United has a rough weekend out of Newark

[guamainiac]

Yesterday, a Berlin bound 757 had to return after burning fuel because it blew a tire that resulted in an engine fire while taking off. Passengers reported "fire balls" coming out from under the wing after a loud noise. The crew said the engine then returned to normal but they returned as a cautionary measure.

Today, another United flight returned after smoke was detected in the cockpit which United later described as "an unusual odor".

Interesting way to twist things and it sounds like United is now paying script writers. Yes, please & thank you, I suppose the smell of smoke is indeed unusual cockpit odor.

Perhaps it was the crew making "smoors" over the coals or a Qantas crew having an "outback with prawns and ribs on the barbie" ??

[Evan]

My friend's girlfriend was coming to meet us in Berlin on that flight. She saw the fireballs coming off the left engine. She opted not to get on the next one...

[Gabriel]

As reported on AvHerald, the crew first reported failures on BOTH engines.

Some evil mind said that the captain addressed the passengers:

"This is your captain, brace for impact, we've just lost both engines, but don't loose your faith: I see the Hudson ahead!"

On a serious note, after that they reported that one engine was unstable and showing overtemps. The crew eventually reported that the other engine was ok now. Then they circled for I think 90 minutes to burn fuel (weight) before landing. The NTSB reported that both engines were working Ok by landing.

I guess that the crew soon realized that the problem had never been as severe as they first thought, or (I hope) they would have landed immediately even if overweight. If Newark was a bit short for that, they had JFK 10 minutes away.

[Evan]

On a serious note, after that they reported that one engine was unstable and showing overtemps. The crew eventually reported that the other engine was ok now.

Sounds like tire fragments got hoovered into the left mill. Does anyone have a source for the ATC transcript?

[Gabriel]

Sounds like tire fragments got hoovered into the left mill. Does anyone have a source for the ATC transcript?

It should be somewhere here:

http://www.liveatc.net/archive.php

Search some of the KEWR frequencies (tower would be first, there you'll hear to what frequency they are transferred after take-off). You need to know date and time (the files are half an hour long each).

The take-off was August 18, around 6:16 PM EDT (need to convert to Z)

EDIT: If you find it please post the link!

[3WE]

...smoke was detected in the cockpit which United later described as "an unusual odor"...

Perhaps it was the crew making "smoors" over the coals or a Qantas crew having an "outback with prawns and ribs on the barbie" ??

Don't be too hard on the spin doctors saying 'strange odor'. I remember some strange odors on a flight- it was just the hosties cooking stuff in the microwave (thus your last line has some merit)- and smoke is actually stuff you see because of dense particulate matter coming from combustion.

Odors could include- hot rubber "electrical" smells, wood, food, etc.

[3WE]

Ref the original post...I'm thinking two incidents in one day is not especially newsworthy.

I used to listen to 'scanners' a lot - and heard all sorts of 'incidents' including equipment being called out for 'emergency' landings.

It was usually something like a bad gear indication where there was light bulb failure...but these things happen.

[snydersnapshots]

Today, another United flight returned after smoke was detected in the cockpit which United later described as "an unusual odor".

Doesn't say what airplane or phase of flight. Sometimes, especially on the 757-300, you'll get a jet-fuel smell if you shut down the APU too soon after turning on the packs. That can sometimes cause concern for someone not familiar with the airplane. I'm not saying that's what happened here... just throwing out the suggestion.

Interesting way to twist things and it sounds like United is now paying script writers. Yes, please & thank you, I suppose the smell of smoke is indeed unusual cockpit odor.

The airlines have been spinning things since the days of the propeller. In the days before the 24 hour news cycle and Youtube, the joke was that the first vehicle to reach the scene of an accident after the emergency equipment left was the paint truck to paint over the logo of the carrier involved.

[z740]

Here is the ATC recording from the time of the incident:

http://archive-server.liveatc.net/kewr/KEWR-Twr-Aug-18-2012-2200Z.mp3

It begins around the 12:20 mark with a takeoff clearance and continues through being told to contact departure around 13:15 and then they're handed off for vectors back to the airport with NY Departure. I'll try to find the Departure recordings later.

-Chris

[UALdave]

And then there's United Flight 731, an A320 that had to return to Newark because it's screens went blank. That's pretty scary to me! An official from Airbus said that there are backups, but neither one of the pilots mentioned that those backups were working. According to the Associated Press, the A320 family has had more then 50 multiple electrical failures. I suppose that over the course of 2 decades, that's not bad, but it still worries me.

I wonder how 737s; particularly the Next-Gen models have fared in comparison.

Here's the original article: http://www.denverpost.com/business/c...ince-faa-order

[TeeVee]

Don't be too hard on the spin doctors saying 'strange odor'. I remember some strange odors on a flight- it was just the hosties cooking stuff in the microwave (thus your last line has some merit)- and smoke is actually stuff you see because of dense particulate matter coming from combustion.

Odors could include- hot rubber "electrical" smells, wood, food, etc.

shoot! last month i was accused of causing a strange odor because i opened a bad of bbc cornnuts!

[UALdave]

And then there's United Flight 731, an A320 that had to return to Newark because it's screens went blank. That's pretty scary to me! An official from Airbus said that there are backups, but neither one of the pilots mentioned that those backups were working. According to the Associated Press, the A320 family has had more then 50 multiple electrical failures. I suppose that over the course of 2 decades, that's not bad, but it still worries me.

I wonder how 737s; particularly the Next-Gen models have fared in comparison.

Here's the original article: http://www.denverpost.com/business/c...ince-faa-order

But what about this flight? I have nothing against EFIS cockpits or the degree of computerization that we now have on board commercial aircraft, but the failure of those screens is pretty troubling.

[Taliesin]

Interestingly, this is also United out of Newark: http://www.flightradar24.com/2012-08-26/02:12/ASSHOLE

Any explanation as to how and why an airplane ends up with "ASSHOLE" as their call sign? Sounds like someone is getting fired.

[3WE]

shoot! last month i was accused of causing a strange odor because i opened a bad of bbc cornnuts!

No problem with the memory checklist.

Power off...

Nose over...

Try not to puke...

[snydersnapshots]

Interestingly, this is also United out of Newark: http://www.flightradar24.com/2012-08-26/02:12/ASSHOLE

Any explanation as to how and why an airplane ends up with "ASSHOLE" as their call sign? Sounds like someone is getting fired.

Well... It's a legacy UAL airplane and the legacy UAL pilots DID have a reputation at one time... perhaps it's one who hasn't retired yet.

Or maybe the controller's wife ran off with a UAL pilot...