Flight with disabled controls: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 18:59, 14 August 2024

Revision as of 07:38, 20 August 2024

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* [[Air Astana Flight 1388]], an [[Embraer E-Jet family|Embraer ERJ-E190]], November 11, 2018. The aircraft suffered severe control issues from an incorrectly installed aileron cable shortly after taking off from Alverca Air Base, [[Portugal]]. The flight crew struggled to control the plane for about 90 minutes. During that period, they lost control of their aircraft multiple times but found they could gain more control by activating direct mode for flight controls which disconnects the FCM (flight control module). This greatly increased controllability of the pitch and yaw-[[Aircraft principal axes|axes]], but control of the roll axis was still limited. After 90 minutes and two unsuccessful landing attempts, the flight crew managed to land the plane at [[Beja Airport]]. Everyone aboard survived the incident, but one suffered a leg injury.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ranter |first=Harro |title=ASN Aircraft accident Embraer ERJ-190LR (ERJ-190-100 LR) P4-KCJ Lisbon |url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20181111-0 |access-date=2022-09-18 |website=aviation-safety.net}}</ref>

* [[Emery Worldwide Airlines Flight 17]], a [[Douglas DC-8|McDonnel Douglas DC-8]], February 16, 2000. Crashed shortly after taking off from [[Sacramento Mather Airport|Sacremento Mather Airport]]. The crash killed all three crew members. The investigation found that a control rod to the [[Elevator (aeronautics)|right elevator control tab]] detached, causing a loss of pitch control while taking off. The disconnection was caused by the failure to properly secure and inspect the attachment bolt during prior maintenance.

*[[Air Midwest Flight 5481]], a [[Beechcraft 1900D]], on 8 January 2003. On takeoff from [[Charlotte/Douglas International Airport]], the aircraft pitched up and stalled, despite the captain attempting to push the yoke for full elevator down. The aircraft smashed into a US Airways hangar 37 seconds later, killing all 21 passengers and crew aboard and injuring one person on the ground. The NTSB found out that the plane had been overweight and that during maintenance, the tension turnbuckles that governed elevator movement had been set incorrectly by an inexperienced mechanic. This caused the elevators to lose control authority upon takeoff.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ntsb.gov/doclib/reports/2004/AAR0401.pdf |title=Loss of Pitch Control During Takeoff Air Midwest Flight 5481 Raytheon (Beechcraft) 1900D, N233YV Charlotte, North Carolina January 8, 2003 |date= |access-date=2014-03-08}}</ref>

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*[[Aerosucre Flight 157]], a [[Boeing 727-200|Boeing 727-2J0F]], on 20 December 2016. The plane was overweight and in an incorrect takeoff configuration when it took off from [[Germán Olano Airport]], where it overran the runway and struck a perimeter fence, a tree and a [[sentry box]]. The 727 also crossed a road, almost killing several people on the ground who narrowly avoided being struck by it before becoming airborne. The plane lost its right main landing gear, power from engine 3, and all of its hydraulic systems, as well as having damage to the inboard right flap. The plane struggled to maintain flight as it entered a right turn before crashing into the ground. Initially, 2 out of the six people on board survived, but one later died of his injuries.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ranter |first=Harro |title=ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 727-2J0 (F) Advanced HK-4544 Puerto Carreño-Germán Olano Airport (PCR) |url=https://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20161220-0 |access-date=2022-09-02 |website=aviation-safety.net}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Crash: Aerosucre B722 at Puerto Carreno on Dec 20th 2016, overran runway on takeoff |url=https://avherald.com/h?article=4a25fb25&opt=0 |access-date=2022-09-02 |website=avherald.com}}</ref>

*[[American Airlines Flight 587]], [[Airbus A300]], November 12, 2001. A pilot’spilot's excessive rudder inputs caused the vertical stabilizer to fracture and separate from the aircraft. See complete entry in [[#Controls damaged by structural failure|structural failures]] above.

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

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*[[Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 182]], September 25, 1978. The [[Boeing 727]] collided with a [[Cessna 172]] single engined aircraft over San Diego, CA. The damage to the 727's right wing control surfaces and control system hydraulics made the aircraft uncontrollable. All 135 people aboard the 727, both pilots in the Cessna, and 7 people on the ground were killed, for a total of 144 fatalities.

*[[Aeroméxico Flight 498]], August 25, 1986, [[McDonnell Douglas DC-9]]. In an accident strikingly similar to PSA 182, a private, single engined [[Piper PA-28 Cherokee|Piper Cherokee Archer]] strayed into the TCA control area, and collided with the DC-9’s9's vertical stabilizer, separating it and much of the rudder. Without the vertical stabilizer, the DC-9 entered an inverted dive and slammed into a residential area, killing all 58 passengers and 6 crew, plus 15 fatalities on the ground. The pilot and two passengers in the Piper were decapitated when they slammed into the DC-9’s9's vertical stabilizer. This incident and PSA 182 led to the creation of tightly regulated [[Class B airspace]] around the nation’snation's busiest airports.

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==Propulsion-controlled flight research==

[[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 ana [[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>

==Notes==