Emirates - Near Misses
Discussion
Read of two separate but significant incidents recently involving EK 777’s
Just before Xmas there was an incident involving a 777 leaving DXB for Washington.
Quoting Bloomberg
“The Emirates flight, bound to Washington DC, suffered a close call after the Boeing 777-300ER nearly impacted the ground in a Dubai neighborhood, according to The Air Current, which cited Flightradar24 and a notice to Emirates pilots. The plane came within 175 feet of impacting the ground, according to the news website. The incident may have been due to “incorrect setting” of the autopilot in the plane’s pre-flight setup, it said”
I’m amazed that this flight carried on its long ass Journey after this kind of mishap. Apparently 4 pilots on board too (not that it makes a massive difference)
2nd incident happened a few days back.
Quoting Reuters
“The jet, carrying passengers to Hyderabad in India, was instructed to "reject take-off on departure", which the spokesperson said was "completed successfully."
The General Civil Aviation Authority's Air Accident Investigation Sector is investigating the incident, the spokesperson said. The airline is reviewing it too.
FlightRadar24, a flight tracking website, has reported the Boeing 777 jet started its take-off while another 777 was crossing the runway. The take-off was aborted after the wide-body jet reached 100 knots, it said.“
Not a good few months for EK!
Just before Xmas there was an incident involving a 777 leaving DXB for Washington.
Quoting Bloomberg
“The Emirates flight, bound to Washington DC, suffered a close call after the Boeing 777-300ER nearly impacted the ground in a Dubai neighborhood, according to The Air Current, which cited Flightradar24 and a notice to Emirates pilots. The plane came within 175 feet of impacting the ground, according to the news website. The incident may have been due to “incorrect setting” of the autopilot in the plane’s pre-flight setup, it said”
I’m amazed that this flight carried on its long ass Journey after this kind of mishap. Apparently 4 pilots on board too (not that it makes a massive difference)
2nd incident happened a few days back.
Quoting Reuters
“The jet, carrying passengers to Hyderabad in India, was instructed to "reject take-off on departure", which the spokesperson said was "completed successfully."
The General Civil Aviation Authority's Air Accident Investigation Sector is investigating the incident, the spokesperson said. The airline is reviewing it too.
FlightRadar24, a flight tracking website, has reported the Boeing 777 jet started its take-off while another 777 was crossing the runway. The take-off was aborted after the wide-body jet reached 100 knots, it said.“
Not a good few months for EK!
My understanding is the EK B777 started its takeoff role without receiving takeoff clearance from the tower.
As for the other incident, I struggle to get my head around it. The crew should have briefed their V1, Vr and V2 speeds. Why they failed to rotate at Vr… anyones guess. Just look through the flight director if it’s giving you duff information.
As for the other incident, I struggle to get my head around it. The crew should have briefed their V1, Vr and V2 speeds. Why they failed to rotate at Vr… anyones guess. Just look through the flight director if it’s giving you duff information.
I did read that that is something to do with the culture in EK in relying totally on automation to do everything for you (it's said it's the same in all the ME 3 airlines). A 777 pilot from another airline said that they must have just followed the FD instead of looking out of the bloomin' window until proper climb had been established, if they'd done that then it would have been obvious that something had gone badly wrong. Juan Browne (YT Blancolirio) is a 777 cargo pilot and in one of his videos he says that he always hand flies off the ground up to the point that his cruise heading is established.
Flying is picking up rapidly and the aviation industry has been working far less over the pandemic.
Lots of pilots ATC engineers (and everyone else involved in the safe operation of aircraft) plus the aircraft themselves aren’t that current and lots of events like these are happening throughout the industry.
Unfortunately this is likely the result of reduced activity in something like aviation despite all the best attempts to avoid it.
Lots of pilots ATC engineers (and everyone else involved in the safe operation of aircraft) plus the aircraft themselves aren’t that current and lots of events like these are happening throughout the industry.
Unfortunately this is likely the result of reduced activity in something like aviation despite all the best attempts to avoid it.
What we’ve noticed is that pilots come back to work keen but naturally a bit rusty, they soon get back into it but they’re still missing many of the natural triggers to do things and gates etc in their head that they have built up over years of experience and when they’re more current so the bigger issues happen after being back for a few weeks rather than the first few flights.
It’s a little bit like when you learn to drive, you’re probably at your least safe a few months after passing your test as confidence builds up but you haven’t got the experience or in this case recent experience.
Flying is still very safe and most people are aware of the potential issues. So we’re all taking it a bit slower being open about it with each other and making sure we don’t miss anything.
I expect it might be more difficult for pilots in other less open cultures or in the Middle East where there’s often a less accepting and empathetic attitude from the employer.
It’s a little bit like when you learn to drive, you’re probably at your least safe a few months after passing your test as confidence builds up but you haven’t got the experience or in this case recent experience.
Flying is still very safe and most people are aware of the potential issues. So we’re all taking it a bit slower being open about it with each other and making sure we don’t miss anything.
I expect it might be more difficult for pilots in other less open cultures or in the Middle East where there’s often a less accepting and empathetic attitude from the employer.
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