Delta Declares emergency??

[kilroy]

Yesterday while flying across the gulf of Mexico I heard a Delta airliner declaring an emergency on 121.5 . They were asking for vectors to a military base becauase of a total hydraulic failure. Did anyone else here about it . And is it normal for airliners to use military bases for emergency I thought if the needed a military base they eliminated all other options and needed a run off area.

 

[XTW]

Nearest "suitable" airport is just that, nearest. Doesn't matter who occupies the property. You get great service from the military. You just might be there a little with the debrief. The military brought cookies and drinks to one of our crews and passengers.

 

[Swede]

Heck maybe it had a super-long runway with a rabbit-catcher they could raise.

Navy and AF bases often had (do they still?) a PAR approach which could get you down to CAT1 or better minimums if you have trained with one as a military jock yourself. All you need is a VHF. It's a great approach.

 

[Hugh Jorgan]

Navy and AF bases often had (do they still?) a PAR approach which could get you down to CAT1 or better minimums if you have trained with one as a military jock yourself.

There aren't very many of those left at Air Force bases. I can only think of Misawa and Kadena offhand, but most Navy bases still have them, I believe (I've been out of the loop for a piece). Careful though, I had a Marine try and put me in the dirt at Futemna one time.

 

[Ty Webb]

Navy and AF bases often had (do they still?) a PAR approach which could get you down to CAT1 or better minimums if you have trained with one as a military jock yourself. All you need is a VHF. It's a great approach.

Good point, but it's not just military pilots who can do them. I trained to do ASR and PAR approaches as a civilian, and I would imagine that many others have, too. Like you said, all you need is a VHF, some time to spare, and a willing ocntroller.

Another point, though- unless I'm on fire, gliding, or something similar, "suitable airport" means one where I have charts for. I want to know what I have to work with, and am I going to be able to get in/out/miss/climb etc. With something like a hydraulic failure, you have the luxury of time (if your biceps are big enough . . . if not, use some CRM ). Certainly not second-guessing the Delta crew, just my own personal inclination.

 

[FlyChicaga]

Civilians still do PAR or ASR approaches. I flew one (if I remember correctly ASR) in the SF-340 one time for a controller who was bored and wanted some practice. Of course it wasn't to CAT I mins though.

 

[Spooky 1]

Back to XTW's reference to "suitable" airports. The correct answer FAA answer is nearest in time, not always the nearest in distance. Also the FAA has a further definition that goes like this. "An adequate airport with eather reports, or forecasts, or any combination thereof, indicating that the weather conditions are at or above operating minima, as specified in the operation specifications and the field condition reports indicate a safe landing can be accomplished from one hour priorto one hour after the anticiapated arrival"

This discription is obviously directed at Part 121,125,135 operators that work under Ops Specs. Obviously if your on fire, or in a dire emergency any spot of land will work. The point as it is applied to the above operators is that they (you the PIC) are expected to have a plan in effect if you need to excerise the emergency authority. That would include charts and weather information.

 

[CRJ puppy]

Yesterday while flying across the gulf of Mexico I heard a Delta airliner declaring an emergency on 121.5 . They were asking for vectors to a military base becauase of a total hydraulic failure. Did anyone else here about it . And is it normal for airliners to use military bases for emergency I thought if the needed a military base they eliminated all other options and needed a run off area.

Why would a commercial airliner be declaring an emergency on 121.5?

Sounds like someone misheard or misunderstood to me!?!

 

[CaptBud330]

121.5

Why wouldn't a comercial airliner declare an emergency on 121.5? We guard 121.5 at all times crossing the pond. You know something I don't know?

 

[kilroy]

Exactly it was really odd hearing them on 121.5 talking to a military controller and the fact they were going to a military base and the crew didn,t really know the name of the base. The controller had to tell them the spelling of it. To me it seemed like an odd situation for a 121 carrier and the fact the pilot on the radio sounded a bit nervous.

Why would a commercial airliner be declaring an emergency on 121.5?

Sounds like someone misheard or misunderstood to me!?!

 

[RVSM]

Exactly it was really odd hearing them on 121.5 talking to a military controller and the fact they were going to a military base and the crew didn,t really know the name of the base. The controller had to tell them the spelling of it. To me it seemed like an odd situation for a 121 carrier and the fact the pilot on the radio sounded a bit nervous.

IIRC, Military controller commo gear xmits on both civillian and military freq. simultaneously. I assume they can selectively use one or the other but I generally hear them using dual mode. (ie.121.5 civilian Guard = 243.0 military Guard)

At a lot of military bases the controller will be working military and civillian traffic in the airspace so dual function is essential.

