Delta 757 loses a wheel in Atlanta

y_p_w

y_p_w

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www.newsweek.com

Plane loses wheel right before taking off

The Boeing 757's front wheel came off as the flight to Bogota, Colombia, was taxiing on the runway.
www.newsweek.com www.newsweek.com

It is pretty nice that everyone is so cooperative including letting ATC know where the wheel ended up. I guess they get really picky about clearing up any kind of debris on the runway that might create a problem or collision. I could imagine a loose wheel on the runway could result in damage to the gear of another aircraft, and of course debris cause the Concorde failure and crash.

 
Seems like an obvious maintenance issue that would hardly have merited coverage except that this aircraft was made by Boeing, half of one of their better programs.
Imagine Boeing today being able to execute two entirely different types in parallel and then being able to convince the FAA that these two quite distinct types should share a common type rating.
 
fdcg27 said:
Seems like an obvious maintenance issue that would hardly have merited coverage except that this aircraft was made by Boeing, half of one of their better programs.
Imagine Boeing today being able to execute two entirely different types in parallel and then being able to convince the FAA that these two quite distinct types should share a common type rating.
Click to expand...
Yeah, the national news is playing up “Another problem for troubled Boeing”.

As if that 30 year old Delta airplane has never been touched by Delta since Boeing built it…

🤦‍♂️
 
I guess the question (which will be answered at some point) is this ...
Was this a maintenance failure or part failure?

Delta is responsible for inspections and maintenance; we get that. But if the part failed, then who's at fault? I don't think a 30 year old part is still under warranty, but it's probably not on OE equipment after 30 years of landings, right? Is there such a thing as "aftermarket" jet-liner parts? Or is everything OEM in the industry? If Boeing is supplying the parts, it still may be a Boeing issue.

I don't know how it works; just asking.
 
dnewton3 said:
I guess the question (which will be answered at some point) is this ...
Was this a maintenance failure or part failure?

Delta is responsible for inspections and maintenance; we get that. But if the part failed, then who's at fault? I don't think a 30 year old part is still under warranty, but it's probably not on OE equipment after 30 years of landings, right? Is there such a thing as "aftermarket" jet-liner parts? Or is everything OEM in the industry? If Boeing is supplying the parts, it still may be a Boeing issue.

I don't know how it works; just asking.
Click to expand...

I would think they could go to boneyards like they're junkyards. And there's a lot of salvage parts available.

aels.nl

757 Parts - Aircraft End-of-Life Solutions

Buy our Boeing 757 parts Based on our recent experiences and projects we have done in the past we can relieve you of the burden of finding the right
aels.nl aels.nl
 
There have been some real issues with fake parts recently, particularly in the used parts market (where the 757 is forced to operate) but I suspect a fatigue failure in this case.
 
Last edited:
dnewton3 said:
I guess the question (which will be answered at some point) is this ...
Was this a maintenance failure or part failure?

Delta is responsible for inspections and maintenance; we get that. But if the part failed, then who's at fault? I don't think a 30 year old part is still under warranty, but it's probably not on OE equipment after 30 years of landings, right? Is there such a thing as "aftermarket" jet-liner parts? Or is everything OEM in the industry? If Boeing is supplying the parts, it still may be a Boeing issue.

I don't know how it works; just asking.
Click to expand...
In the aviation industry the aftermarket parts are known as (PMA) Parts Manufacturer Approval. Basically it's an FAA approval for a aftermarket manufacturer to produce parts. Lets say any airline needs a roller bearing that's $750 OEM. They can find a new PMA bearing for $350. PMA is pretty much available for anything you can think of. The certification and design is blessed by Uncle Sam. So theirs no real risk of safety or design conformity issues. Quite frankly many major airlines use PMA parts almost exclusively when possible. Many airlines design and get a PMA to build parts themselves. As far commercial airliners go as long as the part number is effective for the aircraft they can get it from anywhere they want. As long as it has a serviceable paperwork. Many of the retired planes are owned by the same airlines that operated them and are raided quite often to take parts for active aircraft.
 
