose wheel hit the tug.

I was part of a repair team at NWA that repaired a DC-9 with very similar damage. N/G support beams replaced, fwd blkhd splice, skin splice, radome replaced, and back in service in 2 weeks. It will be repaired.