Jet on fire at Toronto
Aug 2nd, 2005, 02:44 PM
#22
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As one of the TV reporters said, this is a testament to the experience and training of the crew on that aircraft.
Over 300 aboard had to be evacuated in 90 seconds. Not only were there no fatalities, but also there were no major injuries.
Over 300 aboard had to be evacuated in 90 seconds. Not only were there no fatalities, but also there were no major injuries.
Aug 2nd, 2005, 02:50 PM
#24
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Hello PM, I thought of you this afternoon as I remember you went through this horrifying experience. I would imagine that these dear passengers will never forget their experiences, as you never will.
It is a miracle that evidently all passengers lived through this crash.
CNN is reporting that the lights on the plane went off before the crach occurred.
My late DH always counted the seats from where we sat to where the Exit was. I have failed to do that. A good thing for all of us to do.
And another good idea to wear natural fabrics I think, no panyhose either, and shoes that are quick to kick off.
What a horror!! I sure hope that those that are injured will recover quickly.
Safe travels to all. The survival of some 390 people is a miracle.
It is a miracle that evidently all passengers lived through this crash.
CNN is reporting that the lights on the plane went off before the crach occurred.
My late DH always counted the seats from where we sat to where the Exit was. I have failed to do that. A good thing for all of us to do.
And another good idea to wear natural fabrics I think, no panyhose either, and shoes that are quick to kick off.
What a horror!! I sure hope that those that are injured will recover quickly.
Safe travels to all. The survival of some 390 people is a miracle.
Aug 2nd, 2005, 03:53 PM
#26
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Thank you, Faina and LoveItaly.
You are so right about wearing certain clothes when flying. It's best to wear long pants instead of a skirt or shorts. On my flight many people in skirts or shorts had red marks on their legs from going down the slide. The slide is so steep and you go down it fast, so it's easy to to get burn marks as your skin rubs against it.
It's best not to wear high heels. They s/b taken off during an evacuation as they can tear the slide. If the high heels are off, then you'll have to run from the plane barefoot. If they're left on, you will have a hard time running from the plane in high heels. And because of the speed at which you go down the slide, the landing is quite hard, which is yet another reason to wear comfy, low-heel shoes.
LoveItaly, your dear late husband was very smart to look for exits. I never used to do that, but now I do. I remember how everyone started running forward when we were evacuating, when many people were much closer to the back door.
I must praise the efforts of the Air France flight crew for getting eveyone off the plane with only minor injuries. I have extended the same praise to the crew of the flight I was on. When I returned home from that trip I wrote a letter to British Airways to tell them what a great job the flight crew did, and how the ground crew comforted us when we came back into the airport. I also wrote to the Houston Fire Chief to thank all of the the firefighters and the Aircraft Rescue Unit for being right there on the runway to put out the fire and to help us when we landed. And above all, I give thanks to God.
You are so right about wearing certain clothes when flying. It's best to wear long pants instead of a skirt or shorts. On my flight many people in skirts or shorts had red marks on their legs from going down the slide. The slide is so steep and you go down it fast, so it's easy to to get burn marks as your skin rubs against it.
It's best not to wear high heels. They s/b taken off during an evacuation as they can tear the slide. If the high heels are off, then you'll have to run from the plane barefoot. If they're left on, you will have a hard time running from the plane in high heels. And because of the speed at which you go down the slide, the landing is quite hard, which is yet another reason to wear comfy, low-heel shoes.
LoveItaly, your dear late husband was very smart to look for exits. I never used to do that, but now I do. I remember how everyone started running forward when we were evacuating, when many people were much closer to the back door.
I must praise the efforts of the Air France flight crew for getting eveyone off the plane with only minor injuries. I have extended the same praise to the crew of the flight I was on. When I returned home from that trip I wrote a letter to British Airways to tell them what a great job the flight crew did, and how the ground crew comforted us when we came back into the airport. I also wrote to the Houston Fire Chief to thank all of the the firefighters and the Aircraft Rescue Unit for being right there on the runway to put out the fire and to help us when we landed. And above all, I give thanks to God.
