Question: I constantly wondered why on this moment emergency landing aircraft do not drop fuel. Since in a crash, many people will be able to survive thanks to modern safety equipment on board the aircraft, but they die in the fire that follows after the crash, or they suffocate from carbon monoxide.
Answer: You calculate that the pilots are aware of the inevitability of a crash and do not try to avoid it until the last moment. This is not true. It should be remembered that not all aircraft are equipped with an emergency fuel release system.
In addition, if a crash happened, a much smaller percentage of passengers die from burns or smoke than they claim. most of editions. According to NTSB statistics, passengers who have been in a major plane crash are much more likely to survive.
Question: What happens while the pilot is dropping fuel? Does it dissipate and subsequently evaporate? And where, in most cases, is it prescribed to do it, over land or over water?
Answer: Yes, if necessary, the fuel is discharged through an intentional nozzle, which scatters it into small droplets. The discharge of fuel itself is permitted only in designated areas. In order to minimize contact with residential areas, in addition, we must not harm people on the ground.
Question: In the past, virtually all aircraft models were equipped with an emergency fuel release system, but in modern aircraft models this combination is in most cases absent. Why did the engineers abandon this safety constellation and does it have good alternatives in modern aircraft?
Answer: Modern aircraft unlike their predecessors, they are equipped with an emergency landing system when overweight, which gives pilots the opportunity not to create an emergency discharge of excess fuel. At the end of such a landing, the aircraft undergoes thorough diagnostics in order to eliminate the problems that have appeared and make sure that the aircraft is completely serviceable and ready to fly.
plane in Anapa! Dumping fuel, before emergency landing
Fascinating entries:
Question Q: I have always wondered why emergency landing planes are not dropping fuel these days. Indeed, in a crash, many people can survive thanks to modern safety equipment on board the aircraft, but they die in the fire that follows after the crash or suffocate from carbon monoxide smoke.
Answer: Do you think that the pilots are aware of the inevitability of a crash and do not try to last second avoid it. This is not true. It is worth remembering that not all aircraft are equipped with an emergency fuel dump system.
Even if the crash happened, a much smaller percentage of passengers die from burns or smoke than most publications claim. According to NTSB statistics, passengers who are involved in a major plane crash are much more likely to survive.
Question: What happens when the pilot drops fuel? Does it dissipate and subsequently evaporate? And where is it usually prescribed to do it, over land or over water?
Answer: Yes, if necessary, the fuel is discharged through a special nozzle, which scatters it into the smallest droplets. The fuel discharge itself is permitted only in specially designated places. To minimize exposure to residential areas, we also must not harm people on the ground.
Question: In the past, almost all aircraft models were equipped with an emergency fuel dump system, but this system is usually absent in modern aircraft models. Why did engineers abandon this safety system and does it have worthy alternatives in modern aircraft?
Answer: Modern aircraft, unlike their predecessors, are equipped with an emergency landing system when overweight, which gives pilots the opportunity to avoid emergency dumping of excess fuel. After such a landing, the aircraft undergoes a thorough check in order to eliminate the problems that have arisen and to make sure that the aircraft is fully operational and ready to fly.
MINSK, May 6 - Sputnik. The actions of the crew of the Sukhoi Superjet 100 and ground services made it possible to avoid further more of casualties among passengers, Honored Pilot of Russia Vladimir Romanenko said in an interview with Sputnik.
On Sunday evening at Sheremetyevo airport, after an emergency landing, a plane belonging to Aeroflot went on fire. The liner was supposed to fly to Murmansk, but was forced to return to air harbor... The fire on board killed 40 passengers and one crew member.
Why didn't the crew drain the fuel
"Superjet belongs to the class of small-body aircraft, and it does not provide for fuel discharge in the air. This procedure, as for all short-haul aircraft, is possible only on the ground," said Vladimir Romanenko.
