Jump to content

747 wing hits buildng at J'burg airport


Recommended Posts

[i doubt there is a team there that can fix this damage.

Not a doubt but a racing certainty. An opinion that comes from 31 years in BA Engineering and 15 as a pilot. Job loss is not a certainty though. A 'No Blame' culture exists nowadays. Career prospects could be damaged however.

Q: Who do you blame in a no blame culture?

Link to post
Share on other sites

I think you meant the 747 Dreamlifter. Did they lose their jobs? Maybe. Those pilots who fly the Dreamlifter are either Polar Airlines or Atlas Airlines pilots contracted out by Boeing...I can't recall at the moment. I don't know much about them but airlines like that usually have no unions or very weak unions. I regularly hear horror stories from pilots who used to work for those kind of cargo outfits. Stories like guys getting fired because they called in sick or because they refused to fly an aircraft that had some shady maintenance performed. So comparing BA pilots (with a strong union) to Polar or Atlas pilots is like comparing apples to oranges.

And for the record I'm not bashing on Atlas or Polar. There are alot of great pilots flying for them. But the difference is hostile managements vs non hostile managements...or better union protection. And I'm not trying to make this some kind of pro union speech, either. I'm just telling it like it is.

I fly for a major airline so I'm speaking from an insiders point of view. Sure, it is technically possible this BA pilot could lose his job. He won't. And nor should he...unless something like Alcohol or recklessness was a contributing factor. If it was they bye bye and good riddance.

And as for this being a crew thing? Sure. This situation does beg the question of why 3 or 4 pilots (don't forget the 1 or 2 IROs sitting in the jumpseats) never saw what was about to happen. But its ultimately going to fall on the captain as it should. I'm sure BA has their planes insured and I'm sure this isn't the first incident they've had.

I can cite you dozens of example of pilots clipping wings on the ground taxiing, banging into ground equipment near the gate or striking the tail on TO and landing with no jobs lost. Heck, we have a guy who banged a tail on Take-off and hit the top of the tail going under a bridge! He didn't lose his job. This sort of thing happens alot more than you think, unfortunately. This is no different. And even if BA management did go after his job they'd have to fight the pilot's union. Good luck with that.

This will sound crazy to those outside of the industry but sometimes an incident like this is a good thing. Here's why. This will open up the eyes of many other pilots who might be falling into a state of complacency. They might see that it really is important to study the taxi charts or to speak up if they see something that doesn't look right. Experience is learning from your own mistakes and wisdom is learning from someone else's mistakes.

Both Atlas and Polar have a union. They belong to the Teamsters.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Both Atlas and Polar have a union. They belong to the Teamsters.

Thanks. I wasn't sure. I don't know much about the Teamsters but I wouldn't bet that they are a very strong pilot's union. But this debate isn't about unions. Its a discussion over whether or not the pilots will or should be fired.

But my point still stands. Other major airlines have had planes land at wrong airports and the pilots didn't lose their jobs over it. Don't get me wrong, though, they were punished for it and rightfully so. But they weren't terminated.

Edited by Fly-n-hi
Link to post
Share on other sites

Spent some time reading the thread on this subject on the airliners.net civil aviation forum. I'm a helo guy, so I was amazed that the incident a/c had over 100,000 flight hours on it. I know, its the cycles that are the real fatigue inducer on airliners, like the Aloha Air 737 that lost the top of the fuselage.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Spent some time reading the thread on this subject on the airliners.net civil aviation forum. I'm a helo guy, so I was amazed that the incident a/c had over 100,000 flight hours on it. I know, its the cycles that are the real fatigue inducer on airliners, like the Aloha Air 737 that lost the top of the fuselage.

We have a 757 with something like 96,000 hrs on it.
Link to post
Share on other sites

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/12/22/22010858-jet-wing-strikes-building-at-johannesburg-airport?lite

One of the few times I read the comments left by readers is if it has to do with aviation. You can always tell the ones left by aviation professionals. All the other comments just cause me to further loose my faith in humanity.

oh heck that looks bad..

,

Hope everyone inside the building got away without being injured.

Good to hear everyone on the airliner is okay.

:thumbsup:

Edited by HOLMES
Link to post
Share on other sites

Boeing Repair teams are as good as any other teams. One unsatis repair by one team doesn't make a bag of rats for the rest of time. That's an answer to the cock up with the pressure bulkhead repair on the JAL 747 in the 80's.

A 707 of either BOAC or BA ( I can't remember the year) had an engine fire on the Detuners and a wing was written off. BOAC/BA drew up the repair scheme the wing was flown from Seattle (?)in a Guppy to Heathrow and a BOAC/BA team fitted the replacement wing. In the back my of my head I have the reg. 'WHU, I'm probably wrong but that's the one that keeps coming back to me.(its like mystic f in meg!)BA are qualified and have the expertise to repair this 747.And SAA and Atlas.Is Atlas still going?

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...