GON
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Two colleagues on a flight from DFW to NYC. Had a misconnect so AA sent them on this flight. They reported their aircraft just "kissed" another. Looks like winglet damage. This is the picture they took.
Two AA planes just "kissed" at DFW
- Thread starter GON
- Start date
Looks like they'll be getting on a third flight...
Probably not.
We in aviation generally try to encourage reporting mishaps. Part of that is amnesty when reporting. If people are punished every time they make a mistake, it generally leads to people trying to cover their mistakes.
How much does a repair cost on that type of accident what has to be recertified? inspected?
I understand self reporting some types of accidents is encouraged.. but several hundred people saw/felt this one.
not possible to deny it..
That makes a ton of sense. The last thing you want is a coverup.
"Recently, I was asked if I was going to fire an employee who made a mistake that cost the company $600,000. No, I replied, I just spent $600,000 training him. Why would I want somebody to hire his experience?"
-Thomas J. Watson (according to the internet, so you know... take the authenticity of the quote for what it's worth)
-Thomas J. Watson (according to the internet, so you know... take the authenticity of the quote for what it's worth)
That'll buff right out.
A little duck tape and up up and away.
My buddy and his coworkers use to joke about the Duct Tape they used at work. BTW this stuff cost $2,000 a roll back in the early eighties. They used it to seal leaking pipes in the Nuclear Plant they worked at. Don't worry it was only temporary fix until they could get the Union welders in to make the fix permanent.
He wasn't liked very much at that plant by the electrical workers. He had a EE degree from a top engineering school and he got tired of calling the electricians and waiting until they were good and ready to fix different things. So he would roll out to his car pull out his tool box walk back into the plant and do the work himself. He was making the union guys look really bad. The electrician would show up and find out the electrical issue he was called for, was already fixed. Sometimes it was really stupid simple job such as replacing a bad gauge. Remove four screws and disconnect a couple wires on the back of the gauge. Get a new gauge, reconnect the wires, mount in the panel with four screws.
The Union did complain about his actions but were laughed out of the plant managers office. The electricians had been making him wait for more than an hour sometimes two or three hours and stop all work until they got good and really to show up.
From that day on he became a priority to the union guys. He'd call and they would show up within minutes.
He wasn't liked very much at that plant by the electrical workers. He had a EE degree from a top engineering school and he got tired of calling the electricians and waiting until they were good and ready to fix different things. So he would roll out to his car pull out his tool box walk back into the plant and do the work himself. He was making the union guys look really bad. The electrician would show up and find out the electrical issue he was called for, was already fixed. Sometimes it was really stupid simple job such as replacing a bad gauge. Remove four screws and disconnect a couple wires on the back of the gauge. Get a new gauge, reconnect the wires, mount in the panel with four screws.
The Union did complain about his actions but were laughed out of the plant managers office. The electricians had been making him wait for more than an hour sometimes two or three hours and stop all work until they got good and really to show up.
From that day on he became a priority to the union guys. He'd call and they would show up within minutes.
That holds for the military. There was a crash in San Diego where a USMC Hornet pilot crashed into a neighborhood, killed two people, destroyed a few homes, and “cost a $40 million or so aircraft. He took bad advice from his commanders when he should have landed quickly at an alternate site.
He got in trouble but eventually got back flying again. The commanders were eventually reprimanded where it was the end of their careers. I guess it’s a lot easier to replace a commander than it is to replace a pilot. Isn’t promotion competitive?
As for this mishap with the winglet, who was responsible. Was it a pilot or was it being moved by a tug? I figure a tug is cheaper to train a new operator.
I've done electrical work in a nuclear plant and that's not how it works . You don't just grab your tools and go do somebody else's work . If there was a delay it was because job packages had to be created and a ton of people had to review it and sign off . No matter what the task is .If somebody did what you described the plant would receive heavy fines by the NRC and the offender would be escorted out by security . Probably a few others as well .
Back in the day (1996) when ASA was an airline, a ramp guy drove one of those ATV-looking ramp trucks into the prop of an ATR72, breaking the prop hub. The prop penetrated the cab of the truck through the windshield. There was a puddle of fluid underneath the engine, discovered during a walk-around by the first officer. The ramp guy actually backed the truck off the prop and hid it, as if they would never figure out who did it. Naturally....fired, and faced charges relating to his attempt to conceal damage that could've endangered lives. That was low as low gets.
This looks like it happened during pushback so either the tug operator is at fault or the other plane was not in proper position.
The other plane lost its winglet completely. A relatively quick and easy fix compared to damaging the wing itself.
The other plane lost its winglet completely. A relatively quick and easy fix compared to damaging the wing itself.
Isn’t a new winglet upwards of $300,000 including labor?
When I used to work on the flight line (I'm an A&P) if you backed a tug or a work truck into a plane and caused any damage, you promptly reported the incident to your supervisor, and they immediately took you to over to medical for a drug and alcohol test. As long as you passed that and weren't doing anything reckless when it happened, you just got written up and it went in your file, but you weren't fired. If you had any drugs or alcohol in your system, you lost your job and were in deep doo doo.
Plane is grounded until it is fixed/inspected.
I'm am over 99% certain that the winglets are not on any MEL.
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