MD11 Weight and Balance PROBLEMS?

[FN FAL]

Tail-Heavy Cargo Plane at L.A. Tips

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A cargo plane being unloaded at Los Angeles International Airport became unbalanced and tipped onto its rear wheels Thursday, stranding seven workers 40 feet above ground.

"As soon as they took whatever it was out of the back of the plane, the weight shifted and the plane just went back on its tail," said Bob Collis, a fire spokesman.

The uninjured workers were rescued after about an hour by firefighters using a ladder truck, he said. Television footage showed a conveyor belt crushed under the plane's tail.

The accident involving the MD-11 World Airways cargo plane happened around 3:15 a.m. at the airport's cargo complex, away from regular airport traffic.

Collis said the same thing happened to another MD-11 in January 2002 in Sydney, Australia.

Airport officials may have to use a crane to right the plane, Collis said.

A message left at the Peachtree City, Ga.-based World Airways was not immediately returned Thursday.

© 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be

 

[TonyC]

"Fire spokesman"

Well, now we have the very best brand of expert testimony, the fire spokesman.

As soon as they took whatever it was out of the back of the plane, the weight shifted and the plane just went back on its tail.

It's the left-coast gravity phenomenon, I suppose. Taking something out of the BACK of the airplane will not cause it to tip on its tail - - the weight was removed from the FRONT of the airplane! And when it was removed, nothing shifted except the center of gravity.

Collis said the same thing happened to another MD-11 in January 2002 in Sydney, Australia.

At least he has some useful information - - now he's an aviation accident expert. Actually, it's happened several times, in several locations a lot closer to home.

Airport officials may have to use a crane to right the plane, Collis said.

Or they could call on the folks over at FedEx and ask them how THEY got their airplane back on all 12 wheels when it happened to them... more than once. Perhaps it might involve running a tether through the nose gear (normal procedure during loading and unloading) and attaching weight to the nose. Just a thought.

The uninjured workers were rescued after about an hour by firefighters using a ladder truck, he said.

Good thing they weren't on fire. An hour? That's pathetic.

 

[FN FAL]

Well, now we have the very best brand of expert testimony, the fire spokesman.

Hahaha!

It's the left-coast gravity phenomenon, I suppose. Taking something out of the BACK of the airplane will not cause it to tip on its tail - - the weight was removed from the FRONT of the airplane! And when it was removed, nothing shifted except the center of gravity.

I thought you guys would get a kick out of that...I wasn't quite sure if there was a load shift problem here or they were making the basic error we are seeing.

Actually, it's happened several times, in several locations a lot closer to home.

Yea, I remember hearing something about that. You would think that modern technology in metal craft, combined with human tenacity in the work place, there would be a solution to airliners taking static wheelie on the ramp?

 

[skyking1976]

TonyC...

Would excess fuel in the tail tank have any effect on "tail sitting" with the MD-11?

 

[TonyC]

TonyC...

Would excess fuel in the tail tank have any effect on "tail sitting" with the MD-11?

Well, of course it would have an effect, but that alone would not cause an airplane to tip. Since the airplane was unloading, it's most probable that the tail tank was empty.

Our normal procedures require that the nose be secured before loading or unloading. A tether is used to secure the nose to either the ramp directly (attachment points in the concrete), to a weight cart, or to a tug (the pushback variety, not the baggage cart variety). Three separate checks are SUPPOSED to be performed (by three separate people) to ensure the tether is properly attached prior to any of those operations. Absent the tether, loading or unloading can be accomplished using sequential loading procedures - - taking care to leave sufficient weight forward until the aft is unloaded - - or a ballast pallet is used. In cases where the airplane wound up sitting on its tail, the tether was not properly installed.

Of course, I can't speak to World's procedures - - I feel certain they have something they do to prevent this, but I don't know exactly what it is. I'll see an ex-World guy today and ask him.

 

[TonyC]

I believe this writer did a better job. Apparently he was not tainted by the fire spokesman.

Cargo Plane Tips Backward on Tarmac

By Alex Darsen
KTLA-TV Newswriter

May 27, 2004, 8:40 AM PDT

LOS ANGELES -- Workers unloading cargo from a plane at LAX were startled when they suddenly found themselves about 40 feet up in the air.

The nose of the World Cargo MD-11 tilted upward when the freight in the back of the plane outweighed the front half, kind of like a see-saw with the landing gear serving as the fulcrum.

It happened at about 3:19 a.m. (PDT) Thursday. City firefighters were called in to get the workers off the plane. The employees were brought down one by one with the help of a ladder truck. No one was hurt.

A tail section support is usually used prevent cargo planes from tilting back during loading or unloading. In this case, crews reportedly either didn't use it or did not install it correctly.

A conveyor belt at the rear door of the plane got smashed when the plane tilted. The door itself looks like it sustained some damage. It's not yet known how much more damage there may be to the plane.

Flight operations at LAX were not affected by the mishap because it happened in the cargo area of the airport.
Copyright © 2004, KTLA

 

[TonyC]

Pictures and cute opening line

Airplane Tips, Strands Seven Workers 40 Feet Up

POSTED: 6:09 am PDT May 27, 2004
UPDATED: 6:30 am PDT May 27, 2004

LOS ANGELES -- There must have been too much junk in the trunk of a cargo plane at Los Angeles International Airport Thursday morning.

Slideshow: Airplane Tips Up

The World Airways plane was being unloaded when it became unbalanced and tipped back on its rear wheels -- stranding seven workers 40 feet above the ground in the nose of the aircraft.

Workers were removing cargo from the back of the MD-11 cargo plane around 3 a.m. Thursday when the weight shifted and the plane went back on its tail.

The uninjured workers were rescued after about an hour by firefighters using a ladder truck.

Airport officials say they may have to use a crane to right the plane.
Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

 

[Huck]

I think the Koreans finally lowered the nose by slowly inserting ten or twelve workers into the fuselage, then having them walk slowly forward en masse toward the cockpit. A sling cushioned the nose.