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A flight by an Airbus A380 had to be abandoned after the jet rolled off the runway in Singapore, forcing passengers to be moved onto another plane.
The A380 superjumbo was preparing to take off for Sydney when part of the jet ended up on a grass verge off the tarmac, Singapore Airlines said.

The accident at Changi airport left the plane with minor damage, possibly to the tyres, according to the airline.

The superjumbo's 446 passengers got off without any injuries being reported.

The accident occurred when the hydraulics failed on a truck towing the plane, which was not running on its own power at the time.

"The damage is very limited, it's superficial in the sense that there is possibly damage to tyres," airline spokesman Stephen Forshaw told AP news agency.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-p ... 182496.stm

Bad start to its service life then.

The Tabloids should be foaming at the mouth over this tomorrow


Matt

A flight by an Airbus A380 had to be abandoned after the jet rolled off the runway in Singapore, forcing passengers to be moved onto another plane.
The A380 superjumbo was preparing to take off for Sydney when part of the jet ended up on a grass verge off the tarmac, Singapore Airlines said.

The accident at Changi airport left the plane with minor damage, possibly to the tyres, according to the airline.

The superjumbo's 446 passengers got off without any injuries being reported.

The accident occurred when the hydraulics failed on a truck towing the plane, which was not running on its own power at the time.

"The damage is very limited, it's superficial in the sense that there is possibly damage to tyres," airline spokesman Stephen Forshaw told AP news agency.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-p ... 182496.stm

Bad start to its service life then.

Er, well no, because as the second to last line of the report says, it was a being towed and the fault was with the tow truck.

The tabloids won't even notice I doubt - ok, if it had rolled off the runway on takeoff or landing and injured or killed people maybe. They won't even notice somthing like this (unless someone got a photo).

It seems it was nothing to do with the a/c - just ground manouvering.

This kind of thing happens quite a lot but rarely is it newsworthy.

As with all aircraft - I really hope this works out to be a safe & successful jet.

Now who's developing those hydrogen turbines?  :D

I fail to see how this happened. Can't the jet use its brakes? Not like these tugs tow at 100 odd mph.

As a side issue; are the tugs used to dealing with such heavy planes? I have no idea on their specifications.

I fail to see how this happened. Can't the jet use its brakes? Not like these tugs tow at 100 odd mph.

As a side issue; are the tugs used to dealing with such heavy planes? I have no idea on their specifications.

I would think during the tow/push the pilots will most likely be focussed on pre/post flight procedures. It's a busy time - they don't normally need to watch out during this time. They will be notified when the truck detaches.

I fail to see how this happened. Can't the jet use its brakes? Not like these tugs tow at 100 odd mph.

Not entirely familiar with A380 brakes, but I'm sure they could be.  The other thing to consider is that aircraft brakes are designed to be used in a forward, not reverse direction - apply the brakes heavily and the aircraft will happily tip onto its tail.

I would think during the tow/push the pilots will most likely be focussed on pre/post flight procedures. It's a busy time - they don't normally need to watch out during this time. They will be notified when the truck detaches.

If anything, the opposite applies. At least one should have been entirely focussed on the push back. In some ways aircrew need to be more aware during the pushback as they are not in direct control, so have to be monitoring what the tug and its driver are doing very carefully indeed.

I fail to see how this happened. Can't the jet use its brakes? Not like these tugs tow at 100 odd mph.

Not entirely familiar with A380 brakes, but I'm sure they could be.  The other thing to consider is that aircraft brakes are designed to be used in a forward, not reverse direction - apply the brakes heavily and the aircraft will happily tip onto its tail.

I would think during the tow/push the pilots will most likely be focussed on pre/post flight procedures. It's a busy time - they don't normally need to watch out during this time. They will be notified when the truck detaches.

If anything, the opposite applies. At least one should have been entirely focussed on the push back. In some ways aircrew need to be more aware during the pushback as they are not in direct control, so have to be monitoring what the tug and its driver are doing very carefully indeed.

The only time you apply brakes during towing is when told to do so or you are 100% sure that the towbar has broken. Sat up so high, you cannot see a thing. You would not know if you are going to be too close to the taxi way edge or not. You have to have faith in the tug driver. Also if using a towbarless tug and you apply the brakes you run a very real and very big risk of ripping out the nose gear (seen the result of that and the tug driver had a bad day, the nose came down on to the cab......game over)  Don't forget, it is designed for stress in a rear direction.
I tow A320's and sit in the cockpit during towing. You cannot see the tug unless you are approaching at least a 70 degree towing angel. If he stopped and was quiet, the tug could disconnect and drive off, you would never know until it crossed your mind that you had not moved for a while. Now if I can't see anything during the towing of an A320 how much do you all think an A380 crew can see/feel/hear.

Matt

I tow A320's and sit in the cockpit during towing. You cannot see the tug unless you are approaching at least a 70 degree towing angel. If he stopped and was quiet, the tug could disconnect and drive off, you would never know until it crossed your mind that you had not moved for a while. Now if I can't see anything during the towing of an A320 how much do you all think an A380 crew can see/feel/hear.

What they need it CCTV under the aeroplane... Some aeroplanes have it...

When you tow Mat, do you have intercom comms from the cockpit with the tug driver? We can just about see the tug from ours, and do have intercom (at home at least).

Here's the pic of the major disaster:

http://images2.photomania.com/331737/1/radE88F5.jpg

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=307932

Here's the pic of the major disaster:

Major disaster, thats overegging it a bit aint it surely!??

Here's the pic of the major disaster:

Major disaster, thats overegging it a bit aint it surely!??

Sarcasm, mainly directed at the press' over excitement with the story...

I tow A320's and sit in the cockpit during towing. You cannot see the tug unless you are approaching at least a 70 degree towing angel. If he stopped and was quiet, the tug could disconnect and drive off, you would never know until it crossed your mind that you had not moved for a while. Now if I can't see anything during the towing of an A320 how much do you all think an A380 crew can see/feel/hear.

What they need it CCTV under the aeroplane... Some aeroplanes have it...

When you tow Mat, do you have intercom comms from the cockpit with the tug driver? We can just about see the tug from ours, and do have intercom (at home at least).

The short answer to that is no. Now if I was still wearing a light blue suit, then I would expect such a precaution. Alas civy street is a little different.

Another picture of the BBC's "major Air Bus A380 incident"

Matt

I tow A320's and sit in the cockpit during towing. You cannot see the tug unless you are approaching at least a 70 degree towing angel. If he stopped and was quiet, the tug could disconnect and drive off, you would never know until it crossed your mind that you had not moved for a while. Now if I can't see anything during the towing of an A320 how much do you all think an A380 crew can see/feel/hear.

What they need it CCTV under the aeroplane... Some aeroplanes have it...

When you tow Mat, do you have intercom comms from the cockpit with the tug driver? We can just about see the tug from ours, and do have intercom (at home at least).

The short answer to that is no. Now if I was still wearing a light blue suit, then I would expect such a precaution. Alas civy street is a little different.

Another picture of the BBC's "major Air Bus A380 incident"

Matt

LOL!  ;D

I think some one has too much time on their hands

The Tabloids should be foaming at the mouth over this tomorrow


Matt

Why?  Was Paris Hilton on board?  I can see it now: Paris Hilton nearly dies in plane crash.  Oh we could only hope...