RAM 767 repaired at JFK after nose first landing, impressive...

[Asad]

A Royal Air Maroc 767 arriving at JFK from Casablanca touched down nose first, after terrible weather on approach. The pilots continued rollout and taxi-in as normal and did not mention the obviously out of the ordinary landing to ATC. Here is the full story with a pair of before / after photos, I was quite impressed...

This has of course happened before (on a 763 too once IIRC) but still, I found it an interesting read.

On the afternoon of April 20th, Royal Air Maroc Flight 200 was completing a routine Atlantic crossing from Casablanca, carrying 210 passengers and 10 crew. The weather on approach to JFK’s runway 4R, however, was not so routine, the airport being battered by rain and 28kt gusts. The 767-36N/ER (CN-RNT) was unstable as she crossed the numbers, and proceeded to slam down, nose wheel first, before settling on her main landing gear. Despite what was surely a very bumpy ride, the crew maintained control through the rollout. She exited the runway, taxied to the gate, deplaned her passengers and underwent normal post-flight procedures. Although the flight crew almost certainly must have known that the landing was out of the ordinary, nothing was ever reported to the tower or ground, some say because they were “shy.”

Move forward a few hours to preparations for Royal Air Maroc Flight 201, the return leg which is normally operated by the same aircraft. After crews had moved the plane from a hardstand to the gate, loading it with cargo and catering and commencing boarding, the First Officer trudged out into the still pouring rain and continued high winds to perform his pre-flight walk around. And that’s when he noticed something wasn’t right: A blemish in the outer skin, at roughly the same time passengers noticed water running down the side panels of the cabin. Closer inspection revealed that 767’s outer skin was seriously compromised. Needless to say, thankfully RAM 201 never left the gate that night.

The plane was moved to a hangar where she could be inspected to ascertain the entire scope of the damage. It was dramatic: Multiple joints, ribbing and fasteners were either crushed or shattered like glass. The nose gear area suffered internal damage, and the outer skin was split open so much in some spots it was easy to see to the sky from the inside of the plane.

A team lead by Boeing with assistance from Delta Tech Ops was tasked with the repair. For four months she has remained at JFK, during which she’s been stripped down to her skeleton, her outer skin removed removed in damaged areas. The Boeing techs went to work essentially rebuilding these sections from scratch at an estimated cost of $11 million.

A recent photo of CN-RNT wearing her new skin. (Photo by Tom Alfano)

Today CN-RNT is being tested to take to the skies again where she’ll be flown to a paint facility, repainted and then put back into commercial service. Some question the reliability of the repairs but having interacted with many professionals from the Boeing Company I’d would gladly buy a seat on this bird.

Source - NYC Aviation
Cheers

[tommyalf]

I hear the guy who wrote the article is a real asshat..LOLOL



Thanks for reading it!

[P3_Super_Bee]

Originally Posted by tommyalf

I hear the guy who wrote the article is a real asshat..LOLOL



Thanks for reading it!

[SYDCBRWOD]

Although the flight crew almost certainly must have known that the landing was out of the ordinary, nothing was ever reported to the tower or ground, some say because they were “shy.”

Or negligent. Either in landing which may not be as reported , but definately in not reporting it. If the first officer hadn't noticed it on his walkaround?

[Asad]

Originally Posted by tommyalf

I hear the guy who wrote the article is a real asshat..LOLOL



Thanks for reading it!

Originally Posted by SYDCBRWOD

Or negligent. Either in landing which may not be as reported , but definately in reporting it. If the first officer hadn't noticed it on his walkaround?

Indeed. If the FO hadn't noticed (and if the weather was that bad I think there was a high chance of that) then... well, yeah. At any rate you won't catch me on a RAM flight anytime soon...

[Evan]

Great testimonial for Michelin.

[Moose135]

Originally Posted by tommyalf

I hear the guy who wrote the article is a real asshat..LOLOL

I'm glad somebody said it

[Verbal]

The 767 is prone to damage in the upper forward fuselage during nose-first landings. There have been about a dozen of these incidents over the years.

[Highkeas]

Originally Posted by Asad

Indeed. If the FO hadn't noticed (and if the weather was that bad I think there was a high chance of that) then... well, yeah. At any rate you won't catch me on a RAM flight anytime soon...

This would not be the first aircraft where landing (or take-off) damage was found later - sometimes after several flights. I have heard of similar damage on aircraft due to nose first landings. On one aircraft type a tail strike can, and does, damage the aft pressure bulkhead.
A repair or scrap decision is traded off for these incidents

Incidentally Boeing, along with other companies, offer these type of repair services.
http://www.boeing.com/commercial/avi...Operations.pdf

One aircraft I recall being repaired and put back in service was the JAL DC-8 that crash landed in SF Bay in 1968. As of a few years ago it was still in sevice as a cargo carrier.

[Evan]

Originally Posted by Highkeas

Incidentally Boeing, along with other companies, offer these type of repair services.
http://www.boeing.com/commercial/avi...Operations.pdf

There's a surprising amount of lumber involved.

[curtllewis]

This has happened twice to AA 767-300s. Once in GRU in 1992 and the second in LHR in 2000.

[Asmir Hamidovic]

A catastrophe avoided ! Thank goodness!

[Vnav]

I certainly agree with the crew's responsibility to report any hard landings via the logbook or as a passdown to maintenance and the oncoming crew, but why in the world would they report a crappy landing to ATC? There's nothing Tower can do about it and it's none of their business anyway.