ATC audio Air India about to land with gear up

[bravo45]

Its a few years old, the incident took place shortly before landing at EWR, the aircraft was probably a 744.

http://www.natca.org/assets/multimedia/01-Track-01.mp3

[Moin]

And Qantas too:

http://www.news.com.au/travel/story/0,2 ... 90,00.html

[Nasir]

But it was our very own airline that finally accomplished the feat!!

[Moin]

Lol I couldn't have put it better myself.

[yousaf465]

But it was our very own airline that finally accomplished the feat!!

Look at the angle it made with the runway.

[bravo45]

Goodness me! The least of what I was expecting.... Apologists.

[Nasir]

Sometimes the irony of a discussion is so obvious, you've got to state it...

[Abbas Ali]

PIA Boeing 747-282B (AP-AYW) made that gear-up belly landing on February 4, 1986, at Islamabad Airport. Investigation revealed the accident happened due to cockpit crew error because they forgot to lower the landing gear. The landing checklist was not completed by crew and they also ignored warning from aircraft's Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) when flaps were lowered to landing position with retracted landing gear. Details of exactly how this accident happened due to crew error can be read in book 'Come Fly With Me: Jets' authored by Capt. Johnny Sadiq.

All people aboard the aircraft and the aircraft itself got a miraculous escape and survived the accident. In photos the aircraft appears to have made very much perfect gear-up landing performed inadvertently by the crew because somehow the aircraft till the end stayed on the runway. The Boeing 747 with gear-up must have landed on the centre of runway and covered considerable distance by sliding and scratching its belly on runway before coming to a halt at a slight angle across the runway. The aircraft could have suffered serious and possibly irrepairable damage had it gone off the runway during that belly landing performed unintentionally by the crew.



Btw, as most of us know, AP-AYW was repaired and it remained in service with PIA till year 2005.

Abbas

[riz]

crew adventures ................... and engg miseries ............

very less ppl are aware what has happened with BHO but anyhow its flying nowadays thnx to the insurer and Engg.

[Moin]

I'm so glad BHO is back in service because there was talk initially that it was a write off.

[SENIOR]

How did they remove the aircraft in that condition from the runway ????

[Che]

Did the pilots lose their licenses or did they continue flying for PIA without any reprimand?

[paksarzamen]

crew adventures ................... and engg miseries ............

very less ppl are aware what has happened with BHO but anyhow its flying nowadays thnx to the insurer and Engg.

riz bro do u know what exactly happened or heard a real story?plz share

[Abbas Ali]

Did the pilots lose their licenses or did they continue flying for PIA without any reprimand?

Aircraft’s Captain did not fly again for PIA. The First Officer was grounded for sometime but later sadly he as Captain was among cockpit crew of PIA Fokker F-27 Friendship (AP-BBF) that vanished in Himalayas without leaving trace on August 25, 1989. According to details in Capt. Johnny Sadiq’s book the Flight Engineer of AP-AYW belly landing took early retirement but he became a respected PIA Boeing 747 Flight Engineer instructor.

How did they remove the aircraft in that condition from the runway ????

Equipment including jacks were used to lift AP-AYW and then the landing gear was lowered to let the aircraft stand on its own wheels and after that it must have been towed to place where initial repair work started with the technical assistance of Boeing Company. Probably the initial repair work done at Islamabad Airport made the aircraft fly able and then it was flown to Karachi where major repair work on the aircraft was performed and completed. Hope it can be confirmed by someone.

I also remember reading somewhere in a newspaper article/report that some of the equipment used to lift AP-AYW was lent to PIA by Air India Engineering base in Bombay (now Mumbai). I hope someone can confirm it.

In Capt. Johnny Sadiq’s book, it’s also mentioned that after AP-AYW stopped sliding on runway, the cockpit crew realized that due to their mistake the aircraft has made gear-up landing and then they lowered landing gear lever in cockpit in an attempt to raise the aircraft on its landing gear which of course was impossible. In following photo, apparently that’s the reason we see opened nose gear door of the aircraft.



Here’s a photo of AP-AYW taken at Karachi Airport after it completed a test flight performed after completion of aircraft's repair work.


via Umar Anis

Btw, apparently structure of airliners like Boeing 747 is designed to perform gear-up landing in emergency due to technical/mechanical fault on hard surface like runway (preferably foamed-up) and take stress and endure damage to its belly skin, engines etc. and if the gear-up landing is performed well then the aircraft can be repaired which of course requires large amount of money. As also mentioned in Capt. Johnny Sadiq’s book, AP-AYW crew inadvertently performed an incredible safe belly landing. The aircraft stayed on runway till the end and did not suffer irrepairable damage to its structure thus allowing PIA and Boeing Company to repair it and make it fly again.

Abbas

[TAILWIND]

In Capt. Johnny Sadiq’s book, it’s also mentioned that after AP-AYW stopped sliding on runway, the cockpit crew realized that due to their mistake the aircraft has made gear-up landing and then they lowered landing gear lever in cockpit in an attempt to raise the aircraft on its landing gear which of course was impossible. In following photo, apparently that’s the reason we see opened nose gear door of the aircraft.

There was another explanation that just at flare hieght, the crew finally realised there mistake and moved the gear lever 'down', but only the nose gears door could open before the touch down.