NAHA, Japan — A China Airlines jet exploded into flames at an airport in Okinawa after arriving from Taiwan on Monday, but all 165 people aboard escaped alive, officials said. Police said terrorism was not suspected.
source:
http://frontpage.fok.nl/nieuws/80533 (Dutch only)
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,293765,00.html (English)
It's a pitty of the plane.
China Airlines Jet Explodes Upon Landing in Okinawa
Moderator: Latest news team
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Bruspotter
- Posts: 2068
- Joined: 04 Sep 2004, 00:00
- Location: (Antwerp/Belgium)
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Hello
My god!!! What a fire...luckily everyone escaped without more...it's almost a miracle.
I heard about the crash from my dad but I can't make it for the evening news bulletin (work).
It's not that I'm out on crashes or something like that...(I hope this isn't rude) but does anyone knows where you can find a short film of what happened...I would really like to see how this could have happened.
(P.S. right now I can't find anything yet on youtube)
Thanks and best regards: Yannick
My god!!! What a fire...luckily everyone escaped without more...it's almost a miracle.
I heard about the crash from my dad but I can't make it for the evening news bulletin (work).
It's not that I'm out on crashes or something like that...(I hope this isn't rude) but does anyone knows where you can find a short film of what happened...I would really like to see how this could have happened.
(P.S. right now I can't find anything yet on youtube)
Thanks and best regards: Yannick
The aircraft had actually blocked-in, which would add a considerable plus factor to the survivability rate - only 1 cabin crew member sustained minor injuries.
But I cannot understand why the fire service took so long to get to the aircraft, and why the fire obviously took control so quickly.
It is a TOTAL write off, and a very sad sight, especially being a relatively new aircraft - an 800 series B737.
Some photos of the TOTALLY destroyed aircraft that you won’t see anywhere else (because the media don’t have access to this spot), appear on the aviation website, www.PIREP.org at this location
http://www.pirep.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5462
Regardless, the crew all did a very good job.
By the look of things, it could have gone the other way with just a minor hiccup.
But I cannot understand why the fire service took so long to get to the aircraft, and why the fire obviously took control so quickly.
It is a TOTAL write off, and a very sad sight, especially being a relatively new aircraft - an 800 series B737.
Some photos of the TOTALLY destroyed aircraft that you won’t see anywhere else (because the media don’t have access to this spot), appear on the aviation website, www.PIREP.org at this location
http://www.pirep.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5462
Regardless, the crew all did a very good job.
By the look of things, it could have gone the other way with just a minor hiccup.
See you at www.PIREP.org
Fly Safe.
Fly Safe.
"Bolt pierced fuel tank of 737 that exploded, officials say"
Story here:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/b ... ire23.html
Story here:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/b ... ire23.html
-
Bruspotter
- Posts: 2068
- Joined: 04 Sep 2004, 00:00
- Location: (Antwerp/Belgium)
- Contact:
Hello
Thanks for the movie...in mean while I took the effort to watch the very late evening news at CNN, I couldn't wait, but I'm looking and looking over again...it's really weird.
Indeed, how in heaven's name could a loose bolt pierce a fuel tank...it might have been pulled trough the material of the fueltank maybe?
But even than...there would have needed to be a spark close to the leaking fuel...the same story as the concorde crash of Air France.
The fuel tank got pierced by pieces of the blown tire of the concorde, causing fuel to pour out in volatile form...and a cutted wire on the damaged main gear of the concorde caused short circuit wich gave the spark to ignite the volatile fuel gass...should the China Airlines accident have more similarities (except for the gear).
Maybe an accidental spark by something totally unpredictable?
Best regards: Yannick
Thanks for the movie...in mean while I took the effort to watch the very late evening news at CNN, I couldn't wait, but I'm looking and looking over again...it's really weird.
Indeed, how in heaven's name could a loose bolt pierce a fuel tank...it might have been pulled trough the material of the fueltank maybe?
