Calling Higgins...
 

https://www.yahoo.com/news/terrifying-close-call-plane-skids-132514328.html

When I first looked at this pictures, I thought maybe the plane just skidded off the end of the runway. But those pics from an aerial view -- :eek:

Jeff can’t respond since he is changing into his swim trunks so he can wade into the sea to fetch the ejected engine.

looks like the port engine provided the necessary braking.

It will be interesting to see how they get that aircraft out of that position.:confused:

Ah yes, the good old days. I wish I could go on this one, it looks like fun. Alas, I retired last June. The young bucks are going to have to figure this one out.

It's probably pretty minimal damage, really. Landing gear, engines, struts, re-skin part of the bottom, replace a bunch of smashed up fiberglass panels and structure on the wing to body fairing, etc. Our AOG folks will have this thing flying in less than a month.

Recovery looks like the most challenging aspect of this one. That would be the fun part for me; the rest would be pretty routine.

I have a 'come-along,' if they need one.

We might need to pool all of ours together. Thank god they did this to one of our little airplanes. If it were a 747, we might need a winch or something.

There's already a long thread in PPRuNe.

Jeff,

I know you aren't there, don't have the exact specifics, but where would you start? This stuff really interests me. There is nothing more I enjoyed than figuring out maintenance issues and then going to fly the formerly downed aircraft.

I am assuming (ass out of you and me) that yo make the plane as light as possible (defuel/cargo out/interior out, etc.) and then try and lift the rear, put stuff under the plane, lift again, remove engines, more stuff under the plane then...what!?!

I am assuming the gear is gone. Starboard engine is buried as well.

"Stuff", btw, is a proprietary substance I just created.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1516051810.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1516051810.jpg

Well one engine if off already, that will lighten the load.

It does look like a real puzzle on how to pull it up the hill and not bend it in half. It is for sure something I would like to watch other people do.

We would not allow personnel to enter that aircraft, so any disassembly to lighten it would be out. We would sure like to de-fuel it, but it would be very difficult to do so in that position. The fuel, at its allowable landing weight, is probably low enough to be below all of the drains with it in that attitude.

Boy, a real head-scratcher here. We would probably start by engaging local civil engineers to let us know what we are dealing with as far as the ground underneath it. How stable is it? What kind of equipment can we put on it? How much additional load can we apply to that equipment without winding up in the drink? How close can we get on the flat ground above, and what kind of loads can we put on it? How about the tarmac - can we anchor into it to hold down some kind of cantilevered apparatus to lift and drag it? Stuff like that.

Once we have an idea from them as to where we can lift and drag from, we engage our structures and stress guys. We have designated lifting and jacking points, but they are meant to take vertical loads on a more or less level aircraft. Once we apply loads to them at what appears to be 45 degrees or more off vertical, we have to ask our stress guys just what we can do.

Once we have that information, it becomes my job to figure out how to fill the gap between where we can put what kind of equipment and where we can grab the aircraft. That might entail some manner of overhead basket sling arrangement, some shoring from below, a combination of the two, or who knows. If you just "can't get there from here", they might have to drag it down to the water and onto a barge.

This would be a fun one. This is the kind of stuff I miss. We can get really creative on this kind of recovery.

Soooo....., salvage title on that bich now, right? :)

Trailing throttle snap-oversteer. I knew it.

Are there helicopters powerful enough in the world to lift that thing w a sling? Maybe 2 of them, one on each end? But if they were big enough to lift it they probably could not be that close together.

Just thinking out loud.

This sounds like a euphemism for "money's no object!" :)

Good tires...

Aw cmon, someone had to say it.

Is there any way to determine whether there's enough structural damage to make recovery a non starter from an economic perspective?

Right you are, with a mid-engine design. The engines should be in the rear.

These things really are a lot like our cars when we start talking money, recovery costs, repair costs, and stuff like that. The insurance company pretty much has the last say. If the recovery/repair bill exceeds the value of the airplane, it won't get repaired. They will part it out, just like a car. Obviously it does need to be removed, but if they are not going to try to repair it, that opens up a lot more options. A lot of the valuable parts are already damaged, though, so there might be little money in it, no matter how many Craigslist ads they run.

I do remember one repair that exceeded the value of the aircraft. The carrier decided to do it anyway, simply because the next delivery slot for a replacement was too far out to meet their requirements. Sometimes their route and schedule commitments overrule, and they pay the difference after the insurance company totals it.

So, yeah, any of you that are in the market for a salvage titled 737, um - "buyer beware". They'll wash the title through a few third world countries, and it will show up on "Bring a Trailer" for cheap. Probably with "freshly rebuilt" engines from Jet Engine Meister...

That's funny. :D

Start up the left engine and put it in reverse.