Questions tagged [emergency]
An emergency is any situation that threatens the safety of an aircraft, the people on board it, or people on the ground.
402
questions
15
votes
6
answers
4k
views
What is the difference between a tire deflation and a tire explosion?
In this question, our intrepid former 747 pilot Terry mentioned, in the accepted answer, that:
As I understand it, tires that dangerously overheat will explode before melting, and that's why ...
15
votes
3
answers
6k
views
How long after the last departure shall the airport stay open for an emergency return?
For how long after the last take off for that day, will an airport stay open for emergency return of that last departed aircraft? Where can I find that recommendation?
To clarify: an airport needs to ...
15
votes
4
answers
5k
views
Can an intercepting fighter jet force a small propeller aircraft down without completely destroying it?
A rogue aircraft may fly into a no fly zone, and be intercepted by standard military procedure. That involves increasingly intense attempts to establish communication. When all these fail, it may be ...
15
votes
3
answers
5k
views
What happens if an aircraft declares an emergency while there is another aircraft ahead cleared to land?
Lets assume this situation: In a controlled airport, two aircraft are approaching for landing. #1 is about to touch the runway (let's assume it is within 1~2 miles from touch zone).
Then #2 declares ...
15
votes
3
answers
2k
views
How fast does cabin air pressure leak after a total engine failure?
When an airliner loses all engines while at cruising altitude, two things happen:
The plane is a glider. It will descend no matter if you want to or not.
The cabin pressure is no longer maintained. ...
15
votes
3
answers
4k
views
Would in flight engine failure of the passenger jet be reported?
A passenger plane with two or more engines would probably land without big difficulties with one engine inoperative.
Would the passengers be notified, asking to take the brace position during ...
15
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Do transoceanic airliners monitor marine VHF emergency frequencies?
I know that modern jetliners often have a multitude of radio equipment on board, including VHF, HF, satellite, etc.
From what I've read (such as here), it's customary for jetliners to monitor 121.5 ...
15
votes
1
answer
2k
views
What can I do to save my life if oxygen masks fail to drop down? Is it possible?
What is the safest and fastest solution (method) in this situation?
15
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Under what conditions are passengers required to take precautionary measures during refueling?
I was on a recent flight with a fuel emergency, during which the passengers were required to take precautionary measures. Under what circumstances are the precautionary measures mentioned below ...
15
votes
2
answers
8k
views
How often does fuel dumping from planes in flight actually occur?
There are a couple of questions about the emergency procedure of fuel dumping, used to reduce the weight of airplanes to be able to land.
This is certainly interesting, regarding environmental ...
15
votes
1
answer
953
views
Is it a standard procedure to use emergency slides without imminent danger?
On 11 Jun 2017 Easyjet U23246 from Ljubljana to London Stansted diverted to Cologne-Bonn over a "suspicious conversation". All passengers were evacuated using the emergency slides, see BBC Video.
...
14
votes
3
answers
5k
views
In an emergency, can an airliner land at Pyongyang or another North Korean airport?
If a flight was, say, en route to Seoul, but could only make it to the closest available airstrip and that was Pyongyang, would that be allowed? What would they be met with on the ground?
14
votes
2
answers
15k
views
If the landing gear is stuck in an airliner, can the crew go down and manually open it?
There are several instances where we see the landing gear getting stuck before landing. In these kind of situations, can the crew, or one of the pilots, go down to the landing gear area and solve the ...
14
votes
4
answers
4k
views
Does it make sense to do an emergency landing without nose gear in order to reduce stopping distance?
Would a pilot decide to land without the nose gear down to increase friction if for example all the engines have suffered a flame-out and there is only a very short runway available ?
14
votes
2
answers
4k
views
How long does it take for pilots to become unconscious after an uncontrolled depressurization at FL 340?
I've just read a news article on the depressurization incident that happened today in Australia. How much time did the pilots have before they lose consciousness if they hadn't used their oxygen masks?...
14
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Is it possible to fly a large aircraft inverted?
I am curious if the inverted plane in the movie Flight 2012 has anything to do with reality / emergency practices. And if it does, can you please explain the concept/ aerodynamics behind of it , or ...
14
votes
6
answers
5k
views
Should depressurization be considered in the event of an inflight cabin fire?
