MIA DC-8 gear collapse

[canadflyau]

Anyone have any more info or pics about this:

05FEB07/1031
TO-ALL MIA CA/FO
-
TAMPA AIR CARGO DC-8 FEBRUARY 5, 2007 AS OF 1000 LOCAL UPDATE
-
LAST NIGHT ABOUT 0001 A TPA AIR DC-8 LANDED ON MIA 9/27 RUNWAY
AND THE RIGHT MAIN GEAR COLLAPSED. AS OF THIS WRITING THE A/C
IS STILL ON THE CLOSED RUNWAY. AA HAS BEEN ASKED TO ASSIST IN
THE REMOVAL AS TPA AIR WAS GOING TO ATTEMPT TO LIFT IT BY ITS
ENGINES. ONCE IT IS REMOVED A DAMAGE ASSESSMENT OF THE RUNWAY
WILL BE MADE AND REPAIRED IF NEEDED. NO ESTIMATES YET ON HOW
LONG THIS WILL TAKE.

-
MANGAGING DIRECTOR OF FLIGHT/MIA

 

[McNugget]

Of course, since RWY9 was just resurfaced. Add one more lengthy renovation project to Third World International Airport.

 

[Sunnfun]

Anyone have any more info or pics about this:

05FEB07/1031
TO-ALL MIA CA/FO
-
TAMPA AIR CARGO DC-8 FEBRUARY 5, 2007 AS OF 1000 LOCAL UPDATE
-
LAST NIGHT ABOUT 0001 A TPA AIR DC-8 LANDED ON MIA 9/27 RUNWAY
AND THE RIGHT MAIN GEAR COLLAPSED. AS OF THIS WRITING THE A/C
IS STILL ON THE CLOSED RUNWAY. AA HAS BEEN ASKED TO ASSIST IN
THE REMOVAL AS TPA AIR WAS GOING TO ATTEMPT TO LIFT IT BY ITS
ENGINES. ONCE IT IS REMOVED A DAMAGE ASSESSMENT OF THE RUNWAY
WILL BE MADE AND REPAIRED IF NEEDED. NO ESTIMATES YET ON HOW
LONG THIS WILL TAKE.

-
MANGAGING DIRECTOR OF FLIGHT/MIA

We landed on 8R yesterday morning because of this. All I could see when we taxied by (it was still dark), was that the Plane was resting on engine #3 and appeared to be in the middle of the runway. Looks like they did a pretty good job keeping it straight and not veering off the side of the runway.

Rumour from the usual suspects was that this A/C had a history of problems with the Landing Gear.

Haven't seen any pictures though...

 

[Fedora]

TPA AIR WAS GOING TO ATTEMPT TO LIFT IT BY ITS
ENGINES.

WTFO? These guys are allowed to operate/maintain airplanes?

 

[b707guy]

Maybe the gasses soon to be released by the rotting veggies and flowers will lift it for them. Problem solved!:nuts:

 

[RedGuy]

WTFO? These guys are allowed to operate/maintain airplanes?

Those engines are probably trashed anyway. I'd imagine a couple hundred thousand pounds can't be good for them. I don't quite understand why the wouldn't just use jacks on the jack points though? Or how they plan on lifting it by it's engine.

 

[b707guy]

Anyone know if the plane was CFM or Pratt powered? If it was a Pratt, they could probably pound the dents out of the nacelle and fire it right back up. CFM on the other hand... Mighty pricey motor to trash. Crew seems to have done a good job, though. I've had a few landings where I'm surprised the gear didn't submit right then and there. And the only time I'm on centerline is if I happen to cross over it. That's with the gear working as advertised.

 

[Whistlin' Dan]

I don't quite understand why the wouldn't just use jacks on the jack points though?

Most A/C jacks have a limited range of movement-a few feet at most. There's no way you can get a conventional jack under an airplane that's sitting on it's belly or under a wing that's touching the ground, which is why airbags are often used to lift them.

If it's "just" a collapsed nose gear, a crane with webbing under the fuselage can sometimes be used. But getting a wing off the asphalt would take a big-a$$ crane or two, and would probably tear the wing up pretty bad in the process.

If this particular DC-8 had CFM's, who cares about the basic airframe or the engines? Are the pylons OK?

 

[champ2kt]

Remove the avionics and blow the airframe in place.

 

[canadflyau]

It had CFM's

 

[ke4lir]

I'd use airbags and save what I could.

 

[Sunnfun]

It had CFM's

Yes, it was a DC-8-71F. Here's a blog entry with a picture of the airplane intact.

Interesting History:

It was originally delivered to United as N8086U but has served with VASP (PP-SOP), Fast Air (CC-CAR), Florida West, MAS Air (XA-MAS) and ATI (N976AL). (AirlinersGallery.com)