Impact Sensors for aircraft with hard landings

[Fly_Unity]

Does such a thing exist?

In the past couple years, we have had several costly bent firewalls that was not found until the the next inspection. Some pretty bad, some not so bad. It would be nice if there was a way to check during preflight, to see if someone did a hard nose landing on the previous flight.

 

[ChasenSFO]

I know ACARS reports this on some airliners. I think China and some other countries actually fine pilots for landing too hard/overweight.

 

[Pachong]

Yes. FOQA will rat you out at the airlines. Data can be downloaded from the plane by maintenance. They're able to determine how many Gs you were doing at touchdown.

No idea if there's anything cost effectively similar at the piston level.

 

[PositionAndHold]

I always thought it was the ELT?

 

[gotWXdagain]

Or pop the oil inspection cover on the cowling and use your Mk. I eyeballs during your preflight.

 

[Minuteman]

Yes. FOQA will rat you out at the airlines. Data can be downloaded from the plane by maintenance. They're able to determine how many Gs you were doing at touchdown.

No idea if there's anything cost effectively similar at the piston level.

This is a non trivial problem because every manufacturer has their own algorithims about how much is too much, which leads to a large amount of false-positive mandatory inspections, or worse missed damage. Some take into account a single-gear touchdown or lateral loads, some look for peak loads or others, sustained loads, some consider the weight of the aircraft. It's kinda dumb.

They make these disposable shipping label things that shatter and display an indicator when an excessive g-load has been experienced. They're like $3 per sensor, but unfortunately, they are an order of magnitude too insensitive to be any use to an airplane.

http://www.uline.com/BL_1053/Shockwatch

 

[Bandit_Driver]

The airbus has the data and mx can review it after an overweight or hard landing to see what inspections are required and what damage if any was captured by the system

 

[CFI A&P]

I thought the wing skins indicate hard landings.

 

[ndakcfi]

If you're talking about Cessna 172's, the nosewheel and firewall assembly seems to be a pretty poor design for a trainer, especially since you have to pull the cowling to get a good look at most of the firewall assembly.

I worked at UND when they transitioned from a Piper to Cessna fleet, and they went through some absurd number of Cessna's ending up with damaged firewalls due to solo students landing nosewheel first until they finally got the problem under control. I saw students make some impressively bad landings in Warriors, but since Piper used much stronger design for the nose gear mount than Cessna, the airplanes just shrugged those off and I don't remember any of them being damaged from just a botched landing that stayed on the runway.

 

[MikeD]

The Blackhawk, 10G's will get the fire bottles to activate.

 

[Skåning]

A thorough preflight should catch any crunchy spots

Seems like the 767 is pretty susceptible

 

[gotWXdagain]

Yea, bolting the thing onto the firewall skin was the cheap way to go. Piper's "Wheel strut attaches directly to airframe braces right below the engine block" is a much more sound design.

 

[Roger Roger]

Yea, bolting the thing onto the firewall skin was the cheap way to go. Piper's "Wheel strut attaches directly to airframe braces right below the engine block" is a much more sound design.

That's because Cessnas were designed by engineers and Pipers by tractor mechanics.

 

[gotWXdagain]

That's because Cessnas were designed by engineers and Pipers by tractor mechanics.

Psh, no competent, well-trained pilot ever lands on the nosewheel! It'll be fine!

...said the engineers as they designed their trainer.

 

[Toobdrvr]

The airbus has a G-meter that will display if landing G exceeds a threshold (6?).

Or the masks come down.

Not that I've seen that or anything...

 

[CFI A&P]

The C172 was adapted from the 170, when pilots were men and only toddlers drove nosedraggers.

 

[Markf64]

I know ACARS reports this on some airliners. I think China and some other countries actually fine pilots for landing too hard/overweight.

If my students got fined for every hard landing, they would go broke (faster), and I would be retired.

 

[Area 5150]

On a related story, Allegiant had a small, little incident on a landing the other day.

Upon landing the 75 reg N903NV blew 7 out of 8 main tires on landing in KAUS on the night of 08/24
Don't really know any more details but must of been a rough/carrier landing.

 

[Skåning]

On a related story, Allegiant had a small, little incident on a landing the other day.

Upon landing the 75 reg N903NV blew 7 out of 8 main tires on landing in KAUS on the night of 08/24
Don't really know any more details but must of been a rough/carrier landing.

Haters gonna hate to the gate, part 2?

(not my pic)

 

[Joshwa]

The G meter on the 737 isn't very reliable. It captures a late panic-pull and smooth touchdown as a high G event so the operator I drive for went back to pilot opinion as the main criteria for reporting a hard landing.