Aircraft Safety Question

Rabeile31

Does anyone know how often planes are checked for any damages and maintained for safety etc.?

Im really nervous about not knowing if the plane is safe enough to be flying ever since i started watching Air Craft Investigation

I heard it was every 100 hours but is this really true? and do airline companies obey the safety regulations?

Is it safe for a plane that is say 10 years old to be still used?

Tenger

Rabeile31 wrote: »

Does anyone know how often planes are checked for any damages and maintained for safety etc.?

I heard it was every 100 hours but is this really true? and do airline companies obey the safety regulations?

Is it safe for a plane that is say 10 years old to be still used?

I have had over 400 flights in the last 12 months.

Aircraft are checked before and after every flight by an engineer as well as the cockpit crew. They also receive very frequent maintenance checks. I think these are weekly,monthly and 6 monthly.

Airlines MUST and do obey these regulations,they are enforced.

Modern aircraft are designed to last up to 20 years. SO a 10 year plane is in the mid point of its life. They are not like cars,designed to last 5 -10 years.

Please note that every episode of air crash shows how the industry has taken steps to avoid a repeat of the incident described.

Rabeile31

Thanks thats good to know

i get so nervous during take off and landing... the worst always goes tru my mind:)

Mr Benevolent

Here you go

pclancy

You're far more likely to be involved in a car accident on the way to or from the airport then be involved in an aircraft accident, your airplane is one of the best maintained and closely inspected pieces of technology you'll ever set foot in so you're better off sitting back and enjoying the ride then worrying about what you've seen on TV, concern yourself with the moe important task of reading the crappy magazine or paying big bucks for pringles and peanuts

BrianD

Rabeile31 wrote: »

Does anyone know how often planes are checked for any damages and maintained for safety etc.?

Im really nervous about not knowing if the plane is safe enough to be flying ever since i started watching Air Craft Investigation

I heard it was every 100 hours but is this really true? and do airline companies obey the safety regulations?

Is it safe for a plane that is say 10 years old to be still used?

There are many checks at many levels. Look out the windows when your waiting to board and you'll see staff doing a visual check of the aircraft to see that the plane is in good shape. You go from this check every flight to the more detailed overhauls.

I wouldn't be too worried about TV shows. Let's say they make 12 shows in a series of accidents. Ok, they make look bad but that's 12 crashes over a long period of time compared with the 100o's of safe flights worldwide on a daily basis.

Who checks the car everyday? Probably once a year at the garage is the answer for many people! Yet we are happy to zip around at 100kms on variable road services in close proximity to other vehicles ...

Celtic Mech

As said by the guys above, Aircraft are checked and scrutinized all the time. As you can imagine, there are scheduled inspections which are called up by the amount of Hours or Cycles occured...i.e.50flight Cycles, 400 Flight Hours, 2500 Flight Hours. For an example, on the A330, A320,A321 etc, an A-Check is called up every 600Flight Hours. During these checks, there are scheduled items called up such as Lubricating the Landing Gears, removing,Inspecting,replacing Filters on the Engines, Lubricating Fan Blades on the Engines. These would be run of the mill things, and the interval between these is determined by the Manufacturer, and the Airline is then responsible for having a schedule to implement them.
On these A-Checks, there are also inspections called up, and we, as engineers will be following the specific details and looking for any irregularities that can be found.
On a more frequent basis..before each flight, a Transit Inspection must take place. This is performed by an engineer or the flight crew. Its a general visual inspection of the exterior of the aircraft for anything wrong..i.e. anything missing, abnormal, or any dent it may have received.
Each Day, the Aircraft must have a Daily inspection carried out. This Must be done by an Engineer. its a more detailed Inspection of the Aircraft and includes both Interior and Exterior.
Then comes Weekly Checks/ 8-day checks that have to be carried out.

The Aircraft Technical Log is a legal document which must travel with the aircraft. Its kept in the Cockpit when flying. one of the purposes of it is to allow both the pilots and cabin crew to write up any technical problems they may encounter on the flights. These MUST be seen to before the next departure by an engineer. In certain cases, if the problem is not too bad, you will be allowed to carry it for a set amount of time and fix it when parts or time is available.
If your not aware, for any of these problems that we fix, we are actually signing a Legal Document so we cant and wont just sign things off as done without putting time and detail into them. In theory, if anything happens to the aircraft as a result of something we have directly done, we can be hauled up for manslaughter as a result of neglect.

