FedEx A310 got a little...jacked up.

[USMCmech]

My guess is the forklift caused the problem. Look at the damage on the flap ahead of the ram..

When I was working at SAT on the UPS birds, I saw a tug loose it's brakes while headed straight toward a DC-8 on jacks. The driver barely got it stopped 3 feet away from hitting the aircraft. Turns out that breaks on that tug had been written up numerous times, but never fixed.

 

[falconvalley]

There are wind limits for jacking airplanes that size. If the wind limit is 40 knots for a large a/c at jack weight, it would take quite a bump to knock the thing off a jack enough to cause a failure like that. Of course, once one jack point is messed up, none of the others will work, either. The process of jacking an airplane that size is very complex. Each jack is checked and manipulated a certain way during each stage of the process. I'll ask my bro if he has the dirt on this one.

 

[knot4u]

I hate, hate, hate, having the Twin Bonanza on jacks; it seems to me that one little puff of anything anywhere (even in the hangar) and, well, the rest is above.

The airplane is in a flying state, but not actually flying. A most unnatural thing definitely best combined to helicopters.

Putting an airplane, or a car, on jacks requires attention to detail. First and foremost is make sure no people get hurt, second to that is to make sure you don't damage the airplane. If you're involved with heavy MX of aircraft for any extended period of time having one on jacks for as long as two months becomes routine.

 

[falconvalley]

Sounds like he's learning about this just now. Said it looks like it was being prepped for long term storage, possibly in Victorville?

 

[mshunter]

Time for the Way Back Machine- In 1994 we had a Bearcat on jacks at KVNY when the Northridge quake hit. Somehow the whole assembly of jacks, tailweight and airplane scooted sideways across the hangar intact. A weeble wobbles but it doesn't fall down.

I lived through that quake. In Simi. I can't believe it didn't come off the jacks. You got lucky, very lucky.

 

[Goonie]

I bet that woke up some of the mechanics sleeping in the cargo.

 

[Proud Pilot]

That was NOT an active FedEx A-310. It was already retired from service.

 

[queeno]

That was NOT an active FedEx A-310. It was already retired from service.

yea Proud would know HE flew it there !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, needed a side job till his AA class date!!

 

[ChasenSFO]

yea Proud would know HE flew it there !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, needed a side job till his AA class date!!

He'll need all the A310 PIC time he can muster for his Amflight Interview.

 

[falconvalley]

Ok so, apparently, it wasn't high enough to do a gear swing. The mains pushed the airplane up off the jack and shifted it as the gear started to go up.