keady - posting just to illustrate MD 11 /handling difficulties otspots
- Explore
-
-
-
- Advertise with us
- Subscribe to Newsletters
Home > Aviation Safety > FedEx MD11 crashes in NaritaAviation Safety
FedEx MD11 crashes in Narita
Published on: March 23, 2009 at 7:01 PMFollow Us On Google News David
CenciottiSHARE
On Mar. 23, a FedEx MD-11F with registration N526FE crashed during landing on
the runway 34L/16R in Narita International, Tokyo, at 06.50 AM LT.
Unfortunately both pilots died in the catastrophic crash. The aircraft was
flying as FDX80 from Guangzhou – Bayiun, China, to Memphis, USA, via Narita and
Anchorage, when around 21.50 Zulu (Sunday Mar. 22) the aircraft had a couple of
bounces on landing prior to roll to the left and explode fuselage upside down.
At the time of the crash, the airport was under strong winds: 222130Z
32026G40KT 9999 FEW020 12/M02 Q0999 WS R34L NOSIG RMK 1CU020 A2952 P/RR.
The video of the crash was immediately released:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPrOlZtxaVw]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAg_qKYVb6g]
The footage shows the aircraft bouncing hard on the runway after a flare (maybe
with a high sink rate and not enough flare), ascending to something around 50
feet, then pitching down towards the tarmac, rolling slightly to the left. On
the second touchdown the left Main Landing Gear collapses. As a consequence,
the left wing goes into the ground and drags while the other wing raises into
the air still producing lift. The reason for the pitch down attitude
immediately after the first bounce is subject to speculations: someone thinks
the pilot overcorrected to get the plane back down on the runway, others
hypothesized the first bounce could have caused some problem with the flight
control/surfaces.
This accident, reminded me of a previous FedEx MD-11 that crashed in Newark in
1997. Here’s the abstract of the NTSB report (available in pdf format here:Â
http://www.ntsb.gov/Publictn/2000/AAR0002.pdf):
Abstract: On July 31, 1997, about 0132 eastern daylight time, a McDonnell
Douglas MD-11, N611FE, operated by Federal Express, Inc., (FedEx) as flight 14,
crashed while landing on runway 22R at Newark International Airport, Newark,
New Jersey (EWR). The regularly scheduled cargo flight originated in Singapore
on July 30 with intermediate stops in Penang, Malaysia; Taipei, Taiwan; and
Anchorage, Alaska. The flight from Anchorage International Airport to EWR was
conducted on an instrument flight rules flight plan and operated under the
provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 121. On board were the
captain and first officer, who had taken over the flight in Anchorage for the
final leg to EWR, one jumpseat passenger, and two cabin passengers. All five
occupants received minor injuries in the crash and during subsequent egress
through a cockpit window. The airplane was destroyed by impact and a postcrash
fire.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of
this accident was the captain’s overcontrol of the airplane during the landing
and his failure to execute a go-around from a destabilized flare. Contributing
to the accident was the captain’s concern with touching down early to ensure
adequate stopping distance.
Safety issues discussed in this report focus on landing techniques, bounced
landing recovery, and training tools and policies that promote proactive
decision-making to go around if an approach is unstabilized. Safety issues also
include the use of on board computers to determine the required runway length
for landing, MD-11 handling characteristics and structural integrity
requirements, and hard landing inspection requirements. Tracking hazardous
materials continues to be a safety issue and is also discussed in the report.
Look at the following youtube video showing another FedEx MD-11 (N587FE)
landing on Feb 14 2009, on the same airport (Narita) with strong crosswinds.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWZzxqQMoro&NR=1]
I’ve already discussed about crosswinds landing risks and techniques when
analysing the Lufthansa A320 LH044 wingstrike in Hamburg:Â
http://cencio4.wordpress.com/2008/03/04/lufthansa-a320-wingstrike-at-hamburg/
TAGGED:A320Aviation Safetycrabcross-controlscrosswindcrosswind
landingdecrabFedExFedEx crashflareHamburgHamburg wingstrikehard
landingILSLH044LufthansaMD-11MD-11 crashMD-11 crash
NewarkMD-11FMETARN526FEN587FENarita crashNTSBunstable flareWCAWind Correction
AnglewingstrikexwindShare This ArticleFollow UsFacebookBy David
CenciottiFollow:David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the
Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and
read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide
magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others,
covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He
has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several
combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian
Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has
written five books and contributed to many more ones.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Revised: 20250507
You are receiving The Mifnet because you requested to join this list.
The Mifnet is largely a labor of love, however the infrastructure isn't exactly
cost-free. If you'd care to make a small contribution to the effort, please
know that it would be greatly appreciated:
https://wardell.us/url/mifbit
All posts sent to the list should abide by these policies:
1) List members acknowledge that participation in Mifnet is a privilege--not a
right.
2) Posts are always off the record, absent specific permission from the author.
3) The tone of discussions is collegial.
4) Posts are expected to be in reasonably good taste.
5) We discuss ideas and not personalities, and we don't speak ill of other
Mifnet members.
* The Mifnet WEB SITE is:
https://www.mifnet.com/
* To UNSUBSCRIBE from this list at any time please visit:
https://lists.mifnet.com/
OR: SEND THIS MESSAGE via email: [email protected]?subject=leave
* Send Mifnet mailing list POSTS/SUBMISSIONS to:
[email protected]
* You may reach the person managing The Mifnet at:
[email protected]
* Please consider the DIGEST version of The Mifnet, which consolidates all list
traffic into 1-3
messages daily. See instructions at:
https://lists.mifnet.com/
* Manage your personal Mifnet SUBSCRIPTION at:
https://lists.mifnet.com/
* For a list of all available Mifnet commands, SEND THIS MESSAGE via email:
[email protected]?subject=help
* View The Mifnet LIST POLICIES and PRIVACY POLICY at:
https://mifnet.com/index.php/policies
* View instructions for Mifnet DELIVERY PROBLEMS at:
https://mifnet.com/index.php/delivery-problems
* View The Mifnet LIST ARCHIVE at:
https://lists.mifnet.com/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/
