JetBlue Emergency tonight

[chperplt]

Any Jetblue folks know what happened on flight 195 tonight? Heard them on the freq declaring an emergency going into JFK around 2045 local.

I heard them say something about a bird strike and loud pops from the undercarriage.

We were too far away and lost the freq while they were on final.

 

[ReportCanoa]

Birstrike+ loud pops= emergency?

Eh?

 

[kwijybo]

Not having all the facts + Not being there = Armchair second guesser

 

[AlbieF15]

Report Canoa,

Having heard (but not seen) the E-3 go down in Alaska in 1995 after hitting a flock of geese, and losing 27 fellow Alaskan warriors, I can say unequivically that a bird strike can be a VERY BIG DEAL. Early one morning my wife came running into our base house after I heard the "boom" crying...she was on her way to work and saw the black plume of smoke just northwest of the departure end of RWY 5 at PAED. I ran outside and over to the flightline, but there was nothing anyone could do. My buddy who was a safety officer did a runway sweep, and found dozens of dead geese on the runway. Fighter guys know a bird to the canopy has killed more than a few guys, but even a bad combination of events can bring down a larger, multi-engine jet.

Jamaica Bay has a lot of migratory waterfoul, and October is historically the worst month for birdstrikes in the Air Force.

May I humbly suggest suggest you don't snicker about birdstrikes anymore? We buried some fine people I knew as a result of a really bad one.

 

[chperplt]

Birstrike+ loud pops= emergency?

Not having all the facts + Not being there = Armchair second guesser

Not guessing... Just stating what "I" heard on the radio from the actual aircraft that declared an emergency.

 

[Redtails]

It was a birdstrike...

 

[Mr Hat]

Bird strikes are nothing to mess around with. One guy at my company hit 2, only 2 geese at altitude in an ATR42. They both went into the wing structure, severed control lines and engine throttle lines. The airplane was near uncontrollable but he nursed it to the ground in EWR. He did an OUTSTANDING job landing an ATR with one engine stuck at cruise power and all sorts of other control issues. Of course, his nickname is "Birdman" now. He was honored at ALPA for how he dealt with the situation.

 

[jaxgus]

I Took Off Behind 195

Last night, I departed JFK minutes after B6 195. We narrowly missed multiple birds up to an altitude of 6,000'. 195 reported multiple strikes in the radom and undercarriage of the aircraft. The strike on the undercarriage was very dramatic and felt throughout the cabin. They consulted with MX/Ops and returned to JFK to have the aricraft inspected. I don't know whether the flight continued or they needed a spare, but they returned successfully to JFK.

Having experienced a bird strike in a former life, I agree this is no mundane event. In my case, the engineers determined had I climbed to an altitude, while diverting, which would pressurize the cockpit the wind-screen may have blown out due to the fuselage damage. The aircraft, an F-15, was grounded for > 1 month.

Birds can do some pretty severe damage and I think the crew, based on listening to the radios, did a comendable job handling this problem, at night, and made a great decision to return to JFK. They could have pressed on their route, but they chose to let the pro's (MX) have a look at the jet. I'm sure a few customers were bummed because they arrived at their destination late, but at least they arrived at their destination.

 

[ReportCanoa]

Yes, Yes; it can be an emergency, but I would be reluctant to declare one if there were no engine, control or windscreen issues. Thanks all for the safety lecture...

 

[RShebib]

ReportCanoa......flying a jet where if I lose one of my engines, it's a really bad day, I can tell you that if you see birds, and, God forbid, one or more hit your jet, you HAVE to assume there were more and they might have gone down the engine.....I'd hate to fly on an aircraft where the pilot sees/hears birds hit his aircraft and says, "Well, I didn't see any go down the intake, so we're probably okay.....let's press"