Boeing 737 cabin ruptured during mid-flight. Southwest grounds 79 planes.
51 replies, posted
[QUOTE=RR_Raptor65;28984862]It's not so much the pressurization that damages the metal, it's the sheer size of the aircraft and the wind forces it has to deal with. I doubt there are many on FP that really have an idea of how much force is put on the airplane in flight from even a light gust of wind.[/QUOTE]
Uhh metal expanding and contracting every time it takes off and lands does alot more stress on the hull. What are you talking about. The pane is able to bend in a way that it wont have any damage but this is fatigue of the metal from pressurization.
[QUOTE=FalcoLombardi;28987440]Wouldn't depressurization have more dramatic effects?[/QUOTE]
Depends on how big the hole is. a 10x10 inch hole would cause a controlled decompression but what your thinking of is explosive decompression (read posts above for aloha air incident). This is rapid decompression.
[editline]4th April 2011[/editline]
[QUOTE=T2L_Goose;28988402]Well that's good to know. I'll be flying on one of these in May. :gonk:[/QUOTE]
FAA is now ordering all older 737's to be checked (ALL OF THEM)
[QUOTE=jordguitar;28984273]Imma bump this now with new info
3 planes have been pulled out of service now because they found fractures. There is now no way Southwest is getting out of this without a huge fine.[/QUOTE]
What about Boeing? Don't they have some sort of responsibility as well? Bad manufacturing or something maybe?
[QUOTE=NO ONE;28989597]What about Boeing? Don't they have some sort of responsibility as well? Bad manufacturing or something maybe?[/QUOTE]
No. This is known to happen and nothing can be done on the manufacturers side. It is just up to the company using it to look for the fractures and repair them.
If you want a example, the actual areas that are pressurized are like a lung. It gets bigger when your in the air and returns to normal when on the ground. The diffrence is that metal does become fatigued and do form cracks. Cracks get big enough and they can cause the metal to tear and create a hole while in flight. There are spines within the frame (10x10 inches [can be larger or smaller but that is generally the size on older planes]) that do try to prevent these holes from getting larger (they tear open at a 90 degree angle and rip away within the square and keeping the damage to that small area and keeping the decompression to a more manageable rate [ie alot slower]). However if these cracks are numerous, there is a possibility they can skip over the lines and continue until they cant find more cracks.
The plane did what it was designed to do, contain the hole as best as it could.
Oh cool, I was on a Southwest 737 last week :ohdear: It might have been a newer one though.
That's pretty terrifying.
For some reason I read the title as "Boeing 737 captain ruptured..."
So you know guys, airplanes typically run for about 20-30 years in the commercial airline world. Delta still uses DC9s. The average age of those is 34 years, that's scary.
[QUOTE=dArKnEsS_2;28998572]So you know guys, airplanes typically run for about 20-30 years in the commercial airline world. Delta still uses DC9s. The average age of those is 34 years, that's scary.[/QUOTE]
The DC9 and DC10-30 were EXTREMELY durable planes. the DC8 and 9 were made of high standards. IIRC, the DC8 was the first airliner to feature a titanium frame. I remember flying on them, sitting in the back and watching the plane twist to the point where you can't see the aisle up further.
[QUOTE=SweetSwifter;28952932]Ohgod, I have aviophobia. I'd have a heart-attack if this happened during a flight I was on. :ohdear:[/QUOTE]
So, how many times have you flew then?
Last summer I had to fly with like 10 different planes to get to Portugal from Finland and back.
Fucking cheap flights man.. But no feelings of fear, though the thought crossed my mind where the risk of me getting killed that summer in a flight accident must've doubled as opposed to the usual two flights between two countries.
whilst sitting on a plane just over a week ago, i started to wonder: if part of the fuselage ripped open and i got thrown out of the plane, would i have enough time to whip out my phone, take a photo of myself falling to my death and send it as an MMS to someone before impact? :raise:
[editline]5th April 2011[/editline]
actually, looking at average cruise altitudes for airliners and the average terminal velocity of skydivers, the answer is probably yes.
[QUOTE=Uber|nooB;28999375]whilst sitting on a plane just over a week ago, i started to wonder: if part of the fuselage ripped open and i got thrown out of the plane, would i have enough time to whip out my phone, take a photo of myself falling to my death and send it as an MMS to someone before impact? :raise:
[editline]5th April 2011[/editline]
actually, looking at average cruise altitudes for airliners and the average terminal velocity of skydivers, the answer is probably yes.[/QUOTE]
Would you truly be able to do that in that shock you are going to get?
[QUOTE=Richard Simmons;28998949]The DC9 and DC10-30 were EXTREMELY durable planes. the DC8 and 9 were made of high standards. IIRC, the DC8 was the first airliner to feature a titanium frame. I remember flying on them, sitting in the back and watching the plane twist to the point where you can't see the aisle up further.[/QUOTE]
Yeah; if you sit in the back of a 757-300 (the longer version) it actually sways back and forth. Delta is actually retiring all there DC-9's this year and buying up everyone's MD-90,80 and 95's (the same airplane just with updated a bit with newer engines and a glass cockpit) since they're roughly around 4 million as opposed to a 737 which is roughly around 30 million $. I actually miss McDonald Douglas aircraft, flying first class in a DC-10 is like being in your own living room rather than the sterile European white that a A330 has.
Boeing airplanes are actually the best maintenance wise. My father works at Delta as a manager for the hanger and also sometimes a mechanic. Whenever I go in there its usually the Airbuses and the old DC-9's taking up all the space. I think there was only 1 757-200 that was 30 years old sitting in the hanger.
Reminds me of
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Comet#Comet_disasters_of_1954[/url]
Stress is in around the same spot too isn't it?