In his opinion, "all that the pilots of the airliner could do in such a situation was to burn fuel, circling over the airfield." In emergency cases, aircraft of this class are allowed to land in excess of the maximum planting mass... For long-haul aircraft, a significant excess is unacceptable, since the landing gear will not withstand.
For short-haul liners, such landings are allowed subject to compliance with the reloading requirements and mandatory subsequent technical inspection. Due to the fact that the crew did not have radio communication, fuel production under the guidance of dispatchers was impossible.
"Thunderous situation, lightning flashing ... In the area of the airfield, in the immediate vicinity there are other aircraft... Since the crew could not receive dispatcher commands, the PIC (aircraft commander - Sputnik) made a decision to land, "Vladimir Romanenko explained." They made the right decision. "
Caught a "goat"
At the same time, the vertical speed was high, and "therefore, it turned out to be a" goat "(the term denoting a" bounce "of the airliner from the runway after touching the landing gear - Sputnik). Apparently, not all aircraft control systems worked correctly when landing in manual mode ...
“The crew couldn’t sit down and went into the second circle. I took aim, how you can control the plane and feel it, and tried to land again,” Vladimir Romanenko explained the crew’s actions. “The attempt was unsuccessful, perhaps, a gust of wind prevented me. I suppose that the matter is in the aircraft's inadequate response to the management actions of the crew.
The footage from the crash site at Sheremetyevo shows how passengers leave the burning plane together with hand luggage: bags and even suitcases. Obviously, this slowed down the evacuation process.
According to the experienced pilot, delaying passengers with their suitcases creates even more congestion on the plane. “Moreover, they opened the luggage compartment, which led to an even stronger fire in the tail section,” he said.
Crew halved evacuation time
At the same time, we must pay tribute to the ground services: the firemen worked on "five", the expert has no doubts.
“They could not stand along the runway, there is no reason for that. Being in the launch mode, the fire brigades calculated the place where the liner would stop,” Vladimir Romanenko explained. it turned out ... Where to go: full fuel tanks ... Well, at least these passengers were saved. "
"If it were not for the crew, which reduced the time for evacuating passengers by almost two times from the standard, at best, only the crew itself and five or six passengers would have survived," summed up Sputnik's interlocutor.
Each of us has used the services of airlines at least once in our lives. They offer the safest and most comfortable view transport. In addition, with its help, it is possible to significantly reduce travel time.
Surely many have seen a picture of how the plane is circling for hours over landing strip, and wondered: why is he doing this? After all, because of the extra hours of flight, a lot of aviation fuel burns out. This is exactly what the pilot achieves when he deliberately flies in circles without landing. He tries to burn as much fuel as possible. And why the liner produces fuel before landing, let's talk further.
Weight of the "iron bird"
During takeoff, as well as during landing, the mass of the airbus is extremely important. Moreover, in each case it is calculated separately: for landing - landing, and for takeoff - takeoff.
The takeoff weight of the aircraft is calculated taking into account the total weight of passengers, their luggage, the liner itself and fuel.
Moreover, if the weight limit is exceeded, then the plane will not be able to gain the required altitude or will not take off at all.
The calculation of the landing weight of the "iron bird" is carried out in the same way. This also takes into account the total weight of the crew and passengers, the liner itself and the luggage on board.
Aircraft weight when landing
There is a strictly limited landing aircraft weight. In no case should this limit be exceeded, since this situation could cause an airliner to crash.
When landing, there is a kind of impact of the landing gear against the surface of the runway. In this case, the chassis and fuselage are designed for specific loads, which directly depend on the weight of the side. If this indicator is significantly exceeded, then the load will increase accordingly. In this case, the chassis and fuselage may not withstand and break under the weight of the weight. Wings can also be affected. This is why it is important to keep track of your weight when landing.
Dumping fuel
As a rule, the landing weight is slightly less than the takeoff weight. How is this possible, you ask? Everything is very simple. Any airbus is designed so that most of the fuel from the tank will be used during the flight. Thus, it will weigh less during landing than during takeoff.