Uncontrolled cabin fires only need a few minutes to spread throughout the cabin of an aircraft, killing everyone onboard and destroying the airframe.
Now, we all know that depressurization and fire ...
14
votes
4
answers
5k
views
What would happen if a pilot were to use the parking brakes after touchdown in order to slow down?
The situation that I came up with is merely hypothetical. Say a pilot was unable to land right after the runway threshold, for whatever reason it may be - a crosswind, etc - but was determined to land ...
14
votes
4
answers
2k
views
How to do a Rapid Descent in a jet with inoperative spoilers?
So, let us assume you are in a simulator for your favorite jet plane, and the instructor gives you a LOFT (Line-Oriented Flight Training) scenario that goes as follows:
A normal takeoff and climb to ...
14
votes
2
answers
7k
views
How does the pilot check if an engine fire is real?
I've read this question and its answers basically asking why putting out an engine fire is not left to the computer but a manual task.
One of the points mentioned is that there simply might be a ...
14
votes
2
answers
60k
views
Can I find out why an aircraft squawked an emergency code (7x00)?
I have recently been using a mobile app to track flights, which is really cool. I live in the rural heartland of America, so it's an event for me to see an A380 actually flying.
Every once in a ...
14
votes
2
answers
10k
views
Are transponder codes 7701 - 7777 ever used?
I understand that blocks of transponder codes are assigned to different area controls. I am curious if the block 7701 to 7777 is in use anywhere? Maybe the emergency code 7700 needs some extra ...
14
votes
1
answer
5k
views
How is the emergency locator transmitter of the A320 fixed, activated and carried away?
I've some closely related questions about the emergency locator transmitter, ELT, the "distress beacon", on the Airbus A320. From this question about antennas on the A320:
The ELT antenna seems ...
13
votes
3
answers
7k
views
Why are cockpit alarms still so distracting and unable to be silenced?
I'm watching video RV 10 N783V My 1st Emergency
At 8:45 a stall alarm goes off and is a horrible piercing whistle. Why? Surely the pilot has enough distractions without also being deafened while ...
13
votes
4
answers
7k
views
How can I land without any propulsion? Was the Microsoft simulator right?
Many years ago I played with Microsoft Flight Simulator, turning off my engines and trying to land the plane. Coming down too steeply would crash, as would coming down too slowly. So I figured out ...
13
votes
2
answers
5k
views
Do pilots reject takeoff if aircraft doors are not properly locked down?
This particular incident, the pilot rejected takeoff "due to a aft door indication".
My questions are:
Is it a such serious situation so as to reject take-off?
If the pilots had taken off, could the ...
13
votes
3
answers
3k
views
What is the purpose exactly of a ‘Control Check’?
I recently watched an Air Crash Investigation episode where Qantas flight 32 lost an engine shortly after takeoff. It was revealed that a stud pipe in a Rolls-Royce engine was made incorrectly, ...
13
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Is it possible to control an aircraft on the runway if the nose gear collapses?
I have read and seen some articles in which, for various reasons, the aircraft's nose gear collapsed after landing during the roll out. This resulted in the aircraft going off the runway.
Is it ...
13
votes
7
answers
11k
views
What is the Beggs/Mueller emergency spin recovery technique?
I've always used PARE for spin recovery:
Power to idle
Ailerons neutral
Rudder opposite the spin until rotation stops
Elevator forward to break the stall
What is Beggs/Mueller emergency ...
13
votes
1
answer
2k
views
When flying a glider in emergency situation, would it be more safe to bailout or to land in a forest?
Is there any consensus when it comes to this question? If it depends then it depends on what exactly? I'm interested in the decision making in this kind of situation.
13
votes
5
answers
6k
views
What will the pilot do if all the airspeed indicators fail?
Are there any alternate instruments to indicate the airspeed in case of pitot tube failures?
13
votes
4
answers
3k
views
What should I do if I lose situational awareness while in the pattern?
Let's say that I'm doing some pattern work in my favorite little Cessna or Diamond at my favorite little non-towered airport. Everything is going just fine, I'm on the downwind leg...
Or, wait a ...
12
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Do pilots ever suffer PTSD after emergency landings?
I have watched a few documentaries about plane crashes where the whole crew and passengers survived. Of course the passengers are usually all scared, but what about pilots?