Aug 2nd, 2005, 04:47 PM
#29
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Okay, since you didn't get it, I'll spell it out in terms understandable to a high-school dropout: a current flow produces a magnetic field, and a magnetic field produces a current flow. (That's how motors and generators work.)
A lightning strike, which is a colossal current flow, has a HUGE field around it, which will induce HUGE transients (that's voltage spikes to you) in any conductors it passes through.
If these conductors happen to be the wiring of a fly-by-wire aircraft, the field may render it uncontrollable, possibly burning out the fbw computer. Which (at this stage anyway) sounds like what may have happened in this case.
BTW, thank you for calling me a propellorhead!
A lightning strike, which is a colossal current flow, has a HUGE field around it, which will induce HUGE transients (that's voltage spikes to you) in any conductors it passes through.
If these conductors happen to be the wiring of a fly-by-wire aircraft, the field may render it uncontrollable, possibly burning out the fbw computer. Which (at this stage anyway) sounds like what may have happened in this case.
BTW, thank you for calling me a propellorhead!
Aug 2nd, 2005, 06:18 PM
#31
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That was very interesting Robespierre.
Why do people on this board object to the sharing of learning?
Whatever the poster's motivation I am always glad to learn some new scientific fact (being the only non-scientific, non-numeric, non-quantitative member of my large and otherwise academically distinguished family)
And I wax pedantic often enough, in my own areas of comparative expertise.
Why do people on this board object to the sharing of learning?
Whatever the poster's motivation I am always glad to learn some new scientific fact (being the only non-scientific, non-numeric, non-quantitative member of my large and otherwise academically distinguished family)
And I wax pedantic often enough, in my own areas of comparative expertise.
Aug 2nd, 2005, 07:21 PM
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It'll take a while before we know what exactly happened to the plane after lightning struck it; but I can't help but thinking along the line of Robespierre. We may be right, we may be wrong. But investigators will definitely be looking at whether the fly-by-wire control affects what happened.
Plane crashes are quite survivable when the pilot can or have brought the aircraft onto the runway. The Mandarin Airlines MD-11 flipped over at the new HKG landing in the storm. Only 3 persons died. Even when the UA DC-10 crash-landed at Sioux City - tumbled over several times and burst into flames - after losing most hydraulic control, a good portion of its passengers survived.
It's when planes flew into mountain or fell into the sea that most people get killed.
Plane crashes are quite survivable when the pilot can or have brought the aircraft onto the runway. The Mandarin Airlines MD-11 flipped over at the new HKG landing in the storm. Only 3 persons died. Even when the UA DC-10 crash-landed at Sioux City - tumbled over several times and burst into flames - after losing most hydraulic control, a good portion of its passengers survived.
It's when planes flew into mountain or fell into the sea that most people get killed.
Aug 2nd, 2005, 07:39 PM
#37
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Here is the speculation published by the Globe and Mail of Toronto (globeandmail.ca)
<b>[Investigators] will also interview the pilots in an effort to determine whether any of the aircraft systems failed during the landing. At least one passenger said he thought the aircraft was hit by lightning. A lightning strike could interfere with the aircraft's electrical system and possibly the multiple, redundant computers that are the heart of Airbus's complex “fly-by-wire” system.</b>
I think FbW is a catastrophe waiting to happen.
<b>[Investigators] will also interview the pilots in an effort to determine whether any of the aircraft systems failed during the landing. At least one passenger said he thought the aircraft was hit by lightning. A lightning strike could interfere with the aircraft's electrical system and possibly the multiple, redundant computers that are the heart of Airbus's complex “fly-by-wire” system.</b>
I think FbW is a catastrophe waiting to happen.
Aug 2nd, 2005, 09:58 PM
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The part that made us laugh, sorry the sardonic humour, was the copilot 'staggering to the 401 and trying to hitch a lift' back to the airport.
'Excuse me. Could I trouble you for a lift. I seem to have had a little problem with my Airbus.'
'Excuse me. Could I trouble you for a lift. I seem to have had a little problem with my Airbus.'
