Emirates 777 plunges 18,000 ft - reports

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KOCHI - A major air disaster was averted on Sunday morning when an Emirates aeroplane flying over Goa hit an air-pocket and landed safely at the Nedumbasserry International Airport in Kochi.

Passengers of the Emirates flight from Dubai to Kochi suffered anxious moments when their aircraft had a free fall of almost 18,500 feet in an air pocket.

An air pocket is a downward air current that causes an aircraft to lose altitude abruptly. It is a localised region of low air density or a descending air current, causing an aircraft to suffer an abrupt decrease in height.

The plane hit an air pocket during flight, and dropped from a height of 20,000 to 1,500 feet.

Fortunately, the pilot was miraculously able to regain control after dropping 18,500 feet and managed to right the plane just in time to land safely at Kochi.

The incident occurred at around 10.30 am and the Goa Air Traffic Control was the first to report the incident.

After the plane landed at the airport, a team of doctors examined all passengers.

Passengers suffered shock and bruises when the aircraft made the sudden descent in the air pocket.

The plane too suffered damages.

Emirates Airlines officials said they would issue a statement shortly. (ANI)

http://breakingnews.gaeatimes.com/2010/04/25/major-air-tragedy-averted-emirates-plane-safely-lands-in-kochi-23239/

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stunning.... positively just an air pocket cannot be responsible for a 18k ft free fall or the data is not correct?

Original post

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16 years 2 months

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Haha, well which is it then? :confused:

18,000ft would be a terrible tragedy narrowly averted, on par with that Air China 747 incidient.

200ft shouldn't even make the news really...

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There were some pictures taken by passengers that showed damage inside the aircraft, which intern suggested the drop was most definitely much more than 200ft.

I'll try to find more details.

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24 years 2 months

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I would really like to find one of those "air pockets" one of those days. I´m sure they are all filled with money ;):D

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16 years 7 months

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I've flown through a few air-pockets. I can assure you they are not enjoyable experiences, "galdri".

I am glad to hear the aircraft landed "safely" & there are no known casualties.

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16 years

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The drop must have been more than 200 feet. Who would even notice a drop of that magnitude?
If it was 18,000 feet, then the recovery sounds like an example of superb airmanship from the pilots. I'll bet they were sweating a little.

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18 years 7 months

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Who would even notice a drop of that magnitude? Are you kidding? When you're in mild turbulence bumping around the plane is generally only moving inches, but you certainly feel it. When you're in a car at 30mph and go down a sharp dip in a road you feel it, of course you're going to notice a sudden 200 foot drop in a commercial aircraft flying at any speed!

If I'm reading the first post in this thread correctly, the aircraft fell 18,500 feet to 1,500 feet "Just in time to land safely"; the implication being that it dropped around 3 miles to an altitude well below where it would normally start its final approach and then landed safely from there? Is that really even possible? I'm no pilot but something really doesn't sound quite right about the way this is being reported!

Paul

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Yes a violent 'Down' gust could certainly cause damage/injuries even if it was only 200 feet,it is the rate of change of direction that can cause damage.
There have been instances of airliners going down out of control a long way but they usually suffer significant airframe damage as a result of airspeed/excess 'G'.

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MUMBAI/KOCHI: There were two theories for the turbulence that shook an Emirates flight from Dubai to Kochi on Sunday. While Emirates officials said the aircraft encountered turbulence “due to cloud’’, aviation meteorologists said that the route did not have any thunderstorm clouds in the morning and the aircraft could have flown into an air pocket. What is clear though is that there surely was poor weather enroute.

“Aircraft flying that route were all asking for deviations to avoid a thunderstorm cloud. The Emirates aircraft also asked for a deviation when it was over the Arabian sea north-west of Mangalore. The flight was cleared to proceed to Calicut,’’ said an air traffic controller from Mangalore.

An aviation meteorology expert had a different take. “The upper air wind/temperature charts issued by World Area Forecast centre did not show any thunderstorm clouds on that route in the morning. But it showed a slight wind shear condition (winds changing speed and direction rapidly) off the coast of Mangalore. At 35,000 feet, the chart shows strong westerly wind with a speed of 60 kts dropping to 25-30 kts. It’s one of the indicators of clear air turbulence (CAT).’’

Unlike thunderstorm clouds, CAT cannot be detected on an aircraft’s airborne weather radar. But it can be predicted by studying upper wind charts with indicators such as wind shear. The Emirates aircraft may have encountered CAT. An aircraft can suddenly lose altitude and get bounced around when it enters CAT, the expert explained.

According to Emirates, the incident took place over the Bangalore airspace at 35,000 feet. “The aircraft encountered a weather cloud near Bangalore and experienced a short period of heavy turbulence. The drop in altitude was minor, a descent of 200 feet, and the aircraft landed safely,’’ said Majid Al Mualla, Emirates senior vice-president, commercial operations, west Asia and Indian Ocean. “The fasten-your-seatbelt sign was on prior to the period of turbulence,’’ an airline spokesperson said.

But a passenger disagreed. “There was no warning to wear the seatbelt. Even the air-hostesses ran around panic-stricken. There were shrieks all around. We breathed easy only when the plane regained it’s balance,’’ said Elsie, who works as a tailor in Kuwait and was returning home for a two-month vacation. “When the aircraft came down a few feet with a thud, a mother sitting in an opposite seat quickly tried to pick up her baby from a pram. But they both fell on to the aisle,’’ she added.

“Everything happened even before we could realise it. I thought we were going right into the sea below,’’ said Ibrahim, another passenger, adding that immediately after the rocking the passengers helped each other. “After a while, a crew member gave me some ice cubes to hold against a wound, but the bleeding wouldn’t stop. When the aircraft finally touched down safely, everyone clapped,’’ Elsie said

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Aircraft-encountered-turbulence-over-Bangalore/articleshow/5857479.cms

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"A crew member gave me some ice cubes to hold over a wound but the bleeding wouldn't stop". Well... It wouldn't do, because ice cubes are exactly what you don't put on a wound that's bleeding! Surely the crew should know that? :confused:

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How can an incident like this be reported so contradictorily?

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I was wondering the same, Red Hunter. Has to be said, 200 feet (or similar) sounds much more realistic than a landing seemingly direct from an uncontrolled 3 mile fall. It will be interesting when the actual events emerge!

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The thing is, the flight was operating DXB-COK (Kochi). Technically the flight does not need to be anywhere near BLR. The routing does not require the flight to be in and around BLR even if an alternate route was required due to bad weather.

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Sorry, Kabir, we are not all familiar with the airport codes - what does that mean?

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DXB - Dubai
COK - Kochi
BLR - Bangalore

BLR being one of the big airports in the region.

From Aviation Safety

Both scenarios are possible of course.