Syrian Air A320 loses stab and rudder in midair
Discussion
According to http://avherald.com/h?article=45671063
"A Syrian Arab Airlines Airbus A320-200, registration YK-AKF performing flight RB-501 from Damascus to Latakia (Syria), was climbing through FL120 out of Damascus when the main rotor of a military helicopter clipped the upper half of the vertical stabilizer and rudder off the airliner. The helicopter crashed, the A320 was able to return to Damascus for a safe landing. The helicopter crew died, there were no injuries aboard the A320, the A320 received substantial damage.
A replacement Airbus A320-200 registration YK-AKC reached Latakia and onward destination Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) with a delay of 5 hours.
Syria's Information Ministry reported the aircraft carried 200 people."
Not sure what to make of this. Source is state TV for one, 200 pax on an A320 is a bit heavy and how did the helo clip the stab and miss the rest of the fuselage? If it's true, and they didn't just forget to open the hangar doors properly and the Govt are trying to explain the crash of a mil helo then kudos to Airbus for building them strong and kudos to the crew for bringing them home safe.
No other damage visible on the plane? Surely if a heli had hit the tail wouldn't there have been some damage on the fuselage?
Can an aircraft of any sort fly with that amount of damage? I know. Sod all about the physics of keeping a plane in the air however it does surprise me that the 320 was ale to land safely with mots of the tail missing.
Wouldn't it have become inherently unstable as soon as the tail fell off?
Is there more to this story than meets the eye?
If the pilots did manage to land the plane in that condition then they are truly talented & well blessed pilots.
Sad though that the heli crew appear to have died.
Can an aircraft of any sort fly with that amount of damage? I know. Sod all about the physics of keeping a plane in the air however it does surprise me that the 320 was ale to land safely with mots of the tail missing.
Wouldn't it have become inherently unstable as soon as the tail fell off?
Is there more to this story than meets the eye?
If the pilots did manage to land the plane in that condition then they are truly talented & well blessed pilots.
Sad though that the heli crew appear to have died.
I don't have a problem believing a helo rotor went through that tail:
http://aviation-safety.net/photos/displayphoto.php...
And aircraft can fly with surprising amounts of damage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wclfY0Meruw
http://aviation-safety.net/photos/displayphoto.php...
And aircraft can fly with surprising amounts of damage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wclfY0Meruw
According the the report, there were 200 pax on board - fairly easy to ascertain if they felt an almighty bang, followed by an expeditious landing (unless you buy an extra-long roll of Bacofoil to wrap round your head, and convince yourself that it was all a conspiracy, and everyone on board was part of it....)
Easy
- - - - - - - - - -> A320 flight path
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Helo flight path
(though reverse it so A320 right to left as my ascii art gets knackered as spaces get collapsed)
Same level, helo crew busy looking left, face full of A320, rotor clips fin, bang. A second later and they'd have missed it altogether, a second earlier and they'd have hit the tail square on and *really* made a mess.
- - - - - - - - - -> A320 flight path
^
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Helo flight path
(though reverse it so A320 right to left as my ascii art gets knackered as spaces get collapsed)
Same level, helo crew busy looking left, face full of A320, rotor clips fin, bang. A second later and they'd have missed it altogether, a second earlier and they'd have hit the tail square on and *really* made a mess.
DamienB said:
Easy full of A320, rotor clips fin, bang. A second later and they'd have missed it altogether, a second earlier and they'd have hit the tail square on and *really* made a mess.
So exactly where we're the wings of the A320 as the helicopter got so close to the aircraft, me thinks the wings may have hit the helo first before its rotors got close to the rudder!!!How does the vertical height between the horizontal stabilisers (and elevators) and the cut in the tailfin/rubber compare to the distance between a choppers rotor disc and the bottom of its skids? As the plain files at least twice as fast as the chopper, the resultant closing vector must be broadly perpendicular to the planes longitudinal axis.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaLjPjLTyDA
What's that you were saying?
FBW you can't beat it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLFZTzR5u84&fea...
What's that you were saying?
FBW you can't beat it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLFZTzR5u84&fea...
Edited by Mojocvh on Friday 28th September 21:51
It's Syria, which is a war zone at the moment. What probably happened is that the chopper was taken down by some kind of SAM, and possibly one hit the airliner too but didn't kill it. A brief look at the news seems to suggest that none of the losses of military aircraft during the civil war have been due to enemy action...
Hmmmm not too sure about this either.
For starters you can't get 200 pax on a 320.
The rudder also happens to be the one consumer that is supplied by all three hydraulic systems (read into that, how important Airbus place on it).
Not sure where the actuators are but having it clipped like that would make me wonder if this would be another Sioux City malarkey.
Then again, stranger things have happened.....
For starters you can't get 200 pax on a 320.
The rudder also happens to be the one consumer that is supplied by all three hydraulic systems (read into that, how important Airbus place on it).
Not sure where the actuators are but having it clipped like that would make me wonder if this would be another Sioux City malarkey.
Then again, stranger things have happened.....
fatboy69 said:
Sad though that the heli crew appear to have died.
Really? Think about that for a while.Some more photos
http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=...
Edited by thehawk on Saturday 29th September 15:48
DamienB said:
Easy
- - - - - - - - - -> A320 flight path
^
|
|
|
|
Helo flight path
(though reverse it so A320 right to left as my ascii art gets knackered as spaces get collapsed)
Same level, helo crew busy looking left, face full of A320, rotor clips fin, bang. A second later and they'd have missed it altogether, a second earlier and they'd have hit the tail square on and *really* made a mess.
No way in your scenario would just the top of the tail be damaged. I can't see any possible scenario where a helicopter in flight could do that damage and only that damage to a flying jet from its rotor blades.- - - - - - - - - -> A320 flight path
^
|
|
|
|
Helo flight path
(though reverse it so A320 right to left as my ascii art gets knackered as spaces get collapsed)
Same level, helo crew busy looking left, face full of A320, rotor clips fin, bang. A second later and they'd have missed it altogether, a second earlier and they'd have hit the tail square on and *really* made a mess.
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