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Thread: Darn animals crossing the rwy on takeoff!

  1. #1
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    Darn animals crossing the rwy on takeoff!

    So here I was this morning. A rookie in the 76th, fresh out of IQT.
    I wanted to take Hog up for the usual spin from Senaki towards Mercury, tank at Shell, come back to Senaki and the plan was to test the ILS coverage in the sim.

    Upon takeoff in the roll, however, I suddenly heard a loud bang and the aircraft pitched up agressively. This happened around 131 knots. It took to the air a split second later and I focussed on clearing the runway (and surrounding obstacles) safely while gaining altitude in the direction of SE INITIAL 27.
    I immediately suspected problems with the landing gear.

    Cleaned up the aircraft to make sure I have enough climb performance and glanced over my shoulders to see wether I could find any damage.
    Wings looked ok. Engines too. Engine instruments look normal, reaction to thrust seems normal as well.
    Ok, so no immediate controllability problems. We're fine for now.

    Gain some altitude, exit the circuit and assess the problem further.

    I climbed to 6000ft and stayed in the vicinity of the airfield.

    Let's look at the indications I have. None.
    So the landing gear is probably the problem area. I can cycle the thing, risking more damage or leave it up and see what gives on the approach. Dilemma.
    I decided I need more info, so I went back to the field, contacted ATC for a low pass to get feedback about the landing gear. Perhaps they can see what's wrong. (Of course I just flew a low pass, cause DCS ATC isn't very helpful in this regard )
    I also need to get rid of fuel so we have more than enough time.

    ATC saw nothing wrong with the landing gear. They reported it being up, no doors open, no parts sticking out.

    Ok, so it's in. No apparent damage. Let's see what it does when I extend.

    Main gear comes down and locked, but no green indicator on the nosegear.
    What does the checklist say?

    LANDING GEAR EXTENSION FAILURE
    Signal lights are ok (simulated, not modelled)
    Hydraulic pressure is normal
    Cycle landing gear handle UP and DOWN

    No change.

    Increase speed 200kts and pitch and roll to try to shake it loose.

    No joy.

    Reduce speed below 200kts
    Ensure landing gear handle is DOWN
    Pull AUX LG EXT handle.

    No change.

    Ok, new dilemma; do I want to retract the landing gear and make a wheels up landing, risking extensive damage to the tail section, belly and basically writing off the aircraft or do I keep the main gear down. Land and try to keep the nose up for as long as possible, gently lowering it on the runway. Possibly risking a tip over (small chance I would say) and killing myself in the process?

    NOTE: Also, I am not sure what real life procedures would describe, seeing as you will scrape the barrels of the GAU over the runway. Perhaps a wheels up landing would be the realistic thing to do?

    I decided to go for the second option. Land on the wheels and try to keep the nose up as long as possible.
    Declared an emergency and turned towards Zeni in this hazy weather. Tuned the ILS for path guidance from Zeni to the rwy. Came in a bit high, but nicely on speed and was able to correct my path.

    Here's what happened:


    Something sheared the whole nosegear right off!




    Successful gentle landing. Emergency units on the way.


    Engines shut down, ready to exit.

    So what happened? Do we have to make a call to the local wildlife authorities and have them patrol the Senaki area?

    Vanguard #5 is grounded for repairs. I'll file the appropriate forms.

    AWACS/ATC Controller - A-10C Pilot

  2. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Yassy For This Useful Post:

    El_Roto (20Apr12), Jedi (19Apr12), Rat.NL (19Apr12)

  3. #2
    Senior Member Jedi's Avatar
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    What did the NTSB say? ... was the nose wheel sheared off or did it not come out?
    I think you have done everything that was in your power and made the right choice for landing on both wheels extended.
    Some minor damage to the nose, you will be flying in no time

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    They found the nosewheel in the grass alongside the runway. It was sheared off. Fur and blood was found on the strut, shimmy hook and rim. The pelt was ID'd as being from a Bear.
    I never saw the poor bugger coming...


    AWACS/ATC Controller - A-10C Pilot

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    476 vFG Founder Snoopy's Avatar
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    Only thing is you should have landed wheels up. Real would we never land with mains down if the nose is damaged/won't drop. The GAU-8 would dig into the runway and cause the jet to potentially flip.

  6. #5
    Senior Member Jedi's Avatar
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    ... and what if you have live ordnance hangin under your wings Snoopy?

  7. #6

    Da FAC?


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    Quote Originally Posted by Jedi View Post
    ... and what if you have live ordnance hangin under your wings Snoopy?
    I guess that would have been dropped in a safe area.

    Providing CAS when you're all out of HUA!

  8. #7
    Senior Member Jedi's Avatar
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    Yeah ofcourse, stupid of me ... i see it now in the emergecy procedure also.
    So how do you define a safe area to jettison ? ... is that only up to the pilot / any rules on that? .... just a side question

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jedi View Post
    ... and what if you have live ordnance hangin under your wings Snoopy?
    Jetison stores and burn as much fuel as possible before attempting to land. Of course don't drop you stores over a populated area. Saw a report from Nellis where the pilot dropped a training bomb during approach and it landed on Nellis blvd. Oops!

  10. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jedi View Post
    Yeah ofcourse, stupid of me ... i see it now in the emergecy procedure also.
    So how do you define a safe area to jettison ? ... is that only up to the pilot / any rules on that? .... just a side question


    It's something that varies from airforce to airforce, country to country, base to base. But there will normally be some procedures laid down on what to do should there be a need to jettison live ordnance prior to landing, normally there will be a specific area to do it (over a range, water etc). Now of course, if you were in a situation whereby flying to an assigned jett area would endanger the safety of the aircraft etc then you wouldn't do it, only if the jettison was anticipated in advance and it was safe to do so.

    We had 2 Tornado's drop their (empty) external tanks just before the runway threshold last year in Italy due to suspect engine faults on final.

  11. #10
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    Non populated area...if safe I would go over water and jettison external stores..

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