As for why a military base..Military is often the only ones with 12k ft of concrete.
If I am landing with alt flaps and alt brakes I want lots of runout room.

 

[Snoopy58]

Kilroy: Nervous? Total hydraulic failure is a big enough deal that I could excuse that. Up there approaching a full-blown V1 cut as a big deal... more complex than shutting down an engine, systems-wise, by a long shot.

Depending on where they were over the Gulf, Eglin AFB might well have been the nearest, longest runway available to them, and a far better choice than some 7000' strip a few minutes closer with less emergency equipment.

Wouldn't surprise me if they'd declared the emergency first to a center (perhaps on HF) who told them to contact Eglin Approach, but didn't have the frequency handy so they said "just call 'em on guard & they'll take care of you." Eglin RAPCON also owns some of the big warning areas out in the Gulf, and since those can be used for live-firing exercises, it's a REALLY good idea to talk to them if you're heading toward the Florida coastline unexpectedly!

If the pilot on the radio didn't have a military background, "Eglin" might be unfamiliar enough to be worth having spelled out, since he's probably trying to find it in a package of off-line alternates that he doesn't use very often, and it's probably quicker to ask for the spelling than try to guess at it as you flip through unfamiliar charts looking for a few pages among hundreds. Who needs the extra stress?

 

[Ty Webb]

"Well, he sounded a little nervous . . . and he wasn't familiar with the name of the base, and why was he on 121.5 anyway . . . . ".

Meeee-owww. What are you, a frigging newspaper reporter?

Obviously, the guy had something pretty major going on, he dealt with it in a safe and reasonable manner, and the outcome was succesful.

Seems like you have an awful lot invested in tring to prove this guy did somehting wrong or stupid. Why don't you wait for the next windy day, grab a lawn chair and go to the airport and grade the local pilots' landings instead? You'll get the same cheesy feeling of superiority you obviously crave, and you won't be so far out of your realm.


.

 

[kilroy]

Alot invested in proving what ???....*** If you would pull your head out of ***so you can listen you'll see that I was curious about what I heard and was looking to this forum for some inside info and knowledge. .... he had alot going on.. Thank god I have people like you to tell me that .. I would have never figured it out. And I have alot better things to do then go to airports and watching **like you pretenting to be Tom **Cruise Wow me with there aviation skills..

Meeee-owww. What are you, a frigging newspaper reporter?

Obviously, the guy had something pretty major going on, he dealt with it in a safe and reasonable manner, and the outcome was succesful.

Seems like you have an awful lot invested in tring to prove this guy did somehting wrong or stupid. Why don't you wait for the next windy day, grab a lawn chair and go to the airport and grade the local pilots' landings instead? You'll get the same cheesy feeling of superiority you obviously crave, and you won't be so far out of your realm.


.

 

[mmmdonut]

HF across the Gulf?? Are you kidding?

 

[Ty Webb]

Alot invested in proving what ???....What are you on f()cking crack Ty..?? If you would pull your head out of your a$$ so you can listen you'll see that I was curious about what I heard and was looking to this forum for some inside info and knowledge. No sh!t he had alot going on.. Thank god I have people like you to tell me that .. I would have never figured it out. And I have alot better things to do then go to airports and watching a$$holes like you pretenting to be Tom F{}cking Cruise Wow me with there aviation skills..

Hey, our little Village here at Flightinfo has a new Idiot, and his name is kilroy. welcome aboard. . What are you? About twelve? Get a new computer for Christmas? Better watch your potty mouth, little mister, or your Mommy's gonna take it away . . . . .

 

[Snoopy58]

Kilroy,

Your post above is offensive and has no place on this forum. Obscenities directed at another member here aren't diminished by replacing letters with @ or $ or () or whatever; they're still objectionable, unprofessional, and wrong. Please clean up your language here or depart.

Snoopy58

 

[kilroy]

Kilroy,

Your post above is offensive and has no place on this forum. Obscenities directed at another member here aren't diminished by replacing letters with @ or $ or () or whatever; they're still objectionable, unprofessional, and wrong. Please clean up your language here or depart.

Snoopy58

Alrighty I got carried away with my response to King Ty for that I apologize I don't mean to offend you ladies with my foul language. I just take offense to being compared to a newspaper reporter..

 

[User546]

Well, to get us all back on track... but not really... I got to declare our first fuel emergency the other day.

 

[kilroy]

Well, to get us all back on track... but not really... I got to declare our first fuel emergency the other day.

No kidding what happened. I,ve got to declare an emergency 6 times so far.. 3 were for medical emergencies