On 4-23-24 just horrible.
Alaska Air Fuel DC-4
- Thread starter Exhaustgases
- Start date
Any idea what could have blown up that catastrophic other than a wing tank exlposion?
For a wing tank to do that it would need to be pretty low on gas, the liquid won't burn its the fumes so to say.
It could be something mechanical in the engine or a wild guess of a flash back into the induction system, that would be difficult and very rare though especially at high power. It will be interesting what the final report shows in the next 2 to 3 years or so. Hope it come sooner though.
It could be something mechanical in the engine or a wild guess of a flash back into the induction system, that would be difficult and very rare though especially at high power. It will be interesting what the final report shows in the next 2 to 3 years or so. Hope it come sooner though.
Preliminary report.
That is very interesting. Of note, that 2004 ground accident, in which there was a fuel tank explosion that separated the left engine and outer wing, has me thinking that this crash was the same mechanism - outer wing tank explosion, engine and wing separation. I can’t find much other than this on that incident:
Accident Douglas C-54B N44911,
The crew of the 4 engine airplane started its engines for a positioning flight from a remote mining airstrip. Following the startup of the engines, an explosion occurred in the left wing ...
aviation-safety.net
The crew maintained a very steady airspeed, right until it rolled over, so this wasn’t likely a stall/spin, despite the turn into the dead engine (which is only an issue if you fail to keep the airplane in balanced flight).
Aviation gasoline is far more flammable than jet fuel, has a much higher vapor pressure, and under the right circumstances, an explosion is very possible.
Dragging the damaged portion of the left wing, after it had separated, by the control cables, just as happened in the ground mishap, would cause an instant loss of control. Nothing the crew could have done.
Now, let’s pause for the news organizations to pick up on this accident, figure out that McD is now part of Boeing, and lead with:
“Another fatal crash for troubled Boeing”
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Yeah it would have been nice if at the first sign of a problem they would have set down on that ice asap, slip the heck out of it to get there.
Seems like fires on planes can be like an engine out on take off, don't try to return to the airport, as it could go down long before you get there.
If it was the same fuel tank deal I wonder what caused it in the first place? I'm sure they have a stainless steel fire wall behind the engine,
and real stupid design if there is a fuel tank just behind the engine.
Seems like fires on planes can be like an engine out on take off, don't try to return to the airport, as it could go down long before you get there.
If it was the same fuel tank deal I wonder what caused it in the first place? I'm sure they have a stainless steel fire wall behind the engine,
and real stupid design if there is a fuel tank just behind the engine.
I would amend your post to say "could have set down on that ice ASAP". I'm not sure it was possible, considering the video, there wasn't that much time between "we have to return" vs the inflight separation of part of the wing.
On any plane first sign of fire, get it down quick, though there have been some engine fires that have been put out and the flight continues. I think I saw one of the Everetts planes do that once on tv.
If they would have spent more time getting down and less time talking and obeying ATC, maybe it would have worked.
Check lists don't work when your wings are cooking. Always hammer in the basic checklist in the head for fire.
In WW2 I don't think any B17 crew spent time on a checklist with an engine fire, it was drilled into their heads.
If they would have spent more time getting down and less time talking and obeying ATC, maybe it would have worked.
Check lists don't work when your wings are cooking. Always hammer in the basic checklist in the head for fire.
In WW2 I don't think any B17 crew spent time on a checklist with an engine fire, it was drilled into their heads.
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JHZR2
Staff member
I was in Fairbanks that day. I was walking outdoors, beautiful day, beautiful morning.
I saw the plane, didn’t think anything of it. It was just a neat old plane. I think it was this one:
My photo shows this taken at 1:51 pm. But that’s (I think) eastern time where I am now. Which would be 9:51 Fairbanks time).
I could be mistaken, and the airplane could be an entirely different model. But I remember that day and the four prop planes very vividly.
I saw the plane, didn’t think anything of it. It was just a neat old plane. I think it was this one:
My photo shows this taken at 1:51 pm. But that’s (I think) eastern time where I am now. Which would be 9:51 Fairbanks time).
I could be mistaken, and the airplane could be an entirely different model. But I remember that day and the four prop planes very vividly.
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| I wouldn’t be entering any holds…. Incident: India A321 at Delhi on May 17th 2024, suspected fire in air conditioning
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Rare to read about a modern aircraft not being able to extinguish an engine fire after both bottles used.
Very common to see in the sim ( time critical emergencies like uncontrollable engine fire ) when pilots undergo command upgrade evaluations, but not in regular sims.
Very common to see in the sim ( time critical emergencies like uncontrollable engine fire ) when pilots undergo command upgrade evaluations, but not in regular sims.
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