Contact Air Fokker 100 crash 14 September 2009

[maverick10]

Hello all,

http://www.bild.de/BILD/news/fotos/2009 ... ht=349.jpg

Date: 14-SEP-2009
Time: 08:49 UTC
Type: Fokker 100
Operator: Contact Air
Registration: D-AFKE
C/n / msn: 11505
Fatalities: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 78
Other fatalities: 0
Airplane damage: Substantial
Location: Stuttgart EDDS - Germany
Phase: Landing
Nature: Domestic Scheduled Passenger
Departure airport: Berlin - Tegel (TXL)
Destination airport: Stuttgart - Echterdingen (STR)
Narrative:
During approach to Stuttgart Airport the Pilot reported inability to fully deploy the main gear. After several unsuccessfull attempts to unlock the gear, he then decided to carry out an emergency landing. The aircraft safely touched-down with the nose-wheel down on a foam carpet. None of the 73 passengers and 5 crew members were injured, five passengers suffered from a shock, one flight attendant was shortly examined at a hospital. The single runway at STR remained closed for several hours.
Aboard the plane was the high-ranking politician Franz Müntefering, who was travelling to an election campaign public meeting.

The aircraft (D-AFKE / c/no. 11505) was delivered in 12/1995 to TAM and purchased by Contact Air from Mandarin Airlines. It entered service with Contact Air on 1 Sept 2009.

Greetings,

Maverick10

[RatherBFlyin]

In a case like this, the nose wheel might actually be more of a hindrance than a help. The nose gear is not designed to withstand the initial contact of a landing aircraft, and with it so far ahead of the aircraft's center of gravity, if the pilot manages to land with only the nose wheel contacting the runway, even the slightest off-center condition could ground loop the aircraft (not a good thing at 100+ knots). If the pilot lands with the fuselage impacting the runway first, the nose wheel will keep the nose so far up in the air that the pilot will have little to no forward visibility, and on the foam the directional control provided by the nose wheel will be slim to none. All in all it may be better to bring the nose wheel back up and do a full belly landing.

Other than that minor problem, it looks like the pilots did a great job of landing the aircraft safely. Well done.

[Aaron Robinson]

Exactly correct. I have read the Boeing recommendations, which recommend the following:
-no nose gear: use both main gears and try to softly bring the nose down
-only one main gear: try to balance the aircraft and let it eventually float onto that gear
-neither of the main gears: belly landing