rayikes

I was at the AC in LAX this morning at 9:30a or so when I noticed a group of fire trucks and police vehicles approaching (in-between TB and T4). They followed in what I believe was a 737 to gate 47. As I went to my gate (49) I noticed a group of people pointing at and photographing the front landing gear. Heard from the pilot and some FAs that the plane took off and returned immediately for an emergency landing. Was anyone on that flight or had that experience?

I'm curious; I've never been involved in an emergency landing situation...

gemac

According to this site(at least when I posted this), there was no emergency landing at LAX today. An emergency landing occurs when the pilot declares an emergency. There are other events that can cause fire and police vehicles to follow an aircraft to the gate.

sbrower

When I did ride along with the LA Fire Dept one of my stations was "Crash 80's," which is the station at LAX with the crash equipment. My recollection is that they averaged about 2 code "33's" per day, which was a response to a landing plane which had expressed some concern to Approach Control.

Science Goy

Yeah, "emergency landing" is a wildly-misused phrase in the popular lexicon. Officially (as you say) it means the pilot has declared an emergency, there's a significant chance of injury to personnel or equipment, and the aircraft is given top priority at the airport (with other takeoffs/landings put on hold). It's an extremely rare situation.

WChou

Seems everytime I'm at ORD I see at least one plane followed to the ramp by firetrucks. This is usually precautionary when a plane returns to the airport after takeoff. Full of fuel, the plane lands heavy and the brakes get very hot. The firetrucks make sure there is no brake fire.

electriclarry

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


Check Liveatc.net for KLAX at 1730UTC.+/-30 minutes You will need to sign up and register, to listen to the archives but that's free. Then you try downloading the ATC for KLAX. Socal app/dep used to be covered, but not any more.

bostonoski

As detailed elsewhere I once had a flight return to the origin airport, due to wing damage (as it turned out) and we had emergency vehicles waiting etc. Only we weren't heavy/full of fuel because I remember they actually told us they were circling/re-routing a bit to dump it first. (Apparently it's dangerous to land full of fuel??)

But, that was over an ocean, so you've now got me thinking what happens over the middle of the U.S.? (Expert I presume going back to LAX they'd dump some fuel first over the Pacific?)

I'm no expert though, obviously... I just know what happened on my flight.

bostonoski

p.s. I've had fire trucks follow my plane out to before take-off.... but then that was for the traditional pilot's last flight (pre-retirement)... they spray the plane. Kinda fun

vasantn

Apart from danger of fire in the event of a crash, the more common concern is the stress on the landing gear and the brakes when the plane lands heavy.

It's quite common to dump fuel over land. It dissipates at around 10K feet IIRC.

WChou

Depends on the plane and type of emergency. If the matter is serious but does not require an immediate landing, the flight crew may elect to get rid of as much fuel as possible. The major concern is a fire should the landing not go as planned. If an immediate return is required, the plane will get set down ASAP. Overweight landings are taken into account in the design of the plane.

Usually narrowbodies do not have a way to dump fuel. Their only way to get rid of fuel is to burn it off. The B6 A320 that landed at LAX with the twisted nose gear and your experience are good examples. Granted I'm not an expert either. Most of what I know is learned from my flight instructor was is a former Skywest first officer.

If a plane needs to dump fuel, it can be over land. The fuel vaporizes before it hits the ground. Although a recent AA 772 fuel dump near DFW led to complaints of fuel covering nearby homes.

GRALISTAIR

I have not been in a situation like this, but my wife who flies less than me has.

Father-of-3

I was on an Emergency Landing a few years ago. It is a terrifying experience caused by an electrical malfunction which left the pilots with very little functional data. The airport is shut down, no planes on taxiway or anywhere near the runways. Lots of fire trunks there instead. We burned off nearly all fuel before landing.

Pilot landed the 777 pretty hard and some overhead bins popped open. That was it.

austin_modern

In flyertalk tradition: how many miles did that net you?

ricktoronto

That would be the mastadons at the Bedrock Airport that the Flintstones also fly out of?

footballfanatic

I'm under the impression that ambulance/fire trucks wait at either end of the runway.