BREAKING NEWS ... U.S Airways plane in Hudson River

[Tom Smedley]

The first hero is the captain of the aircraft who made the decision to ditch in the Hudson River rather than in downtown Newark or Manhattan. With a dead stick he drug the tail and laid her down level. I guess a hero could be the engineer who designed the craft so hydraulics still worked after the engines quit.

The second heros were the cabin crew who directed an orderly evacuation.

The third hero is the Harbor Master who recognized the situation and dispatched all ferries and water taxis to the scene.

The fourth heros are the first responders who cared for the passengers once they were out.

It's so nice for an outstanding outcome to a potential disaster.

 

[vladimir]

NYPD has a 2 man dive team from the scuba unit at Floyd Bennet 24/7..I have had some of my students who became members of that team and have had officers come looking for me to prepare to get on the team..Because of that I have had the opportunity a few times to go out on team boat and helicopter.It was a blast.
News 12 camera crew came to store last night to get info and on camera interview.I guess they need to fill some time.

My open-water instructor, John Girani, was a member of the NYPD scuba team.

Any idea what the water temp is? Is the Hudson as polluted as the East River?

I don't think the Hudson is that polluted. I used to sail on it on Friday afternoons in a J-24 and it never looked or smelled unappealing. And the swimming leg of the NYC triathlon is in the Hudson each year. Despite a serious current in spots, the East River, as well as the Long Island Sound, is never fully flushed by tidal changes. I wouldn't want to swim there.

 

[mike_s]

I'd guess it would be a long shot to find a Certificated Repair Station that would return any of these "salvaged" parts to service, even if it was legal. But I'm not an expert on the subject.

If you've ever flown on a commercial jet liner, chances are you've flown on a plane that has a salvaged part installed.

You should see the plane "graveyards" that they have out int he desert of planes that can't fly anymore that they use for parts.

It's a multi-million dollar business.


The US Government even operates a similar "plane junkyard" for it's air force jets in Arizona. Since AF planes have an extremely long lifespan, like the B-52 has been flying for more than 50 years, chances are that the parts of some planes have actually been in service longer than the pilot has been alive.

 

[F106A]

If you've ever flown on a commercial jet liner, chances are you've flown on a plane that has a salvaged part installed.

You should see the plane "graveyards" that they have out int he desert of planes that can't fly anymore that they use for parts.

It's a multi-million dollar business.


The US Government even operates a similar "plane junkyard" for it's air force jets in Arizona. Since AF planes have an extremely long lifespan, like the B-52 has been flying for more than 50 years, chances are that the parts of some planes have actually been in service longer than the pilot has been alive.

"Salvaged"- maybe not the best word to use but... There are many issues such as (but not limited to) lack of traceability/continuity to the original PMA holder/overhauler/manufacturer, and serviceability of the part after being subjected to unknown stress, heat, chemicals, etc. Between the lawyers, the amount of counterfeit parts circulating, and regulations I'd still guess that it'd be a long shot to get any reputable Certificated Repair Station to attempt to return these parts to service. There are used parts; reparable, cannibalized in serviceable condition, overhauled, returned to service, etc., but they all need to maintain that audit trail which proves they're "genuine" and haven't been subjected to various and sundry unknowns.
As far as the military, that's a completely different animal. Civil regs don't, for the purpose of this discussion, apply to them; they do things differently. I've been to Davis-Monthan a few times and spent many hours inside the "plane junkyard." That too is a multi-million dollar business but you'll never see any of those resurrected parts on a commercial aircraft.

 

[mike_s]

well.... still doesn't mean that there isn't a market for them.

For example, if you've got a prop from your plane that has an airworthiness directive out on it that required replacement, it doesn't mean the original prop is completely worthless.

You might not be able to legally install it on a plane under FAA guidelines, but other countries don't have as tight of rules and that prop (or other part) still has market value.

 

[mike_s]

Alternate Scenario:

What if it was the Airbus A380 (with 500 plus passengers on board).


Could the plane been able to handle a water landing?

Even if Sully was at the controls and did a perfect water landing, could you have gotten all 500+ passengers out safely in time, before the plane sunk?


I ask this partly becuase AirBus has signed a contract to delivery two 840 passenger A380's.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/396580_theinsider19.html

 

[Gary D.]

Who knows, every scenario will be so very different. Then there is the "What If", there was an 8 foot 2x4 floating or a log, or a swimmer, boat wake or anything floating on or just below the surface at the point of contact. Then the age of the plane may have something to do with it, who knows. This was one of text book perfect situations that may or may not ever happen again. We can only hope and pray that it doesn't. Besides, a plane that big just may not sink all the way in the Hudson.

Gary D.

 

[ba_hiker]

Not to mention that even if the plane could be refurbished, it would be a liability nightmare. Can you imagine if they returned it to service and a few years later it was involved in a catastrophic crash with much more tragic results?

I recall seeing one official saying water temp was 36 degrees and survival time in the water was a matter of minutes not hours.

In abut 1965 a DC-8 (??DC-9) landed short at SFO, about 1 mile short. If you have ever been into SFO you will know that this means in the SF bay. Water about 10 ft deep, and them soft sticky mud. Plane was in the water for about a week.

It was referbed and returned to service. remained in service many years. These things are EXPENSIVE and arn't parted out very often. There are many parts planes sitting in the mojave or at davis-monihann in AZ.

 

[Gary D.]

There was another DC 8 or 9 that went long and parked in the bay right off the runway. It also stayed in the bay for a while. I know this one returned to service but it didn't get wet above the landing gear.

The AB 320 in the Hudson will be a total and headed for the scrap heap. That bugger is busted up all over the place.

Gary D.

 

[bleeb]

In abut 1965 a DC-8 (??DC-9) landed short at SFO, about 1 mile short. If you have ever been into SFO you will know that this means in the SF bay. Water about 10 ft deep, and them soft sticky mud. Plane was in the water for about a week.

It was referbed and returned to service. remained in service many years. These things are EXPENSIVE and arn't parted out very often. There are many parts planes sitting in the mojave or at davis-monihann in AZ.

One factor is that with modern aircraft, much more of the cost of the plane is in electrical and electronic systems, unlike the old days of mechanical control cables and mechanical instruments. As many divers well know, anything that uses electricity that has gotten wet, especially with seawater, isn't as trustworthy if it's still working at all. Most mechanical parts can be inspected, reconditioned and refurbished. Wet electronics, no so much.

Maybe someone on here knows more about large commercial aircraft can comment further.