From AvWeb: [ QUOTE ]
The prestigious Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators in Britain has given one of its highest honors to the crew of a DHL Airbus A300 who landed the plane (stuck in the trim position for climbout) apparently using only the thrust from the engines to control pitch, attitude and direction. The pilots, Capt. Eric Genotte, First Officer Steeve Michielson and Flight Engineer Mario Rofail, were presented the Hugh Gordon-Burge Award, which is for outstanding airmanship in saving an aircraft.
[/ QUOTE ]
The narration of the story on the Guild's website is a great read: [ QUOTE ]
On 22nd November 2003, a DHL A300 B4 had been airborne from Baghdad Airport for just over 3 minutes when the calm in the cockpit was shattered by the sound of a loud bang. At about 8,000ft an explosion was heard, followed by a cacophony of aural warnings and visual displays showing a master warning on all flight controls. Unbeknown to the crew at that time, the aircraft had been struck by a missile. The Flight Engineer, Mario Rofail, called that the green and yellow hydraulic systems were lost, and as he started preparing for the double-hydraulic loss emergency checklist procedure the Captain, Eric Gennotte, announced that he was having difficulty controlling the aircraft. The First Officer, Steeve Michielsen, tried unsuccessfully to assist the Captain to try and regain control. The F/E then announced that the third hydraulic system was lost as well.
At that point the crew realised that there was little likelihood that the flight controls would become functional again. There was no emergency checklist or procedure to help them recover from this scenario. The situation appeared hopeless and they were very much on their own.
The aircraft was without conventional pilot input. The stick and rudder were ineffective. The flight control surfaces deprived of their hydraulic muscle, were aligned with the airflow (hinge moment zero).
The configuration was frozen:
· Slats and flaps could not be extended
· Spoilers were no longer controllable
· The position of the horizontal stabiliser could not be adjusted. It was and continued to remain at the trim position for 215 Knots with climb thrust. (This setting was to pose particular challenges for the crew as they attempted to stabilise the aircraft for an approach descent profile)
<end snip>
[/ QUOTE ]
Read the complete narration on the web site. It's well worth three minutes of your time:THE HUGH GORDON-BURGE MEMORIAL AWARD 2003
[aside]
Slightly humorous that they would name their award after a porn star.
[/aside]
The prestigious Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators in Britain has given one of its highest honors to the crew of a DHL Airbus A300 who landed the plane (stuck in the trim position for climbout) apparently using only the thrust from the engines to control pitch, attitude and direction. The pilots, Capt. Eric Genotte, First Officer Steeve Michielson and Flight Engineer Mario Rofail, were presented the Hugh Gordon-Burge Award, which is for outstanding airmanship in saving an aircraft.
[/ QUOTE ]
The narration of the story on the Guild's website is a great read: [ QUOTE ]
On 22nd November 2003, a DHL A300 B4 had been airborne from Baghdad Airport for just over 3 minutes when the calm in the cockpit was shattered by the sound of a loud bang. At about 8,000ft an explosion was heard, followed by a cacophony of aural warnings and visual displays showing a master warning on all flight controls. Unbeknown to the crew at that time, the aircraft had been struck by a missile. The Flight Engineer, Mario Rofail, called that the green and yellow hydraulic systems were lost, and as he started preparing for the double-hydraulic loss emergency checklist procedure the Captain, Eric Gennotte, announced that he was having difficulty controlling the aircraft. The First Officer, Steeve Michielsen, tried unsuccessfully to assist the Captain to try and regain control. The F/E then announced that the third hydraulic system was lost as well.
At that point the crew realised that there was little likelihood that the flight controls would become functional again. There was no emergency checklist or procedure to help them recover from this scenario. The situation appeared hopeless and they were very much on their own.
The aircraft was without conventional pilot input. The stick and rudder were ineffective. The flight control surfaces deprived of their hydraulic muscle, were aligned with the airflow (hinge moment zero).
The configuration was frozen:
· Slats and flaps could not be extended
· Spoilers were no longer controllable
· The position of the horizontal stabiliser could not be adjusted. It was and continued to remain at the trim position for 215 Knots with climb thrust. (This setting was to pose particular challenges for the crew as they attempted to stabilise the aircraft for an approach descent profile)
<end snip>
[/ QUOTE ]
Read the complete narration on the web site. It's well worth three minutes of your time:THE HUGH GORDON-BURGE MEMORIAL AWARD 2003
[aside]
Slightly humorous that they would name their award after a porn star.
[/aside]
