Re: Fly BMI?
 

i remember i went to cuba (varadero) on my honeymoon a couple of years ago,and there was an air transat plan with the whole tail fin section missing.
the airport staff said there had been a problem with the rudder whilst flying and they hadnt got round to fixing it......the plane had been there for 7 months and looked in a sorry state.....wouldnt surprise me if it was still there:blink:

Re: Fly BMI?
 

I imagine you mean the one that ran out of fuel over the Atlantic in 2001.

Re: Fly BMI?
 

That 1 did land safely in the azores or whatever it is called with just a few burst tyres i believe and it was 1 of the newer airbus's. I flew back from Montreal with them on 9th Sept 2001 on 1 of the L1011's. What a mess and the plane was delayed by 3 hours due to a crew change in Toronto the lying sods said. Found out later it was a technical fault which really pleased me no end knowing what had happened to the other plane. The worst was i was sat on the plane just about to take off when the pilot said it was a technical fault that had delayed the plane. If i ever see the girl at the gate again that told me about the crew change!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: Fly BMI?
 

L1011... thats a dam old bird isnt it? :eek: I swear they had a tail fin problem that crashed on another route, I could be wrong though, I really shouldnt watch those black box programmes :( That one that run out of fuel was amazing though, glided it safely thank god :thumbup: I seem to be getting worse as i get older when i comes to flying

Re: Fly BMI?
 

Yeah the transat A310 lost "part" of it's rudder (Vertical fin) leaving Varadero enroute to Quebec City. If it had lost its whole rudder, the plane would be uncontrollable (which some of you no doubt, know).

Air Transat tried to play down the incident but this was real serious one. Much more serious than loosing engine power, even. I think A300/310s were close to being grounded worldwide.

The American airlines A300 (similar aircraft) lost it's WHOLE rudder if you remember, in 2001. That resulted in it crashing in Queens.

I think their L1101 Tristars have been retired now...

Re: Fly BMI?
 

I thought airbus were pretty safe, i know with tail fins dc10/md88 have had some issues, esp. md88, 1 bolt holds the top section together which if it goes it renders the plane useless, something wich is against the regulations, FAA?, so i dont know if thats been fixed yet

Re: Fly BMI?
 

MD-8x planes use "jackscrews" on their tail that need regular lubrication. There have been incidents where poorly maintained MD-8x's have had jackscrew breaks. The jackscrew makes the elevators go up and down (making the plane go up and down). One such incident it actually jammed causing the plane to dive and crash.

The airbus A300/310 problem is more serious because the carbon composite material tends hide damage and to disintegrate all of a sudden. Airbus now requires more frequent ultrasonic checks on all A300/310 tails.

In 95% of cases its not so much the plane design or age, but the people who maintain it.

Re: Fly BMI?
 

quite agree, comes down to money :frown: