Emirates Flight 407
Encyclopedia
Emirates Airline Flight 407 is an Emirates flight flying from Melbourne
to Dubai
using the Airbus
A340-500. On 20 March 2009, the flight failed to take off properly at Melbourne Airport
, hitting several structures at the end of the runway before eventually climbing enough to return to the airport for a safe landing. In spite of the fact that no fatalities or injuries resulted from this accident, it was severe enough to be classified by Australian Transport Safety Bureau
as a significant event and thereby categorized as an accident by the authority.
antenna array operated by Airservices Australia
. At 500 m (1,640 ft) beyond the end of the runway, the aircraft barely missed the 2.24 m (7 ft) tall airport perimeter fence. It was also reported that after clearing the airport perimeter, the aircraft only cleared a small brick building by 50 cm (20 in). The aircraft eventually climbed away over Port Phillip Bay. The pilots finished dumping fuel
over the bay by 23:27 then they received a report of smoke in the cabin. They requested an immediate return, which ATC granted, and they returned to the airport at 23:36 with no further incidents.
protection built-in on the A340-500, it was later determined that the rear pressure bulkhead and the underlying structure were severely damaged during the take-off roll when the pilots attempted to rotate and the tail struck the runway with considerable force. The aircraft also suffered extensive damage to the hull as it scraped along the runway, a large surface having been completely stripped of its external sheet. The accident investigation was performed by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau
(ATSB). During the investigation, it was discovered that the jet had experienced at least one but possibly three or more tail strikes during previous take-off rolls. The jet was broken down to the underlying ribs or stringers in one area, in a part of the tail structure where the critical rear pressure bulkhead may also have been damaged. A preliminary and an interim ATSB report suggest that the takeoff weight, used to calculate take-off power, was underestimated by 100 tonnes when the first officer entered 262.9 in lieu of 362.9 (tonnes) into the electronic flight bag
system. The aircraft was not written off, but was instead returned to Airbus by way of a low altitude flight without pressurisation routed from Melbourne to Toulouse
on 19 June via Perth
, Singapore
, Dubai
and Cairo
with the crew flying below 12000 feet.
The aircraft made its first revenue flight after repairs on 1 December 2009 as flight EK424.
The accident has been described "as close as we have ever come to a major aviation catastrophe in Australia" by aviation officials.
After being interviewed by investigators, the two pilots of the flight returned to Dubai. In an interview to a Melbourne newspaper, the pilot of Flight 407 revealed he had slept for only three and a half hours during the twenty-four hour period preceding the accident. The pilot, who asked for his identity not to be revealed to the public, said:
On the subject of fatigue, he mentioned he had flown a total 99 hours during the prior month, one hour short of the maximum 100 flying-hours allowed by Emirates. The pilot and the first officer were asked to resign from Emirates upon their arrival in Dubai. The pilots subsequently resigned from the airline.
was applied, based on an incorrectly entered aircraft weight. This resulted in a lower than necessary engine thrust and consequently insufficient acceleration and airspeed.
Cases of improper repair after a tailstrike causing fatal structural failure in flight years after the tailstrike:
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
to Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
using the Airbus
Airbus
Airbus SAS is an aircraft manufacturing subsidiary of EADS, a European aerospace company. Based in Blagnac, France, surburb of Toulouse, and with significant activity across Europe, the company produces around half of the world's jet airliners....
A340-500. On 20 March 2009, the flight failed to take off properly at Melbourne Airport
Melbourne Airport
Melbourne Airport , also known as Tullamarine Airport, is the primary airport serving the city of Melbourne and the second busiest in Australia. It was opened in 1970 to replace the nearby Essendon Airport. Melbourne Airport is the sole international airport of the four airports serving the...
, hitting several structures at the end of the runway before eventually climbing enough to return to the airport for a safe landing. In spite of the fact that no fatalities or injuries resulted from this accident, it was severe enough to be classified by Australian Transport Safety Bureau
Australian Transport Safety Bureau
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is Australia’s national transport safety investigator. The ATSB is the federal government body responsible for investigating transport-related accidents and incidents within Australia. It covers air, sea and rail travel. The Australian Transport Safety...
as a significant event and thereby categorized as an accident by the authority.
Chronology
The scheduled flight departed from Melbourne as planned at 22:30 using the 3657 metres (11,998 ft) long Runway 16. However, after exhausting the entire length of the runway, the aircraft failed to become airborne. Reaching the end of the runway, travelling at a speed of 280 kilometres per hour (174 mph), the captain ordered the first officer to rotate. As the aircraft pitched upward and failed to leave the ground, the tail section crashed into the ground and continued to scrape along the runway. According to the crew, the captain took over the controls and applied maximum thrust on all four engines by using the Take-off/Go-around (TOGA) switches. As a result, the aircraft eventually left the ground, but, at 170 m (558 ft) beyond the end of the runway, it was only able to achieve an altitude of 70 cm (2 ft) above the ground. Subsequently, it took out a 200 m (656 ft) stretch of strobe lights at the end of the runway and continued to climb with difficulties. At 350 m (1,148 ft) beyond the end of the runway, the landing gear hit and damaged the 180 cm (6 ft) high localiserLocalizer
In aviation, a localizer is one of the components of an Instrument Landing System , and it provides runway centerline guidance to aircraft. In some cases, a course projected by localizer is at an angle to the runway . It is then called a Localizer Type Directional Aid...
antenna array operated by Airservices Australia
Airservices Australia
Airservices Australia is an Australian Government agency, responsible for providing safe and environmentally sound air traffic control management and related airside services to the aviation industry within the Australian Flight Information Region...
. At 500 m (1,640 ft) beyond the end of the runway, the aircraft barely missed the 2.24 m (7 ft) tall airport perimeter fence. It was also reported that after clearing the airport perimeter, the aircraft only cleared a small brick building by 50 cm (20 in). The aircraft eventually climbed away over Port Phillip Bay. The pilots finished dumping fuel
Fuel dumping
Fuel dumping is a procedure used by aircraft in certain emergency situations before a return to the airport shortly after takeoff, or before landing short of its intended destination to lighten the aircraft's weight.-Aircraft fuel dump:Aircraft have two major types of weight limits: the maximum ...
over the bay by 23:27 then they received a report of smoke in the cabin. They requested an immediate return, which ATC granted, and they returned to the airport at 23:36 with no further incidents.
Aftermath
Despite having tailstrikeTailstrike
Tailstrike is an aviation term that describes an event in which the rear end of an aircraft touches the runway. This can happen during takeoff of a fixed-wing aircraft if the pilot pulls up too rapidly, leading to the rear end of the fuselage touching the runway. It can also occur during landing...
protection built-in on the A340-500, it was later determined that the rear pressure bulkhead and the underlying structure were severely damaged during the take-off roll when the pilots attempted to rotate and the tail struck the runway with considerable force. The aircraft also suffered extensive damage to the hull as it scraped along the runway, a large surface having been completely stripped of its external sheet. The accident investigation was performed by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau
Australian Transport Safety Bureau
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is Australia’s national transport safety investigator. The ATSB is the federal government body responsible for investigating transport-related accidents and incidents within Australia. It covers air, sea and rail travel. The Australian Transport Safety...
(ATSB). During the investigation, it was discovered that the jet had experienced at least one but possibly three or more tail strikes during previous take-off rolls. The jet was broken down to the underlying ribs or stringers in one area, in a part of the tail structure where the critical rear pressure bulkhead may also have been damaged. A preliminary and an interim ATSB report suggest that the takeoff weight, used to calculate take-off power, was underestimated by 100 tonnes when the first officer entered 262.9 in lieu of 362.9 (tonnes) into the electronic flight bag
Electronic flight bag
Electronic Flight Bag is an electronic information management device that helps flight crews perform flight management tasks more easily and efficiently with less paper...
system. The aircraft was not written off, but was instead returned to Airbus by way of a low altitude flight without pressurisation routed from Melbourne to Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
on 19 June via Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
and Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
with the crew flying below 12000 feet.
The aircraft made its first revenue flight after repairs on 1 December 2009 as flight EK424.
The accident has been described "as close as we have ever come to a major aviation catastrophe in Australia" by aviation officials.
After being interviewed by investigators, the two pilots of the flight returned to Dubai. In an interview to a Melbourne newspaper, the pilot of Flight 407 revealed he had slept for only three and a half hours during the twenty-four hour period preceding the accident. The pilot, who asked for his identity not to be revealed to the public, said:
On the subject of fatigue, he mentioned he had flown a total 99 hours during the prior month, one hour short of the maximum 100 flying-hours allowed by Emirates. The pilot and the first officer were asked to resign from Emirates upon their arrival in Dubai. The pilots subsequently resigned from the airline.
Report findings
The ATSB investigation found that an incorrect flex tempFlex temp
Flex temp is a technique used to reduce engine wear in large airliners by performing take-off at less than full power.For Airbus and Fokker aircraft the technique is known as flex temp or just flex...
was applied, based on an incorrectly entered aircraft weight. This resulted in a lower than necessary engine thrust and consequently insufficient acceleration and airspeed.
See also
- Pan Am Flight 845Pan Am Flight 845Pan Am Flight 845 was a Boeing 747-121, registration N747PA, operating as a scheduled international passenger flight between Los Angeles, CA and Tokyo, with an intermediate stop at San Francisco International Airport...
Cases of improper repair after a tailstrike causing fatal structural failure in flight years after the tailstrike:
- Japan Airlines Flight 123Japan Airlines Flight 123Japan Airlines Flight 123 was a Japan Airlines domestic flight from Tokyo International Airport to Osaka International Airport on August 12, 1985. The Boeing 747-146SR that made this route, registered , suffered mechanical failures 12 minutes into the flight and 32 minutes later crashed into two...
- China Airlines Flight 611China Airlines Flight 611China Airlines Flight 611 was a regularly scheduled flight from Chiang Kai-shek International Airport in Taoyuan to Hong Kong International Airport in Hong Kong...