777 strikes approach lights on departure 9/15

fholbert

Mod's - Please don't edit my posts!
15-SEP-15 20:31:00Z QTR778 MIAMI FLORIDA BOEING/777 ACCIDENT SUBSTANTIAL 0 QATAR AIRWAYS FLIGHT QTR778 BOEING 777 AIRCRAFT ON TAKEOFF STRUCK THE APPROACH LIGHTING SYSTEM RUNWAY LIGHTS, CONTINUED TO DESTINATION AND LANDED WITHOUT INCIDENT, INSPECTION REVEALED DAMAGE TO UNDERBELLY OF AIRCRAFT DESCRIBED AS SUBSTANTIAL, MIAMI, FL
 
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I'm going to be the devils advocate, but hearing a tail strike in a 777 probably isn't very easy. Plus, if the pressure vessel wasn't touched, you'd never know from the cockpit.
 
Feel it, not feel it, heck you can run into all sorts of stuff in a large airplane and probably never know.

My question is how low dow you have to be in order to impact approach lights? And what in the world was going on?

I think we need a checklist item about reminders about TERPS criteria and first phase climb performance.
 
I'm reading they took off from T1 intersection at runway 9 which is only ~8500 feet, vice 13,000 for full length, not much for a fully laden 777-300 destined for Doha. They probably "forgot" to get new performance data for the intersection and used their full length thrust and flap setting.
 
I'm going to be the devils advocate, but hearing a tail strike in a 777 probably isn't very easy. Plus, if the pressure vessel wasn't touched, you'd never know from the cockpit.

From my understanding, you can't tail strike a 777 normally. They didn't tail strike it as well it seems like....

They hit the lights and continued on. Wonder if the nonunion, lack of a safety culture contributed to this...
 
I can't speak for Qatar, but in the UAE unions are outlawed. Probably something very similar in Qatar.


Seggy, you can't say "non-union" had to do with a lack of safety culture. I'd put our safety culture up to par with any legacy airline here even before we were ALPA. Now I can't speak for Emirates or Qatar, but just trying to make a point that just because you don't have a union doesn't mean you don't have a safety culture.
 
I can't speak for Qatar, but in the UAE unions are outlawed. Probably something very similar in Qatar.


Seggy, you can't say "non-union" had to do with a lack of safety culture. I'd put our safety culture up to par with any legacy airline here even before we were ALPA.

I can though.

If you don't have a system in place where you're allowed to speak up or have some sort of protection if you make a safety decision the company isn't happy with, it affects safety.
 
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