Matthew on 13/2/2009 at 17:30
The thing is that if the bird is striking the engine with enough force to, as (
http://birdstrike.org/) Bird Strike USA says, 'generate the kinetic energy of a 1,000-lb weight dropped from a height of 10 feet' (in the case of something like a Canada goose), how do you stop the bird from shredding the net and ploughing on into the engine anyway?
demagogue on 13/2/2009 at 18:09
I'm flying to Albany in a few days. So I'm trying to keep my mind off all these accidents.
Specter on 13/2/2009 at 18:11
The other issue is, of course, if one puts something in front of the inlet can you strike a balance of being strong/large enough to prevent foreign object damage while not affecting airflow to the engines? I would be inclined to believe that one cannot or it would have been implemented by now. It should be pointed out, however, that they would not need to stop the bird all together, but to have it pass through the engine in smaller pieces. The engines are designed to withstand an object up to a certain size, but the geese exceed that, and the point becomes moot when both engines ingest an object of that size, which is what happened in New York.
rachel on 13/2/2009 at 18:13
Quote Posted by Queue
Was it birds again this time? The article I read didn't say either way.
No (well, as far as is known atm)
But the Hudson one was a freak accident and all the maintenance in the world couldn't prevent that. Which was D'Arcy's point.
Thief13x on 13/2/2009 at 18:25
Quote Posted by BR796164
I wonder, would it be a serious technical issue to protect the turbines by covering them with some kind of safety nets?
Yes, it would restrict airflow too much. It doesn't seem like a thin net would, but one only need to sit in a jetliner on the ramp in the rain and look at the ground to realize how much vacuume those engines have just idling.
Also, these engines are designed to be able to ingest birds up to 4 lbs. The ones that took the airplane down on the hudson were bigger.
Finally, the cause of the Continental crash was most likely due to icing. They're talking about the possibility that the autopilot masked the accumulation from the pilots until it was too late.
Fly safe, and always remmember...fly Southwest:ebil:
sh0ck3r on 13/2/2009 at 18:33
I remember flying back from New York in a Bombardier plane in December. plane was a complete dinosaur, creaking and producing strange noises noticeably more than any of the thousands of other planes I have flown in. I understand this plane in the Buffalo crash was only a few months old, but I'm still skeptical...
Chimpy Chompy on 13/2/2009 at 19:03
Mesh over the engine might be doable - that's more or less what the F-117 has (albeit for completely different reasons). But it would be a hit to performance, which the military accepts for its stealth planes. Airlines wouldn't like anything that, say, reduced fuel effiency.
Also though given any mesh strong enough to stop a bird... what if that comes apart itself and goes through the engine? Bits of metal are bound to be worse than bits of bird.
Queue on 13/2/2009 at 19:05
From the AP--
"NEW YORK - A publicist says two members of jazz musician Chuck Mangione's band were among those killed on the plane that crashed into a Buffalo, New York, house.
Publicist Sanford Brokaw identifies the band members as Gerry Niewood and Coleman Mellett."
Not that I value these people's lives over the average Joe (since one has to put a disclaimer on everything)--just reporting for those who are fans.
Koki on 13/2/2009 at 19:07
Oooh, you devil, you!
SD on 13/2/2009 at 19:29
Quote Posted by BR796164
One more good argument for Friday 13th believers.
One "more"? That this happened on Thursday 12th notwithstanding, I must have missed all those other good arguments for totally retarded superstition.
