Southwest Nose Gear Collapse LGA

[flyguy75000]

Didn't an anal-retentive, perfect landing captain also cause this one in SJU as well?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1t-sNm_ST0ell?

 

[ironspud]

August 21, 2013, 10:10 p.m. ET

Pilot's Actions In July Crash Face Review
Pilot May Have Throttled Back Engine Too Soon, People Familiar With Inquiry Say

By ANDY PASZTOR

Seconds before the botched landing of a Southwest Airlines Inc. jet last month at New York's La Guardia Airport, the captain was concerned about touching down too far along the runway and may have throttled back the engines prematurely, according to people familiar with the investigation.

The preliminary indications of what led the aircraft to land on its nosegear, causing it to collapse and substantially damaging the Boeing 737, still have to be validated by investigators, these officials said.

The National Transportation Safety Board previously said the captain, in an unusual move, abruptly took over control at an altitude of about 400 feet. But the probe's latest focus appears to provide the strongest explanation yet for why she opted to suddenly take over from the first officer, and how a routine approach turned into a high-profile crash that temporarily closed the airport.

Ten of the 149 people aboard were hurt in the July 22 incident. The flight took off from Nashville, Tenn., that afternoon.

The nose of the plane pitched down during the last four seconds of the approach, when it should have remained slightly raised.

When the plane landed, the top of the landing gear, with only the right axle still attached, penetrated up through the floor of the bay, into an area holding electronic systems that help with operation and navigation of the plane.

Investigators have found no engine or other airplane malfunctions to account for the maneuver.

The NTSB is particularly interested in the captain's flight-control commands and her interaction with the first officer during the final 100 feet of the descent before the crash.

Southwest hasn't found any similar accident scenarios in previous years and has concluded the La Guardia crash doesn't pose any systemic hazards, Timothy Logan, the airline's top flight risk-management official, told an industry conference Wednesday in Vancouver.

The safety board hasn't turned up any training problems or deficiencies in the employment history of the captain, a 13-year veteran who has more that 8,000 hours flying in Boeing 737s.

The captain had landed only once before at La Guardia, according to the safety board. The first officer had about 1,100 hours of experience flying 737 jets and had flown into the airport six times previously in 2013, the NTSB has said.

The probe has been delayed partly because the pilots weren't interviewed until about a week after the accident.

The investigation is further complicated by the fact that both the captain and first officer filed reports about what happened under the airline's nonpunitive, voluntary safety-reporting system, according to people familiar with the details. Specifics from such reports normally are off limits to federal air-safety officials and particularly regulators.

The crew was making a visual approach, had turned off automated flight-control systems at the proper time, and also was relying on an instrument-landing system as a backup.

A major question remains why the captain, once she became concerned about the safety of the approach so close to the ground, didn't follow industrywide guidance to abandon the descent and climb away from the field.

Southwest has suffered accidents over the years stemming from planes running off the ends of slick or snowy runways, but the July mishap wasn't caused by any traction or braking problems.

More recently, according to people familiar with the details of Southwest's safety programs, company experts have focused on training pilots to ensure that they reach the landing touchdown point at the proper speed.

Transferring control during the descent's final phase, by itself, may have posed procedural and teamwork challenges. There's no indication of cockpit disputes, but independent safety experts said the first officer could have been startled by the change of plans barely a few seconds before touchdown.

The safety board "is delving into details of how you actually make that transition," according to one person close the probe. The cockpit-voice recorder, this person added, shows "a lot of dynamics between the two pilots."

Mr. Logan of Southwest suggested the same point in his comments to a global gathering of air-accident investigators in Vancouver. Calling the La Guardia accident "a challenging event," he said data gathered so far indicates "there's a lot going on" in the cockpit in the last few seconds.

Write to Andy Pasztor at [email protected]

 

[LJ45]

"The safety board "is delving into details of how you actually make that transition," according to one person close the probe. The cockpit-voice recorder, this person added, shows "a lot of dynamics between the two pilots."

Mr. Logan of Southwest suggested the same point in his comments to a global gathering of air-accident investigators in Vancouver. Calling the La Guardia accident "a challenging event," he said data gathered so far indicates "there's a lot going on" in the cockpit in the last few seconds."

I wonder?....would love to see the transcripts.

 

[Dan Roman]

"The safety board "is delving into details of how you actually make that transition," according to one person close the probe. The cockpit-voice recorder, this person added, shows "a lot of dynamics between the two pilots."

Mr. Logan of Southwest suggested the same point in his comments to a global gathering of air-accident investigators in Vancouver. Calling the La Guardia accident "a challenging event," he said data gathered so far indicates "there's a lot going on" in the cockpit in the last few seconds."

I wonder?....would love to see the transcripts.

Boy, those transcripts really are going to be interesting.

 

[SWA Bubba]

Boy, those transcripts really are going to be interesting.

I'm sure you're right--the transcripts almost always are.

Bubba

 

[Dan Roman]

I'm sure you're right--the transcripts almost always are.

Bubba

You might take note that I haven't said this was a SWA problem or a result of taxiing to fast! Sounds like whatever happened could have happened at any airline. At the risk of jumping to conclusions it sounds like piss poor CRM by the Captain.

 

[Juniority]

I taxied too fast just this evening. It was fun.

 

[20sx]

I think it's going to be a Xmas present to everyone in a couple of months

 

[SplitBar]

What are they defining as an accident? According to that site, Hawaiian had 15 acidents in 2010 and averages 3 per year. Pure bull********************. The last accident we've had was in 2000. We've never had a fatality or a hull loss.

Yeah, that list is beyond inaccurate. It says Mesaba had 3 accidents between 2006-2011. Name 1

 

[General Lee]

Yeah, that list is beyond inaccurate. It says Mesaba had 3 accidents between 2006-2011. Name 1

Avro overrun at Rifle, CO?


Bye Bye---General Lee