As much as we all love to slate Ryanair, when it comes to looking after their aircraft, they are spot on as are all the other airlines in Dublin. When it comes to looking after aircraft, you CANT take any chances.
You can rest assured OP that your aircraft will be 100% Airworthy.

Steyr

Rabeile31 wrote: »

i get so nervous during take off

Thats the best part, feeling the raw power and being sucked into your seat, oh i love it!:D

andy_g

i have myself an idea next time im in work and when we start our transatlantic hehe i might start showing episodes of aircrash investigation onboard what ya think :P

Joey the lips

omg are you trying to drive yourself nuts. Try not to worry I know thats hard to say. I flew to the uk with Ryanair last week and I am back over with Aerlingus this week. I have flown loads and loads of times

The strange thing is that as I have gotten older I have got a bit nervous. I think its really the fear of the unknown.. Is the pilot having a bad day etc. If you start focusing on these things you'll never fly. Needless to say the avaiation authority have rules that they get airlines to follow about checks etc. Granted there is mistakes. There is mistakes everywhere but you have stat's on your side. Mechanics, Groundsmen even pilots have to do checks before they take off. You have to bear in mind. Air traffic accidents are so sensational cause 1. They occurs less and 2. A lot of people are involved. The safety checks are the reason for this.

Sit back and enjoy the flight. Look at the 8 year old in the seat across from you and think isent it great to have no fears in life....

Fratton Fred

a planes costs the airlines millions to buy. the last thing they want to see is one dropping out of the sky with lots of paying customers on board.

Crashes quite often put an airline out of business, again, something they all want to avoid.

Flyer1

Rabeile31, you've got nothing to worry about ! As said here, the aircraft are well looked after. Before each flight, the pilot will do a preflight, having a look around the plane to make sure all is well. Don't forget, the pilot is a person, he/she -really- doesn't want to have any kind of accident.

Rabeile31

I have to say i find the same thing as Joey the lips...

As ive gotten older im more cautious about flying... i use to love it as a child..

Whats the best thing to take ur mind off it while on the plane...

Im heading to Florida in August with all my family

9 Hours :eek:

Celtic Mech

Rabeile31 wrote: »

Whats the best thing to take ur mind off it while on the plane...

Im heading to Florida in August with all my family

9 Hours :eek:

A good feed of guinness in the bar before hand should do the trick...your mind should be well off any fear of flight by then! You will be out like a light..beforre you know it you will be at your destination

diverdriver

A good feed of guinness in the bar before hand should do the trick...your mind should be well off any fear of flight by then! You will be out like a light..beforre you know it you will be at your destination

Exactly that's how I do it. I can't stand those whinging passengers. Damm it, I find flying scary enough without being awake for all of the flight. But I like to be awake for the take off and landing though. Being a pilot an all, it's safer all round.:D

Kevster

I can't stand the take-off either but I love the landings. Actually, on that note: Do they use reverse-thrust on landing? I know that the spoilers are fully raised - and that the flaps/slats offer some resistance too - but any reverse-thrust?

andy_g

90% of the time it is depending in multiple factors such as runway length/surface in work we use reverser and autobrake setting 2 on the 738

Rabeile31

What is the worst weather to be flying in?

how bad would it have to be for the airline to cancel the flight?

andy_g

i find heavy rain and extremly bad cross wind element or low vis but thats just me for the airline to canx a flight the weather has to be very bad indeed for example the cpt on any inbound legs diverting from the destination airport

Kevster

You'll be pleased to hear that the majority of airport runways are built to be with the usual wind direction, if that makes sense. I think that there are only 6 airports in the UK whose runways are perpendicular to the usual wind direction (i.e. - they have a crosswind usually).

Joey the lips

Celtic Mech wrote: »

A good feed of guinness in the bar before hand should do the trick...your mind should be well off any fear of flight by then! You will be out like a light..beforre you know it you will be at your destination

Whilw I love this idea I have never taken it up as I have been afraid of being refused to fly especially with how strict american customs checks are.

pclancy

Yep, Dublin airport's Guinness is one of the nicest in the country but after sinking 4 of them in Dublin then 3 lovely Heinekens in Amsterdam before flying to Beijing I dont think i'll ever do that again to try and sleep. My hangover kicked in about 4 hours into the flight and i didnt sleep a wink. Got to know the inside of a 777s toilet instead

Delta Kilo

OP, you have nothing to worry about, jut listen to the above posters.

