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737 abort procedures

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firstthird

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 30, 2001
Posts
687
I'm having a 'discussion' with some of my SWA brethern about RTO procedures. Question is this, how do most 737 operators do their abort?

In the Navy, ours was like this
1 - AT - disengage
2 - thrust levers - idle
3 - wheel brakes - maximum
4 - thrust reversers - max
5 - speed brakes - verify deployed

at SWA
1 - thrust levers - idle
2 - wheel brakes - max
3 - speed brakes - up
4 - thrust reversers - max

last two steps are the crux, thrust reversers first and let the speed brakes auto-deploy, or do most 737 operators get the speed brakes and then do thrust reversers.

thanks for any answers, not particularly important, just a beer bet type discussion.
 
Continental Procedures:

Autothrottles - Disconnect
Thrust Levers - Idle
Thrust Reversers - Max
Verify Speed Break Lever - Up
(Autobrakes Condition - RTO (Rejected Take Off)

Yeah I believe the 737 speed brakes deploy automatically when your above 80 knots and you initiate the RTO by bringing the thrust levers to idle and crack the reversers, which also commands the autobrakes to go full brake pressure in the RTO position.

With the autobrake system, if it was a brake problem and one truck locked up and the other didn't, that could be a bad thing.

My thoughts and prayers are with the crew. Good job for not making it a worse situation.
 
Last edited:
Out of my Boeing 737 Operations Manual:

"RTO auto brakes are aviable only after the aircraft has exceeded approx. 90 knots "wheel speed" during T/O roll.

FAA base line, balanced field length (all engines RTO and EO takeoff, using brakes and spoilers only, no thrust reverse) decission at V1 stop in remaining runway i.e last brick stop.. go last brlck +35 feet in the air

RTO one engine out,reverse thrust, brakes, spoliers = last brick -220ft

Both engines operating two in reverse, brakes, spoliers = last brick -150 ft....no speedbrakes no reverse = last brick +430 ft (you would depart the RWY @ aprox 60 kts)

Less braking effort, all-engines RTO,3/4 brake pressure + speed brakes and 2 in reverse = last brick +260 ft

****effect of blown tire all engine RTO, brakes,speed brakes, 2 in rev = last brick +290 depart runway @ 45 kts

ALL DATA IS BASED ON BALANCED FIELD LENGTH!!!!!
 
how could it have been worse

Seriously?

People could have DIED! There were no fatalities and from what it looks like, the entire crew is the primary reason.
 
...

at SWA
1 - thrust levers - idle
2 - wheel brakes - max
3 - speed brakes - up
4 - thrust reversers - max

...

CAL used to do it in that order until we convinced somebody that it might be a better idea to let the automation work to deploy the speed brakes and in turn, get those reversers deployed sooner.
 
Seriously?

People could have DIED! There were no fatalities and from what it looks like, the entire crew is the primary reason.

Amen to that.


How could it have been worse? So many different ways.

If it had happened on 15L at IAH they might have been in to the hangars,
4L in EWR: the aircraft lined up on the taxiway.
 
34R at KDEN I don't think runway length would be a problem. I was thinking more like 30 kt crosswind, speed below VMCG and a failure of the upwind engine. You could run out of rudder really fast and find yourself drifting off the pavement quicker than you can say "your choice of expletive here". If there happens to be a big ravine just off the side of the runway, double fudge. Fortunately everyone lived so the NTSB will get a first hand account of what really happened on this one.
 
SuperFLUF said:
CAL used to do it in that order until we convinced somebody that it might be a better idea to let the automation work to deploy the speed brakes and in turn, get those reversers deployed sooner.

Could this have something to do with the -200s not having automatic spoilers and this is a carry over from that? I thought I heard where you had to manually deploy the spoilers on landing. I know both airlines previously operated the -200.
 

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