Lufhansa MD-11F crash in Riyadh - crew okay . . .

[robbreid]

Click Here for photos

Aviation Herald update

Witnesses stated aircraft had smoke pouring from the fuselage on approach, aircraft landing safely, came to full stop. Aircraft fire intensified, causing the tail section to fail - both crew are reported to have minor injuries during evacuation.

[robbreid]

Updated photos . . .

[Ralliart]

Scheiße!

[Big Pistons Forever]

Wow another crowd killer bites the dust, thank god the crew survived this time.

[20DMEYYZ]

glad to see they were able to get it stopped and get out ! wonder if they had the nose-gear available for the landing too or if it just collapsed post landing/fire ?

[Hedley]

Another BBQ in the back?

[Expat]

Probably some very unstable military substance being shipped incognito...

[Flying Low]

or a pallet of those Li-ion laptop batteries ranaway...

[Just another canuck]

Everyone got out okay... excellent... but now, the poor bastards have to hang out in Riyadh for longer than expected.

[sanjet]

Wow glad everyone is ok. Another good example of why you need to get her on the ground ASAP with a smoke/fire situation.

[robbreid]

[urlhttp://noticias.uol.com.br/album/100727aviaoarabiasaudita_album.jhtm?abrefoto=6#fotoNav=10] More photos [/url] appears ??? to be off the runway . . .

FAA has recorded this as a 'Crash Landing'.

[Panama Jack]

Some contradictory info in the press.

One count says that it was a flight from RUH to FRA which returned; witnesses see smoke coming out of the aircraft on approach.

Another version is that it was a flight from FRA to RUH which had a hard landing and broke up.

Either version is viable given the nature of the operation and the history of the MD11 (DC= Death Cruiser, MD= More Death).

[TTJJ]

Either version is viable given the nature of the operation and the history of the MD11 (DC= Death Cruiser, MD= More Death).

Ahh...hmmm...

That is not exactly a fair statement to make.

To date Wikipedia (I know, I know...) has listed 9 accidents, including this one.

There have been 3 botched recoveries from bad landings or approaches.
There was one really strange accident where the Captain drove a perfectly good aircraft into the ground from 4500 feet.
One aircraft hit its tail on rotation.
One aircraft landed in a typhoon with winds exceeding its cross-wind limitations.
There was one accident where a crew member accidentally deployed the slats in cruise. This was later corrected with a design change.
There was Swiss Air and this one.

The plane really isn’t to blame, nor is it unsafe. It still carries the blame for the bad press the DC-10 got.

Having flown both DC-10-30s and MD-11s for 7 years, I can attest to their safety.

The aircraft was not a commercial success because it did not meet its initial performance goals, by a long shot.


Here is the Wikipedia list. I have added the links for further reading should you see fit.

China Eastern Flight 583, a MD-11 went into severe oscillations on April 6, 1993 when a crew member accidentally deployed the slats during cruise flight over the Pacific Ocean near the Aleutian Islands. Two passengers ultimately died.[37]
http://aviation-safety.net/database/rec ... 19930406-2

FedEx Flight 14, MD-11 N611FE, crashed during a landing at Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey on July 31, 1997. The aircraft flipped onto its back and subsequently burned, following a landing attempt from an unstabilized flare.
http://aviation-safety.net/database/rec ... 19970731-0

Swissair Flight 111, HB-IWF, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on September 2, 1998 while en route from New York City to Geneva, Switzerland. All 229 people on board perished. The cause of the crash was determined to be a fire caused by improper wiring of Swissair-added passenger entertainment system units. The fire started at the front of the aircraft and quickly grew uncontrollable, attributed partly to the poor flame retardant properties of its metalized mylar insulation.

Korean Air, MD-11 HL7373, crashed shortly after take off April 15, 1999 while operating cargo flight KE6316 from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport to Seoul. After take off, the first officer contacted Shanghai Departure, which cleared the flight to climb to 1500 meters (4900 ft): "Korean Air six three one six now turn left direct to November Hotel Whiskey climb and maintain one thousand five hundred meters." When the aircraft climbed to 4,500 feet (1,400 m) in the corridor, the captain, after receiving two wrong affirmative answers from the first officer that the required altitude should be 1,500 ft (457 m), thought that the aircraft was 3,000 ft (914 m) too high. The captain then pushed the control column abruptly and roughly forward causing the MD-11 to enter a rapid descent. Both crew members tried to recover from the dive, but were unable.[38]
http://aviation-safety.net/database/rec ... 19990415-0

China Airlines Flight 642, a MD-11, crashed August 22, 1999 while landing at Hong Kong airport during a typhoon that exceeded the plane's crosswind specifications, also flipping onto its back and burning. Three passengers were killed.
http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/1999 ... 917301.htm

FedEx Express Flight 87, MD-11 N581FE, was written off after landing at Subic Bay International Airport, Philippines on October 17, 1999. Upon landing, the aircraft rolled down the whole length of the runway before plunging into the bay where it was completely submerged except for the cockpit. An excessive approach and landing speed was pointed out as probable cause of the accident.[39]
http://aviation-safety.net/database/rec ... -0&lang=en

FedEx Express Flight 80, N526FE, crashed at Narita International Airport, Japan on March 23, 2009 while landing in windy conditions. Airport surveillance video showed the aircraft becoming airborne again after the first touch-down, then impacting nose-first the second time and turning onto its left side, erupting into flames; the impact flipped the aircraft upside down. The aircraft finally came to rest some distance left of the runway. The two flight crew members were killed.[40][41]
http://aviation-safety.net/database/rec ... 20090323-0

On November 28, 2009, an Avient Aviation MD-11F, registration Z-BAV (c/n 48408), crashed on take-off from Shanghai Pudong International Airport on a flight to Bishkek-Manas International Airport,
The aircraft struck its tail on takeoff.
http://aviation-safety.net/database/rec ... 20091128-0

On July 27, 2010 a Lufthansa Cargo flight 8460, a MD-11, crash landed in Riyadh, Saudi-Arabia. The two pilots are reported to have survived.[44]

[Panama Jack]

Industry nicknames, my friend. Kind of like the L-1011 Tristar is nicknamed "The Tritanic"