Please Help!!!

[glasspilot]

So I'm flying with a guy who tells me a story I can't believe is true. I basically said he is either lying or was hallucinating the whole event. We agreed that I'd post his story here and let the responses be the judge of the plausability of the story. Here is HIS story about a SWA flight from BNA to MCO...



He says he flew on a SWA flight as a paying passenger from BNA to MCO with the gear down the entire way due to some mechanical problem known in advance of said flight.



There it is. I told him there is no way this is possible or legal and he swears it happened that way. Post away.

 

[Fly-By-Cable]

I know that sounds insane but. I had to return to the field due to a gear problem. After getting towed back to the ramp from the runway and unloading pax I figured we'd just ferry the plane back. NO. A mechanic came out, checked the gear, put pins in and we were on our way (with pax onboard). Believe it or not we conducted a revenue flight with the gear down at 200 kts and 15000 ft. Check you MEL book, it's probably in there.

Also I believe the MEL said repairs must be made the following day which to me means more then just one flight may be conducted. Sounds crazy but it happened, legal and all.

 

[LawReview]

In a previous life I flew an ORD-YWG-ORD turn in a CRJ (AWAC) with the landing gear deferred. We just had to fly low and slow with the gear pinned down.

 

[LawReview]

BTW I believe it was a cat C MEL.

 

[JerryLundegaard]

Guess that would affect second segment climb weight limit a bit.

 

[LawReview]

Yep, every airplane I've flown includes gear down climb performance.

 

[gvtech]

32 - LANDING GEAR


4. REMARKS OR EXCEPTIONS








16.
Landing Gear Actuation System (-600/-700/-800/ -900)

B​

1​

0​

(M)(O) May be inoperative provided:
a) Inoperative components are secured by an accepted procedure,
b) Landing gear are secured in down position, and
c) Airplane is dispatched in accordance with AFM Gear Extended Appendix.



It's in the B737 MMEL.

 

[glasspilot]

Wow! I am shocked. BNA to MCO with gear down?!?

What's the max gear down speed of a B-737? 250'ish? How long is THAT flight? As a paying pax I'm thinking I'd be PO'd a tad.

 

[hockeypilot44]

At Chautauqua about 6 years ago, they deferred the gear. The dispatcher planned the flight at the lower altitude, but didn't take into account the extra drag from the gear. The pilots ended up overflying a few places while low on fuel to put it down in a maintenance base. The FAA wasn't happy. This is what happens when an airline has second-rate dispatchers though.

 

[sshrae]

Wow! I am shocked. BNA to MCO with gear down?!?

What's the max gear down speed of a B-737? 250'ish? How long is THAT flight? As a paying pax I'm thinking I'd be PO'd a tad.

You obviously have never flown for a LCC.

 

[seven3seven]

While the sarcasm is noted and appreciated it explicitly states in our FOM that revenue fllight is prohibited with landing gear down.

 

[N1atEcon]

Try 320 kts extended. Most guys never drop them before 250 due to the loud noise and clunk that scares the paxs.

235 retract
270 extend
320 extended

 

[clr4theapch]

I think the regs spell it out..

At Chautauqua about 6 years ago, they deferred the gear. The dispatcher planned the flight at the lower altitude, but didn't take into account the extra drag from the gear. The pilots ended up overflying a few places while low on fuel to put it down in a maintenance base. The FAA wasn't happy. This is what happens when an airline has second-rate dispatchers though.

I don't know what dispatcher you are refered too ..dont care.. but I am pretty sure that the PIC and the dispatcher "share joint responsibility" in part 121 work... You might want to read it.. 121.533... so if the dispatchers were second rate.. the pilots were as well.. this is somthing that should have been caught by the flight crew before they even pushed back.. in this case..

Certainly the FAA will be on both for the missed information.. And if the pilots over flew several airports on low fuel.. whats up with that... why did they wait?? maybe they wanted to see how long they could go on phumes?? or where they even paying attention to details until the ECAS and master alarm went off??

Be fair if your going to point the dirty end of the stick... make sure you point it at everyone at fault..

 

[front9]

phumes???

 

[DX Jake]

What's the big deal here? It was either delaying each flight 3 hours with aircraft swaps... or tacking on 15 more minutes with the gear down. Clear conditions, no icing, no big deal. We don't do it anymore though. The policy changed recently.