But even than...there would have needed to be a spark close to the leaking fuel...the same story as the concorde crash of Air France.
The fuel tank got pierced by pieces of the blown tire of the concorde, causing fuel to pour out in volatile form...and a cutted wire on the damaged main gear of the concorde caused short circuit wich gave the spark to ignite the volatile fuel gass...should the China Airlines accident have more similarities (except for the gear).
Maybe an accidental spark by something totally unpredictable?
Best regards: Yannick
Re: China Airlines Jet Explodes Upon Landing in Okinawa
Naha jet fire laid to faulty maintenance
In a report released Friday, the Japan Transport Safety Board concluded the explosion was caused by a maintenance error that caused a bolt to fall off the aircraft's main wing and pierce a fuel tank, causing fuel to gush through the hole and catch fire.
It also called for improving fire services at the airport, saying firefighters were late in arriving at the scene of the explosion.
No one died or was injured in the incident because the pilot acted quickly to evacuate the aircraft after being advised by a ground mechanic of a problem, and because ground staff properly guided passengers to safety, the report said, adding that it took only three minutes and 27 seconds to evacuate all the passengers after the fire broke out.
The bolt installed in a support pylon of a slat on the leading edge of the right wing fell off due to vibration because it was fixed only by a nut and not backed up by a washer, according to the report.
The bolt then pierced the fuel tank when the slat was tucked into the wing and forced it into the tank with considerable force, it said.
The board believes China Airlines mechanics failed to attach a washer when they replaced the nut on July 6, 2007, about six weeks before the accident, at the instruction of Boeing, which has since modified the design of the nut, enlarging it to make it more effective in preventing the bolt from detaching.
In a report released Friday, the Japan Transport Safety Board concluded the explosion was caused by a maintenance error that caused a bolt to fall off the aircraft's main wing and pierce a fuel tank, causing fuel to gush through the hole and catch fire.
It also called for improving fire services at the airport, saying firefighters were late in arriving at the scene of the explosion.
No one died or was injured in the incident because the pilot acted quickly to evacuate the aircraft after being advised by a ground mechanic of a problem, and because ground staff properly guided passengers to safety, the report said, adding that it took only three minutes and 27 seconds to evacuate all the passengers after the fire broke out.
The bolt installed in a support pylon of a slat on the leading edge of the right wing fell off due to vibration because it was fixed only by a nut and not backed up by a washer, according to the report.
The bolt then pierced the fuel tank when the slat was tucked into the wing and forced it into the tank with considerable force, it said.
The board believes China Airlines mechanics failed to attach a washer when they replaced the nut on July 6, 2007, about six weeks before the accident, at the instruction of Boeing, which has since modified the design of the nut, enlarging it to make it more effective in preventing the bolt from detaching.
Re: China Airlines Jet Explodes Upon Landing in Okinawa
I have stated before the importance of the cheapiest parts of an airplane: nuts and bolts, washers and seals.
In a previous post about the problems with washers at Boeing, it was about buyers who think they make easy savings on those so called low tech products. But they forget that this caused the explosion of the Challenger (from Wiki: Disintegration of the entire vehicle began after an O-ring seal in its right solid rocket booster (SRB) failed at liftoff. )
But now I am totally flabbergasted ! Since a 10 year old boy learns from his dad how to repair his bicyle, we do all know that you need to put a washer between the bolt and the object to prevent coming loose.
In a previous post about the problems with washers at Boeing, it was about buyers who think they make easy savings on those so called low tech products. But they forget that this caused the explosion of the Challenger (from Wiki: Disintegration of the entire vehicle began after an O-ring seal in its right solid rocket booster (SRB) failed at liftoff. )
But now I am totally flabbergasted ! Since a 10 year old boy learns from his dad how to repair his bicyle, we do all know that you need to put a washer between the bolt and the object to prevent coming loose.