BA jet in airport 'hard landing'

[Shaggy]

A British Airways (BA) flight from Amsterdam with 71 people on board has lost its front wheels in a "hard landing" at London City Airport. The plane skidded to a halt on the runway and passengers were taken off using the emergency chutes.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7889728.stm

[RingwaySam]

Not sure how many incidents there going to have there before alot of people end up being killed Quite bad how many landing incidents they have there.

[Cargo Runner]

Not sure how many incidents there going to have there before alot of people end up being killed Quite bad how many landing incidents they have there.

I think there was another last week with the same problem, again not sure if it was the same aircraft...

[HalcyonDays]

I think there was another last week with the same problem, again not sure if it was the same aircraft...

There was, and it was not the same aircraft.

[brianw999]

I sometimes wonder if the steep glideslope at LCY has something to do with the hard landing incidents they have. I believe it's around 5 degrees which makes for quite a large roundout on landing.

[Shaggy]

Smoke filled the cabin as British Airways flight 8456 landed at London City Airport, its front wheel coming off as the plane hit the ground in a so-called "hard landing".
Passenger Ray Hamblin described how those aboard started to panic as the plane filled with smoke.

"People were pretty calm at first but when the plane started to fill up with smoke, people were not moving fast enough and they got pretty fractious," he said.
The 67 passengers and four crew on the flight from Amsterdam were evacuated via emergency slides onto the runway.

Mr Hamblin said he and at least one other passenger suffered "cuts and scrapes" exiting the aircraft.

Another passenger, Justin Fletcher, described a "loud bang" as the plane landed, adding that "the stewards and stewardesses were quick to evacuate everyone".
He also said there had been "a few scrapes and cuts due to hitting the asphalt".
Paramedics treated four people for minor injuries. Two were taken to hospital.
The airport was closed for a short time and some flights were diverted while the situation was brought under control.

Flights in and out of the airport have resumed but some passengers are facing delays of more than three hours.

Fire crews and air accident investigators were called to the scene after the incident happened at around 7.40pm on Friday.

The cause of the wheel's failure is not yet known.

It was the second such incident at the airport in just over a week - on February 5 its runway was closed because of a bent nose wheel on another aircraft of the same type.

An Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) spokesman said it had started an investigation.

The incident comes as investigators probe a US commuter jet crash that killed 50 people.

[Dmmoore]

Did the nose gear collapse or the wheels come off the axle? It makes a difference.

[HalcyonDays]

I sometimes wonder if the steep glideslope at LCY has something to do with the hard landing incidents they have. I believe it's around 5 degrees which makes for quite a large roundout on landing.

I know what you're getting at. Most pilots who land there say thay it's fairly challenging, but on the other hand special training goes into certificating both crews and aircraft that land there, and most carriers have a captain-only requirement. The runway is short, and there can be nasty cross-winds, but the record has been reasonably good in over 20 years of operation. There have been relatively few incidents if you look at the total record, though, yes, I know it takes only one serious event, but I don't think the industry is complacent about LCY.