Flight with disabled controls: Difference between revisions

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*[[Delta Air Lines Flight 1080]], a [[Lockheed L-1011 Tristar]], on April 12, 1977, suffered a structural failure of a bearing assembly controlling the aircraft's left stabilizer, which caused it to jam in a full trailing edge up configuration. The plane pitched abruptly upwards and the pilots could not counteract the pitching force even when pushing the control column fully forward. This caused the plane to lose speed and nearly stall. The pilot managed to regain control by using the Tristar's tail engine at maximum power and lowering the thrust on the wing engines in order to generate differential thrust, together with the cabin crew moving the passengers forward to alter the center of gravity. The airliner landed at [[Los Angeles International Airport]], with all 41 passengers and 11 crew being unharmed.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1978/10/08/the-saving-of-flight-1080/bc18f021-691d-4b19-8041-dc03a089bf6d/|title=The Saving Of Flight 1080|date=1978-10-08|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=2018-05-19|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286}}</ref>

*[[American Airlines Flight 191]], a [[McDonnell Douglas DC-10]], on 25 May 1979. The failure of the #1 engine mounting pylon and subsequent separation of the engine from the aircraft resulted in severed hydraulic lines and electrical system damage. The left wing [[Leading-edge slat|slats]] retracted due to the loss of hydraulic pressure and aerodynamic forces, while the right wing slats remained extended. The damaged electrical system prevented the slat retract indicators and [[stick-shaker]] on the [[yoke]] from functioning, so the crew was not alerted to the slat retraction nor impending stall. All 271 on board were killed, as well as two on the ground at [[O'Hare International Airport]] in [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], making it the deadliest aviation accident in U.S. history.

*[[Japan Air Lines Flight 123]], a [[Boeing 747]], on 12 August 1985. A faulty repair years earlier had weakened the aircraft's rear pressure bulkhead, which failed in flight. The [[vertical stabilizer]] and much of the aircraft's [[empennage]] was blown off during the decompression. The decompression also ruptured all four hydraulic lines which controlled the aircraft's mechanical flight controls. The pilots were able to continue flying the aircraft with very limited control, but after 32 minutes the aircraft crashed into a mountain, killing 520 of the 524 people aboard in the deadliest single aircraft disaster in history.<ref>Gero 1997, p. 189.</ref>

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====Controls damaged by mid-air collision====

[[File:19430201AllAmericanB17inFlight.jpg|alt=|230x230px|thumb|left|The ''All American'' returning to base after its collision with a [[Messerschmitt Bf 109]]s]]

*On 1 February 1943, the ''[[All American (aircraft)|All American]]'' [[Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress|B-17F]] was in formation with other bombers of the [[414th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron|414th Bombardment Squadron]] to return to their base near [[Biskra]], [[Algeria]] when two [[Messerschmitt Bf 109]]s attacked the lead bomber and the ''All American.'' The first Bf 109 was downed by the bombers but the second continued its attack, flying towards the ''All American'' until its pilot was shot dead by machine gun fire and the Bf 109 collided with the ''All American'', shearing off the bomber's left [[horizontal stabilizer]] and leaving a huge hole at the tail section. The only thing holding the B-17F together was the metal frame connecting the tail section and the rear gunner.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-08-07 |title=Commentary - A new perspective on a challenging day at work |url=http://www.charleston.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123438088 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160807134932/http://www.charleston.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123438088 |archive-date=2016-08-07 |access-date=2022-09-01 }}</ref><ref name="Leone">{{Cite web |last=Leone |first=Dario |date=2017-11-09 |title=THE STORY OF "ALL AMERICAN", THE B-17 THAT MADE IT HOME AFTER HAVING BEEN SLICED BY THE WING OF AN Me 109 |url=https://theaviationgeekclub.com/story-american-b-17-made-home-sliced-wing-109/ |access-date=2022-09-01 |website=The Aviation Geek Club |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=WarbirdsNews |date=2013-06-27 |title=WWII's B-17 "All American" Separating Fact and Fiction |url=https://warbirdsnews.com/warbird-articles/wwiis-b-17-all-american-separating-fact-fiction.html |access-date=2022-09-01 |website=Vintage Aviation News |language=en-US}}</ref> This caused the rudder, electricals, and oxygen systems to be damaged, removing the tail wheel and leaving only one operating elevator cable when the other control cables were destroyed.<ref>{{Citation |title=B17 All American ~ (Rev. 2a) (720p HD) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OAPgo1iUvM |language=en |access-date=2022-09-01}}</ref> Despite the mid-air collision, none of the crew on board were injured and the B-17F remained airborne. The other bombers slowed down to maintain formation with the ''All American'' to protect it from potential attacks from other [[Messerschmitt Bf 109]]s, which never happened. The B-17F managed to land back at the base with the tail section dragging the landing strip.<ref name="Leone"/>

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[[File:MD-11 shortly after touchdown.jpg|thumb|The MD-11 Propulsion Controlled Aircraft (PCA) lands for the first time under engine power only on Aug. 29, 1995, at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in California]]

NASA personnel at [[Dryden Flight Research Center]] worked on the design of an aircraft control system using only thrust from its engines. The system was first tested on a [[McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle]] in 1993, piloted by [[Gordon Fullerton]].<ref name="MD-11 PCA">{{cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/multimedia/imagegallery/MD-11PCA/MD-11PCA_proj_desc.html |title=MD-11 Propulsion Controlled Aircraft (PCA)|publisher=www.nasa.gov |date= |access-date=2021-05-16}}</ref> The system was then applied to a [[McDonnell Douglas MD-11]] airliner, and Fullerton made its first propulsion-controlled landing in August 1995.<ref name ="MD-11 PCA"/> Later flights were made with the center engine at idle speed so the system could be tested using the two wing-mounted engines, simulating the more common airliner layout.<ref>Tucker, p. 29.</ref>

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==Notes==