Thursday, May 5, 2011
Remember the rock-'n-roll Tupolev?
A few days ago I posted three video clips of a Tupolev Tu-154 airliner that exhibited major stability and handling problems after being reactivated from long-term storage.
Now David Learmount, on his blog at Flight Global, analyzes the incident. He finds the whole affair puzzling. He goes into some detail about the phenomenon known as 'Dutch Roll', then asks a series of questions about what might have caused the problem. I won't post his remarks here, as they won't be of interest to general readers: but I urge aviation enthusiasts to visit his blog and read them for yourself. They make thought-provoking reading.
As Mr. Learmount says, we'll doubtless learn more when the results of the inquiry are known . . . if they're ever released, that is!
Peter
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2 comments:
Peter,
I shared his (and your?) skepticism when I saw the film. The oscillations were not present on departure or on final and seemed so extreme they could only be the result of full or near-full control input. If a structural failure had occurred such as rudder hinge failure then how was control regained on final? I'm pretty sure shenanigans were involved.
Leatherneck
As severe as those oscillations were for a mid-size airliner, I think the pilots would have to have been near-suicidal to have been doing that deliberately. They could easily have exceeded structural or aerodynamic limits and crashed. Especially with a Russian airliner. Then again, they're Russians. :)
I suspect lower speed and lowered landing gear might've stabilized the plane. I'm betting something in the electronics or hydraulics was hooked up incorrectly. But I'm no expert.
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