FEd ex plane crashes

[Tomorrow]

Y...why is there a thread here about two people getting killed in an accident? I think every year something like 14,000 people are kill in car accidents. Many people die every day but
no threads here and no CNN story.

But if the accident involves and airplane it makes the news. If the pilots were driving home and ran their car into a tree and were killed, no news story.

Apparently "stuff" matters more than people. At least he that "stuff" is something big like an MD11

OK, one more theory. I think it more like "pictures metter more than people". This made the news because there was a video. Had there not been some video it would never have made the news.

It made news primarily for two reasons:

(1) Many news outlets tend to report stories that are sensational or play off of people's fears. Plane crashes tend to get people scared, so they pay attention.

(2) This is about the sixth crash of an MD-11 in the past dozen or so years, and its safety has been called into question for quite some time. Another crash brings its safety record back into the spotlight. Check out the table on this page. The MD-11's rate of fatal incidents is surpassed only by the Concorde among major passenger aircraft - and the lone Concorde crash was partially responsible for that particular aircraft being pulled from service.

 

[yg17]

(2) This is about the sixth crash of an MD-11 in the past dozen or so years, and its safety has been called into question for quite some time. Another crash brings its safety record back into the spotlight. Check out the table on this page. The MD-11's rate of fatal incidents is surpassed only by the Concorde among major passenger aircraft - and the lone Concorde crash was partially responsible for that particular aircraft being pulled from service.

And the Concorde crash wasn't even due to a fault in the Concorde. A piece of metal fell off a plane taking off on the runway before the Concorde, ironically a Continental Airlines DC-10 (An MD-11 is basically a larger DC-10), and the Concorde hit it, punctured the tire and then it all pretty much went from there.

 

[JNB]

And the Concorde crash wasn't even due to a fault in the Concorde. A piece of metal fell off a plane taking off on the runway before the Concorde, ironically a Continental Airlines DC-10 (An MD-11 is basically a larger DC-10), and the Concorde hit it, punctured the tire and then it all pretty much went from there.

And that's the BEA-supported version. Unfortunately, there was a very flawed and incomplete investigation that intentionally pointed to that metal as being the cause, when the Concorde was overweight, CG was too far aft, and the titanium strip blamed as the cause was well out of position to have been conclusively proven as be responsible. With other significant problems noted on the aircraft and its trim, the FOD was just convenient and fortunate "evidence" for the manufacturer.

 

[Doctor Q]

That was an awful and unfortunate crash. It's a tragedy for the pilot and co-pilot (both Americans), their families, and for Fedex. It's also unfortunate for Narita airport, which had gone 30 years without a fatal crash.

Yes there were indeed Macs on that flight, including one destined for a friend of mine. He called me about it today. Apple told him that a replacement has already been shipped and will arrive in 2 to 5 days.

 

[DMcH]

Yeah, I had a new MacBook on the FedEx flight. Apple sent out a replacement a few days ago via UPS....

That plane is now grounded in Alaska due to the volcanic eruption there, too much ash in the air to fly. No lie, absolutely surreal.

 

[Tomorrow]

And that's the BEA-supported version. Unfortunately, there was a very flawed and incomplete investigation that intentionally pointed to that metal as being the cause, when the Concorde was overweight, CG was too far aft, and the titanium strip blamed as the cause was well out of position to have been conclusively proven as be responsible. With other significant problems noted on the aircraft and its trim, the FOD was just convenient and fortunate "evidence" for the manufacturer.

Some or all of this may well be true - but the TOW and CG had nothing to do with the engine catching on fire.