Shelling of the Airbus A300 OO-DLL of European Air Transport
| European Air Transport OO-DLL | |
|---|---|
| Accident summary | |
| Accident type | Rocket fire |
| place |
 Baghdad airport
|
| date | November 22, 2003 |
| Fatalities | no |
| Survivors | 3 (all) |
| Injured | no |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Airbus A300B4-203F |
| operator | European Air Transport dba DHL |
| Mark | OO DLL |
| Departure airport |
Baghdad airport
|
| Destination airport |
 Bahrain Airport
|
| Passengers | 0 |
| crew | 3 |
| Lists of aviation accidents | |
On November 22, 2003, an Airbus A300B4-203F cargo aircraft of European Air Transport (dba DHL ) with the registration number OO-DLL was hit on the left wing by an anti-aircraft missile shortly after taking off in Baghdad , Iraq . The severe damage caused a fire and the total failure of the hydraulic flight systems. Because the outer left wing tank (1A) was completely filled at take-off, there was no kerosene-air steam explosion. The fire completely destroyed Tank 1A and significantly damaged the lower wing structure. In addition, tank 1, which was further towards the fuselage, leaked.
The three crew members decided to return to Baghdad and were able to land the damaged aircraft there safely by varying the engine power. After landing, the aircraft came into contact with the runway on unpaved ground.
The reporter Claudine Vernier-Palliez from the French weekly magazine Paris Match accompanied a Saddam Fedayeen squad until the attack on the aircraft.
background
The plane took off at 06:30 UTC from Baghdad airport towards airport Bahrain from. The crew was experienced and consisted of two Belgians, 38-year-old Captain Éric Gennotte and 29-year-old First Officer Steeve Michielsen, and a Scot, 54-year-old flight engineer Mario Rofail. The captain had a total of 3,300 flight hours (more than half of which on the Airbus A300), the first officer 1,275 flight hours and the flight engineer 13,423 flight hours.
Flight history
Due to the low weight of the only lightly loaded aircraft, the take-off was carried out only with the slats extended, but without other lift aids (flaps). To minimize the risk of a missile impact, the aircraft rose rapidly after take-off. At flight level 080 (around 2,450 meters), the Airbus was hit by a 9K34 Strela-3 anti-aircraft missile on the left wing. The downward escaping kerosene caused a fire; In addition, the hydraulics failed, which resulted in a loss of control. The plane rose several times quickly to a greater height before it went down again just as quickly (see also Phygoids ).
As in the accident on United Airlines Flight 232 , the captain could only control the aircraft with the help of the engine power and the asymmetrical variation of the same. The flight engineer used gravity to extend the landing gear, which is usually done using hydraulics. The early extension of the landing gear made a significant contribution to a safe landing, as it slowed down and stabilized the Airbus.
The crew spent about 10 minutes testing how the aircraft could be controlled without hydraulics using the engines alone. An asymmetrical thrust distribution caused a change of course around the yaw axis (right-left). At a speed of almost 400 km / h (215 knots ), the machine held an almost constant altitude. A higher speed initiated a climb, a lower speed a descent. It should be noted, however, that the speed changed during the ascent or descent, so that the thrust had to be corrected continuously. After a meandering flight path, the team was able to fly a right turn and begin the approach to Baghdad Airport .
Final approach and emergency landing
During the final approach, Rofail had to keep a close eye on the speed and thrust to control the rate of descent and prevent the aircraft nose from sagging near the ground. The approach therefore took place at a significantly excessive speed.
Genotte and Michielsen prepared a landing on runway 33R. However, since the aircraft drifted to the right, Genotte decided to land on the shorter runway 33L. The visibility was excellent and the pilots made a controlled approach for landing. They knew they couldn't throttle the engines without risking the nose or one of the engines hitting the ground.
At an altitude of approximately 400 feet (120 meters), the aircraft got out of control and rolled to the right. The crew was able to bring the aircraft back into balance before landing; however, the aircraft did not touch down in the middle of the runway. Rofail immediately activated full reverse thrust to brake the aircraft. Nevertheless, the Airbus turned off the runway and came to a standstill after around 1000 meters.
After the misfortune and awards
The Honorable Company of Air Pilots honored the crew with the Hugh Gordon-Burge Memorial Award . This award is given to teams whose extraordinary actions made a significant contribution to saving the aircraft or passengers, or who made a significant contribution to improving the safety of air traffic.
The Flight Safety Foundation presented the crew with the FSF Professionalism Award in Flight Safety for their "exceptional skills in flying their aircraft to a safe landing after an anti-aircraft missile impact after takeoff in Baghdad, Iraq".
In May 2006, Captain Éric Genotte and test pilot Armand Jacob gave a lecture in Toulouse with the title “Landing an A300 Successfully Without Flight Controls” (for example, “Landing an A300 successfully without control systems”)
In addition to wing damage and a damaged landing gear, both engines suffered damage from penetrating earth. The already aging aircraft was no longer used and was still at Baghdad Airport in 2011 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/great-escape-191713/
- ↑ "Air Crash Investigators"
- ^ "Voici le commando qui a touché l'Airbus", Claudine Vernier-Palliez, Paris Match, N ° 2845 - November 27, 2003
- ↑ http://www.eurotrib.com/story/2006/4/30/1045/07104
- ↑ http://asasi.org/2004_PPTs/Malinge_Airbus%20Bagdhad_ISASI04_PPT.pdf ( Memento from June 25, 2005 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/pilots-relive-iraq-missile-attack-189818/
- ↑ https://www.airpilots.org/about-the-company/trophies-and-awards/award-winners/the-hugh-gordon-burge-memorial-award//
- ↑ http://flightsafety.org/aviation-awards/fsf-professionalism-award-flight-safety
- ↑ http://www.airliners.net/photo/Airbus-A300B4-203(F)/1909863