On a side, when some of my friends who are kind of nervous about flying are on a plane with me, I usually like to quote that crazy genius from Armageddon. It's something like this:

"You're sitting on 270,000 moving parts, each and every one built by the lowest bidder and maintained by monkeys earning the minimum wage, 50 tonnes of highly flammable fuel on board at 35,000 feet in a metal tube with wings bolted onto it. Makes you feel comfortable, huh?"

But again that is just scaremongering with close friends and DO NOT take any heed of it AT ALL.

For any aircraft mechanics/engineers/pilots, please do not take that quote literally and start heckling me or saying "Well, there are actually 213,327 parts on a 738 and 2,458 are stationary or something!

FlutterinBantam

Now now!! no toilet threads here please

Kevster

...on the note of toilets: On my flight to Leeds/Bradford last week, the flight was delayed for 20 minutes due to a toilet that wouldn't flush.

... ...maybe someone didn't pay Ryanair the charge to use it

Foggy43

Kevster wrote: »

I can't stand the take-off either but I love the landings. Actually, on that note: Do they use reverse-thrust on landing? I know that the spoilers are fully raised - and that the flaps/slats offer some resistance too - but any reverse-thrust?

There are also noise restrictions on the use of Thrust Reversers at some airports. Not after a certain or before a certain time. There was such a restriction at Stansted Airport 20 years ago. Not sure if it still remains.

Foggy43

Speaking of noise regulations a Boeing 737-200 and it's JT9 engines have recently started operating out of LHR.

That will clear your ear drums on take off for you!

I will try and find out who's it is.

Joey the lips

Foggy43 wrote: »

Speaking of noise regulations a Boeing 737-200 and it's JT9 engines have recently started operating out of LHR.

That will clear your ear drums on take off for you!

I will try and find out who's it is.[/quote/]

Ryanair I would say....I noticed them in Dublin Jasus they are loud

*Kol*

A B737-200 has JT8D engines. And Ryanair don't have B737-200 anymore.

JT8D



JT9D


Must be someone else.

Joey the lips

I bow to your superior knowledge My apologies i was just baseing it on the noise. Thanks

yaeger

AHHH ryanair jockeys using reverse thrust in dublin most of time, unnescessarily considering length of lda..fecking muppets!, notice aer lingus rarely using it as not needed for dubs runway. Some fuel saving of 15kg per engine per landing saved if no reverse used..apparently.
Also a 737-200 outta LHR deffinately aint RYR guessing maybe Titan or european airlines or something like that-you know the bournment based lads.
O well thats my drunken post for the night,,beats txting the missus :-)))))
Anyways worst weather to be flying in is prob freezing rain/fog cos you never get off the feckin ground before the hold over time expires...As for fog just let the computer land or the x-wind just have a strong coffee and dont fook it up :-))))

Jusy wanna say we are all counting on you !

pclancy

Use of reverse thrust is dependant on loads of factors not just the length of the runway dude. It wouldnt be true to say Ryanair dont and Aer Lingus do use it, its up to the captain, weather, weight, time of day etc etc etc

Tenger

Joey the lips wrote: »

Foggy43 wrote: »

...

I will try and find out who's it is.[/quote/]
Ryanair I would say....I noticed them in Dublin Jasus they are loud

2 problems here (sorry for being pedantic) FR no longer have those noisy B737-200s and they don't fly into LHR

I can still remember hearing those -200s taking off in the mornings at DUB "Is that an engine run, Concorde or just another Ryanair?"

To aid the mods,FR currently have one of the most modern fleets in Europe,all their aircraft are B737-800 with winglets.

And an engine run is when post maintenance engineers test an engine by running it at full power on the ground at a secluded part of the aiport,due to the noise.

Foggy43

Oh dear! I appologise! I meant JT8's and not JT9's. Slight slip of the finger. A B737-200 with JT9's would have looked strange. May need a non retractable Landing Gear :eek:

Yes Bramble! I guessed FR do not have the 200's anymore. That is why I said I will try and find our whose it is tomorrow. If you are aound LHR about mid day you may see it or probably hear it first

Tenger

Foggy43 wrote: »

...........A B737-200 with JT9's would have looked strange.................................. If you are aound LHR about mid day you may see it or probably hear it first

Whats the difference between the 2 engines,would a casual observer (me) spot it?

