Aer Lingus Bird Strike - March 2020

ironclaw

Can anyone explain why they routed to Runway 10 when 28 was the active at the time?

IngazZagni

There was a headwind on runway 10 albeit only marginal. With a heavy aircraft full of fuel and a non normal situation taking the runway with a headwind is just an extra safety layer.

Inquitus

Someone on here kindly shared a picture of the damage, which I am reposting below:

Davidth88

nice photo thanks

My youngest daughter was very concerned about the fate of the bird :-)

Trying to explain what happened to the bird in a PC way to an 8YO was quite amusing

ironclaw

IngazZagni wrote: »

There was a headwind on runway 10 albeit only marginal. With a heavy aircraft full of fuel and a non normal situation taking the runway with a headwind is just an extra safety layer.

Thank you, appreciate the answer!

As a follow-up question, I noticed they made a request to roll all the way to the end both before they landed and the tower confirmed it. Is this standard or is there something about the threshold for 28 that is closer to something? Or is the end just the closest point to the terminal?

Irish Steve

Guessing that was to make sure that the tower hadn't blocked their exit with aircraft waiting to depart, if 28 was active, there could have been traffic holding short. Going to the end was probably to allow for the least aggressive braking, given they'd have still had trip fuel on board.

goingnowhere

Normal vacation point is not the end for a widebody its S1 (but a A330 can make S2 in most conditions) so best practice is to advise if not able for the published exit to ensure ATC keep it clear of aircraft or rescue vehicles.

Also to advise the emergency services who typically turn out where the aircraft will be

Also a shorter taxi back to the stand...

NH2013

Also as they were landing above their maximum landing weight the procedure calls for the whole length of the runway to be used to reduce the chances of a tyre fuse plug melting and the tyre exploding which could cause further damage to the aircraft or injury to people on the ground.

smurfjed

a tyre fuse plug melting and the tyre exploding

Isn’t the purpose of the fuse plugs to stop the tire exploding?

NH2013

smurfjed wrote: »

Isn’t the purpose of the fuse plugs to stop the tire exploding?

Apologies, yes, though the melting of the fuse plugs can be quite explosive in and of itself, and would pose quite a danger to anyone standing near or around the tyres. You are correct though of course, their function is to prevent an uncontrolled explosion but does it through a more controlled explosion I guess.

This video demonstrates much better than I can describe the dangers associated with high brake temperatures from stopping aircraft at high weights, from about the 5:45 mark with the first explosions from the melted fuse plugs around the 6:00 point:

basill

NH2013 wrote: »

Also as they were landing above their maximum landing weight the procedure calls for the whole length of the runway to be used to reduce the chances of a tyre fuse plug melting and the tyre exploding which could cause further damage to the aircraft or injury to people on the ground.

Its empty departing Dublin. Flight plans I have seen have it taking off below MLW.

cson

Surprised they wouldn't be shipping food the other way to China, they're a net importer iirc.

basill

I suspect that exporters would be reluctant to exit established cargo contracts to save a few quid and risk any potential disruption to the supply chain. Once a degree of normality resumes they would then be at the mercy of the cargo consolidators/forwarders.

I imagine it is more to do with minimising delays both here in Dublin loading and in Beijing unloading, also it would never have been a consideration or suggested. Outbound cargo is NOT the focus of these flights. It is to get the PPE to Ireland as quick as possible and distributed.