What to do in cases when the landing is made earlier than planned? The reason for this may be an emergency or a change in the flight course. In this case, all the fuel will not be consumed, because the plane's path will be shortened. But sitting down with fuel in the tank is also dangerous.
In this case, some aircraft equipped with a special emergency fuel release system can simply drain the fuel. If there is no such system, then the pilot has to circle over the runway, generating fuel residues. You will have to spend it even if conditions do not allow you to dump this fuel.
Is it true that planes dump the remaining fuel before landing?
The most interesting thing is that today aircraft practically do not discharge fuel. Previously, planes had such a reserve of fuel that was designed only for flight, in case of an unplanned landing, the planes either circled over the airfield to burn out the remaining fuel, or dumped it so that there was no ignition during landing. Now progress has moved forward. Now a special powder is thrown into the fuel tank, which simply makes the fuel non-combustible and does not need to be dumped.
Today, such a phenomenon as fuel discharge is practically not found in the flight practice of pilots. civil aviation- and even on the contrary - they are rewarded in every possible way for saving fuel - this is a business today and only in case of an emergency will the pilots dump fuel. If the fuel is constantly dumped, then the ecological catastrophe will be rapid on Earth.
Aircraft do not drop fuel residues before landing.
They don't need to do this if everything is going according to plan and the landing is not emergency.
But if you urgently need to land, an emergency situation has arisen, then there are rules that air crews are forced to adhere to. Vehicle, and in which it is necessary to land the plane by dropping excess fuel.
Yes, this does happen in the event of an emergency landing. Once there was a rowdy passenger on board, whom the flight attendants could not calm down. He threatened the safety of passengers and cabin crew. And the pilot made the decision to land the plane. The landing was made urgently at the nearest airport, but there was a lot of fuel in the tanks. As a result, the pilots had to dump fuel. Deboshir was arrested after the flight, and the airline filed a lawsuit against him and collected a large amount of money. The same can happen with a sick passenger on board or an emergency on board when an emergency landing is required.
Fuel is only discharged during an emergency landing immediately after takeoff. Kerosene costs decent money, so no one will dump it unless absolutely necessary. A black trail usually occurs not during landing, but on takeoff, when the engine is operating at maximum power in afterburner mode, the trail leaves soot from unburned kerosene residues.
Airplane discharges fuel when it is forced to make an emergency landing, as there is a risk of an explosion. The more fuel remains in the tanks, the stronger the explosion can turn out in case of failure. If the landing is unplanned, but not emergency, then the fuel is burned.
Here Sergei Rakitin answered quite rightly that the plane dumps fuel only if forced landing, immediately after takeoff or somewhere in the middle of the way, but if the situation allows, then kerosene not reset and is maximally developed to a safe weight. Emergency reset is done only when the plane, for some emergency reason, cannot fly in circles producing fuel.
Landing an aircraft with a heavy weight of fuel on board is risky. The route of flight and refueling of the aircraft is calculated taking into account that there is enough fuel to reach the alternate airfield and that after landing at such an airfield there is still approximately one to three tons of kerosene left (this is for large liners).
In the event of an emergency discharge of fuel, the back of the aircraft will just show not a black trail, but a white one. Black trail is, as Sergei Rakitin writes, just soot and soot from kerosene.
The planes release fuel only in the event of an emergency emergency landing to avoid a fire. In some cases, if the situation permits, the crew continues the flight on purpose in order to maximize the fuel supply. And nobody dumps fuel on purpose.
Dumping of fuel is required for emergency landings. And a dump is done only when it is impossible to reduce the amount of fuel simply by producing it. Airplanes just fly in circles, producing fuel. If this is not possible, then the discharge is at a high altitude.
By reducing the amount of fuel, the crew of the aircraft reduces the possibility of an explosion during an emergency landing and, accordingly, a fire.