[QUOTE=cheesedelux;29002879]Reminds me of
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Havilland_Comet#Comet_disasters_of_1954[/url]
Stress is in around the same spot too isn't it?[/QUOTE]
Yes and no. Yes, the problems with the Comet were due to the stresses of repeated pressurisation and depressurisation causing metal fatigue, like has happened here. What is different is that the Comet had square windows. Corners are a natural structural weakness, so fatigue cracks tended to more often appear around the corners of the windows, and eventually all the cracks around all the windows would go at once, causing a complete disintegration of the aircraft.
[QUOTE=Saxon;29001011]Yeah; if you sit in the back of a 757-300 (the longer version) it actually sways back and forth. Delta is actually retiring all there DC-9's this year and buying up everyone's MD-90,80 and 95's (the same airplane just with updated a bit with newer engines and a glass cockpit) since they're roughly around 4 million as opposed to a 737 which is roughly around 30 million $. I actually miss McDonald Douglas aircraft, flying first class in a DC-10 is like being in your own living room rather than the sterile European white that a A330 has.
Boeing airplanes are actually the best maintenance wise. My father works at Delta as a manager for the hanger and also sometimes a mechanic. Whenever I go in there its usually the Airbuses and the old DC-9's taking up all the space. I think there was only 1 757-200 that was 30 years old sitting in the hanger.[/QUOTE]
You cant compare a DC10 to a A330 by any terms. For one, Airbus aircraft feel like plastic chinese shit. I was never a fan of any of them EXCEPT the A340 (Reminds me of the trans-atlantic airliners of the 70s).
The 757 is actually quite an aircraft. The 300 variant is my favorite, and I didn't know that they actually did the twisting too. But yet, most aircrafts do twist in flight, hense the reason for divider curtains.
The 757 has an okay first class, but I normally flown on it for domestic flights (~2000-3000mi) so I don't know what they got equipped for trans-atlantic.
The 747-400 always amazed me, and always will amaze me. Their first class cabins are fucking amazing. Reclining chair, full TV, choose what you wanna watch.. etc. Flying like a king thats what it was.
And good for Delta. the MD80/90/95 are also very nice aircraft. I am a huge fan of the MD11 though, since it was the closest to resemble the DC10. I still miss sitting on a DC10 and earing those blades spin up close to the sound barrier. That loud grungy whirling noise.. they just don't make em like that anymore.
[QUOTE=Saxon;29001011]Yeah; if you sit in the back of a 757-300 (the longer version) it actually sways back and forth. Delta is actually retiring all there DC-9's this year and buying up everyone's MD-90,80 and 95's (the same airplane just with updated a bit with newer engines and a glass cockpit) since they're roughly around 4 million as opposed to a 737 which is roughly around 30 million $. I actually miss McDonald Douglas aircraft, flying first class in a DC-10 is like being in your own living room rather than the sterile European white that a A330 has.
Boeing airplanes are actually the best maintenance wise. My father works at Delta as a manager for the hanger and also sometimes a mechanic. Whenever I go in there its usually the Airbuses and the old DC-9's taking up all the space. I think there was only 1 757-200 that was 30 years old sitting in the hanger.[/QUOTE]
When northwest merged into delta, they brought all their airbuses with them. Delta was mostly boeing.
[QUOTE=BANNED USER;28954061]You do realize that Rivets aren't like screws right? Rivets are permanent fasteners, made of solid steel bolts. Rivets are installed generally with a Rivet Gun, which is a giant pneumatic hammer that pounds the rivet into place. Generally used on aircraft fuselages and boats to keep them solid pieces. You can't just "tighten" them.[/QUOTE]
Most rivets are made of alluminum actually
[QUOTE=MoarFunz;28954815]I hate people who reply acting like they know shit when they don't.
15 years old planes which are used for [b]passengers[/b] are old and are actually forbidened to use.[/QUOTE]
I hate people who reply acting like they know shit when they don't.
[QUOTE=DogGunn;28956347]No it's not, American and Delta still use MD-80s from the 1980s.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=dArKnEsS_2;28998572]So you know guys, airplanes typically run for about 20-30 years in the commercial airline world. Delta still uses DC9s. The average age of those is 34 years, that's scary.[/QUOTE]
With airlines pushing planes as far as they can go now-a-days I'm not really surprised in the least with this.
Now, on the subject of airbuses, they always feel like they're going to fall apart on takeoffs and landings. You know it's bad when you can feel a flight attendant's footsteps when they walk up and down the isle way.
[QUOTE=Cassius Clay;29012547]With airlines pushing planes as far as they can go now-a-days I'm not really surprised in the least with this.
Now, on the subject of airbuses, they always feel like they're going to fall apart on takeoffs and landings. You know it's bad when you can feel a flight attendant's footsteps when they walk up and down the isle way.[/QUOTE]
Its because Airbus is a french company. Only thing that I know of that is French thats actually solid is French bread.
[QUOTE=Uber|nooB;28999375]whilst sitting on a plane just over a week ago, i started to wonder: if part of the fuselage ripped open and i got thrown out of the plane, would i have enough time to whip out my phone, take a photo of myself falling to my death and send it as an MMS to someone before impact? :raise:
[editline]5th April 2011[/editline]
actually, looking at average cruise altitudes for airliners and the average terminal velocity of skydivers, the answer is probably yes.[/QUOTE]
"today i fell out of a plane, fml"
[QUOTE=SweetSwifter;28952932]Ohgod, I have aviophobia. I'd have a heart-attack if this happened during a flight I was on. :ohdear:[/QUOTE]
I don't, I'd still be fucking terrified though, wouldn't everyone?
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.