Nuclear_42 said:
In the aviation industry the aftermarket parts are known as (PMA) Parts Manufacturer Approval. Basically it's an FAA approval for a aftermarket manufacturer to produce parts. Lets say any airline needs a roller bearing that's $750 OEM. They can find a new PMA bearing for $350. PMA is pretty much available for anything you can think of. The certification and design is blessed by Uncle Sam. So theirs no real risk of safety or design conformity issues. Quite frankly many major airlines use PMA parts almost exclusively when possible. Many airlines design and get a PMA to build parts themselves. As far commercial airliners go as long as the part number is effective for the aircraft they can get it from anywhere they want. As long as it has a serviceable paperwork. Many of the retired planes are owned by the same airlines that operated them and are raided quite often to take parts for active aircraft.
Click to expand...
And it was in that PMA market that so much paperwork was forged, and bad parts were sold, recently. Nothing wrong with PMA parts, and we have a few airplanes in the desert from which we took parts, but I suspect there are still bad parts in circulation.

Delta, Southwest Search for Jet Engine Parts Sold With Forged Safety Records
https://www.wsj.com/business/airlin...ines-a3fcbcfd?reflink=integratedwebview_share

U.K. Makes Arrest in Probe Into Jet-Engine Parts Scandal
https://www.wsj.com/business/airlin...robe-1c8b931d?reflink=integratedwebview_share

That said, I think this was a case of fatigue failure, or improper tire replacement. There are a lot of new mechanics on the ramp these days.
 
Astro14 said:
And it was in that PMA market that so much paperwork was forged, and bad parts were sold, recently. Nothing wrong with PMA parts, and we have a few airplanes in the desert from which we took parts, but I suspect there are still bad parts in circulation.

Delta, Southwest Search for Jet Engine Parts Sold With Forged Safety Records
https://www.wsj.com/business/airlin...ines-a3fcbcfd?reflink=integratedwebview_share

U.K. Makes Arrest in Probe Into Jet-Engine Parts Scandal
https://www.wsj.com/business/airlin...robe-1c8b931d?reflink=integratedwebview_share

That said, I think this was a case of fatigue failure, or improper tire replacement. There are a lot of new mechanics on the ramp these days.
Click to expand...
The whole parts issue really has nothing to do with PMA parts themselves. The parties at fault created fraudulent airworthy serviceable parts tags. These certificates are a universal standard in aviation maintenance known as FAA form 8130 or EASA Form 1. Any serviceable part whether it's pma, oem must have this documentation. Every now and then there's a sketchy parts broker out there like the recent scandals but they sell OEM parts too so not really a PMA issue.
 
Astro14 said:
There have been some real issues with fake parts recently, particularly in the used parts market (where the 757 is forced to operate) but I suspect a fatigue failure in this case.
Click to expand...

Recently? When I was in high school my parents got me a subscription for Time Magazine. This was in the 80s. I remember an article there on counterfeit aircraft parts. They had a photo showing a fake part and box for a Pratt & Whitney replacement part next to a real one. Someone faked the printing of the United Technologies logo, and I suppose anyone could have made a convincing fake of the part in a machine shop even though the materials would have been substandard.

Come to think of it, we already discussed this.

This is not reassuring. Unapproved-jet-engine-parts

https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/major-us-airlines-find-unapproved-jet-engine-parts-some-aircraft-alleged-supplier-faces-lawsuit
bobistheoilguy.com
 
Hermann said:
Haven't flown since the wife died. Never liked flying to begin with, Xanax FTW when you fly.
Click to expand...

Sitting in the big aluminum tube is not flying... yanking and banking your brains loose is flying...

P51BettyJane (0109a).jpg
 
BusyLittleShop said:
Sitting in the big aluminum tube is not flying... yanking and banking your brains loose is flying...

View attachment 200227
Click to expand...

Definitely recognize Emerald Bay. Looks like Cascade Lake and then Fallen Leaf Lake.

It's been a while but I've been hiking in the area and the most memorable was Mt Tallac where we actually saw a plane flying out of Lake Tahoe Airport. A bunch of people at the peak acknowledged that plane and then the pilot tipped his wing. I took a photo of that. Lemme see if I can find it.
 
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