Am landing in LHR at 1320 tomorrow,may hear it. Am usually on the ramp for a few minutes watching takeoffs on 27R before leaving.

wittymoniker

you certainly would, for example: jt9 was fitted to the 747, jt8 was on the 737-200.

Foggy43

Kol gave some very good pictures of the two.

The JT9 was the engine on the 747-100/200's. I could just about stand up in the intake. It is somewhere between 5.5 to 6 feet in diameter. It was a high bypass enginge thus seriously reducing noise. The N1 Fan was producing all the thrust.

The JT8 intake was mo more than 2 to 2.5 feet in diameter. It was a straight thru engine giving no bypass. All the thrust came from the turbine section. It caused the engine to sound like a rocket on take off. Maybe there is someone who could explain the JT8 a bit better?
The BAC 1-11 was a noisy little bugger also.

The GE90 on some 777-200's and the 300's has a massive intake. I am six foot tall and when I stand in the intake my head is below the centre of the fan.

Landing on 27L then. When you leave the runway I will be on the top floor of the first building on your left just before the Fire Station getting ready for home. Come to think of it the Emirates A380 should be on stand in Terminal 3 on your right before you exit the runway. Due in at 1135 and out 1345. Youv'e probably seen enough of them by now I suppose.

*Kol*

JT9D can also be found on the B767.

The JT8D does actually have a bypass but the ratio is low (.96:1) Thee are still tons of them in use on B737-200, MD-80, and re-engined B707's.

Foggy43

Bramble!
Weather has changed. Wind is from the South and a South Easterly is forecast for tomorrow. Looks like an 09L landing now.

andy_g

yaeger wrote: »

AHHH ryanair jockeys using reverse thrust in dublin most of time, unnescessarily considering length of lda..fecking muppets!, notice aer lingus rarely using it as not needed for dubs runway. Some fuel saving of 15kg per engine per landing saved if no reverse used..apparently.
Also a 737-200 outta LHR deffinately aint RYR guessing maybe Titan or european airlines or something like that-you know the bournment based lads.
O well thats my drunken post for the night,,beats txting the missus :-)))))
Anyways worst weather to be flying in is prob freezing rain/fog cos you never get off the feckin ground before the hold over time expires...As for fog just let the computer land or the x-wind just have a strong coffee and dont fook it up :-))))

Jusy wanna say we are all counting on you !

come on yeager i dont bash your job so please dont bash mine. not my fault i use reversers in work in dub but hey ya will prob tell me next i dont need to use spoilers?? ah sure hell ill try that tomorrow (ladies and gentle men please expect a bumpyier land this morning as we are due to run off the end of the runway due to i couldn't be ars3d to use spoilers we hope you have had a pleasent flight and look forward to seeing you onboard again ) :eek:

Foggy43

Bramble!
My weather forecast was completly wrong. Anyway were are going way of topic so I have sent you a PM.

yaeger

Yea yea loadsa different factors taken into account for reverse Dude.... but none really relevant on an average flight on an average day in Dub.
It would be fair to say EI dont use and RYR do as to the best of my knowledge EI's operating policy is to use only if required,,,preferable not due fuel saving. Ryr i dont believe have such a policy. Countless times full brakes full reversers, then stowed then a lil power to make E6 :-)
O and PF will decide on what to use not nescessarily the captain although either crew can will suggest different if something overlooked.

O sorry andy, wasnt knocking you or your ilk, sure i press a few buttons myself when the mood takes me ;-) so to knock you would be a knock at myself and sure we should all do that some times.
Incidentally dont u get auto spoilers on gear microswitch contact if you did forget to arm them ?? its been awhile :-P

Anyways lads, apologies if my post was taken in wrong light, I like to keep things going regards threads and encourage healthy discussion.

Silenceisbliss

Second only to nuclear, the aviation industry is the heaviest regulated in the world. inspections are heavily enforced and are carried out regularly according to regulations. no worries

*Kol*

yaeger wrote: »

Incidentally dont u get auto spoilers on gear microswitch contact if you did forget to arm them ?? its been awhile :-P

If they are not armed the spoiler will not deploy. You need to have the spoiler handle armed, weight on wheels and wheel spin up to a speed greater than 60 knots before the spoilers deploy. If you decide to do a go around at that stage the spoiler will retract when the throttles are advanced. If you perform an RTO the spoliers will deploy automatically when reverse thrust is applied and speed is greater than 60 knots. That's for the B737 classic, NG will be more or less the same logic.