Do they ever suffer from ...
12
votes
3
answers
5k
views
How do you cope with an asymmetric flap extension?
How do pilots cope with an asymmetric flap extension? What are the procedures for this type of occurrence which I suppose are similar on all aircraft?
12
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Have the terms Mayday and Pan Pan become less used?
I've noticed listening to videos of emergencies that pilots simply say that their declaring an emergency vs saying Mayday. Am I wrong?
12
votes
2
answers
12k
views
What options would Qantas Flights 7/8 have in case of emergency?
Route For Qantas 7&8
As this route shows, once the flight exits SYD, then all it has nearby is just the great pacific ocean. In such a situation, if it hits some emergency, what all options would ...
12
votes
2
answers
10k
views
How are the "medical communication" headset sockets on some airliners used?
I was recently on a flight during which a passenger had a medical emergency. The passenger vomited and was reportedly unconscious.
The aircraft was either a Boeing 737-700 or 737-800. I'm pretty ...
12
votes
3
answers
2k
views
What are the consequences of falsely and/or unnecessarily declaring an emergency?
I'm curious as to what would happen to a pilot should they falsely declare an emergency to expedite their landing.
By 'falsely' or 'unnecessarily' I mean that the hypothetical pilot is not ...
12
votes
1
answer
6k
views
Can an armed door be opened from outside an airliner?
This is a continuation from this question, whereby it discussed the meaning and significance of an armed door.
Now, is it possible to open an armed door from outside, for example, if for some reason ...
12
votes
2
answers
3k
views
How long does it take to restart a turbofan engine inflight?
I'm especially interested how long it would take to restart a turbofan engine after a hypothetically erroneous shutdown of an engine immediately after takeoff i.e., at an altitude at which the air is ...
12
votes
1
answer
582
views
If a pilot's plane suddenly and unintentionally becomes inverted, what is the pilot's best course of action?
If a plane was suddenly inverted through no action of the pilot, say wake turbulence from a much large plane (think 747 vs. Learjet), should the pilot first try to right the plane or get the nose ...
12
votes
3
answers
5k
views
Who has authority to close a runway/airport?
In the recent runway excursion at LGA, visibility was bad, and an airport ops vehicle called the tower to inform them of the excursion and that runway 13 was closed, and then that the airport was ...
12
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Can water landing be simulated?
Is is possible for a flight simulator software to simulate the real time scenario of landing an aircraft on a water body. There are instances of this (Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961, US Airways Flight ...
12
votes
2
answers
553
views
Do cabin evacuation tests include passengers with limited mobility?
When doing the evacuation drills to ensure people can leave the plane in 90 seconds, are they tested with disabled people, ones in wheelchairs or, like myself, people who have difficulties walking and ...
11
votes
2
answers
2k
views
What can happen if a bird strikes the engine during landing?
I am not sure what can happen if a bird strikes an engine during landing.
To narrow it down: commercial airliner (B787/A380 etc.) hitting a large bird so engine out is likely.
11
votes
4
answers
25k
views
Why are there so many 7700 squawks?
I installed an app some months ago, which gives a push message when an aircraft squawks 7700. The first time it happened, I thought the plane was about to crash, ...
11
votes
4
answers
2k
views
What is an optimum engine-out bank angle?
I've heard three methods you should use in a multi-engine aircraft when engine-out, each recommending a different amount of bank:
Wings level, hold aileron to maintain roll and correct using rudder.
...
11
votes
3
answers
4k
views
What is the record for the highest achieved landing speed?
The emergency landing of Hauptmann Siegfried Heltzel in a Lockheed F-104G Starfighter at the Nörvenich Air Base on 02 June 1965 is often mentioned as the record for the highest landing speed. The ...
11
votes
3
answers
5k
views
Why was the WWII RAF fighter joy stick loop design not used widely?
WWII RAF fighters had a loop on top of the joy stick in case of hand loss or injury - Anyone know why the Allies didn't copy this very helpful idea?
11
votes
2
answers
2k
views
In an emergency near a remote island is it better to land resulting in the airport closing or ditch in the water?
Consider a landing at a remote island (like Easter Island or perhaps one with a calm lagoon, like YLHI) in which the aircraft is likely to crash and close the airport. (For example a gear-up landing ...