Warbird Information Exchange

TAMPA, Fla. -- Federal officials say a bird is not to blame for a dent in the nose of a Northwest Airlines plane that landed in Tampa.

Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said Tuesday that the aircraft's fiberglass nose cone and an antenna were shipped to Minneapolis for analysis. An FAA spokeswoman in Chicago said officials haven't determined what caused the dent yet, but there is "definitely no evidence of a bird strike."

Bergen said the crew aboard Flight 478 from Detroit reported a loud bang Monday and then the aircraft's radar became inoperative. The aircraft landed safely.

A Tampa International Airport spokeswoman initially blamed the dent on a bird, but Bergen said the crew reported the bang while flying at 18,000 feet - an altitude too high for a bird.

It wasn't that dude with the lawn chair and party balloons, was it?

SN

not messy enough for a bird

there are several photos on the net of B757s with nose cones off of other airplanes (ie different color)

may be a design issue

Chunk of "blue ice" from another airliner? Million to one shot...

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Pilot: "Flap switch works hard in down position."
Mechanic: "Flap switch checked OK. Pilot needs more P.T." - Flight report, TB-17G 42-102875 (Hobbs AAF)

I wonder if it could have hit a bit of falling debris or ice from another aircraft. Although it seems odd that such a freak encounter would hit the nose dead-center. What's that nose cone made of? Is it possible that just the sliptream could collapse it like that if there was some kind of structural flaw or weakness? Seems like if it was a composite material, it would have simply shattered and departed the aircraft.

Forgive my ignorance and stupid questions..I'm just a lowly model-builder, and don't have much experience with the "real thing."

SN

Out on a limb here but, aerodynamic failure of the glass nose cone? Could the load be sufficient to collapse the cone in flight?

Like stated, too high for Mr. Bird. However, any strike by a solid object should leave a great witness mark or two on the schnoz.

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"There are old pilots and bold pilots but few old, bold pilots."

Looks like a bird strike, with a bird with no feathers or blood.Thi is what it should look like

FAA testing a new frozen chicken cannon?

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Those who possess real knowledge are rare.

Those who can set that knowledge into motion in the physical world are rarer still.

The few who possess real knowledge and can set it into motion of their own hands are the rarest of all.

Agreed that the damage doesn't look like a bird, but a UPS 757 definitely hit a bird at 25,000 feet on an early morning in Colorado, so 18,000 isn't too high. It was a glancing blow, but you could see through the radome and you saw blood streaks all the way aft to the wing-body fairing.

Early practice for another WKRP Thanksgiving promo?? I heard Less Nessman has graduated to frozen turkeys...

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He bowls overhand...He is the most interesting man in the world.
"In Peace Japan Breeds War", Eckstein, Harper and Bros., 3rd ed. 1943(1927, 1928,1942)
"Leave it to ol' Slim. I got ideas...and they're all vile, baby." South Dakota Slim
"Ahh..."The Deuce", 28,000 pounds of motherly love." quote from some Mojave Grunt
DBF

The FAA is now saying that the radome collapsed due to a structural failure. Nothing hit it.

This little guy was spotted at the end of the runway and they said he was pretty pissed.

That radome is a honeycomb sandwich construction (I forget the material used,) and is periodically tested for delamination and other defects. It's entirely possible that a small area of delam could be caused from a small impact that wasn't noticed. The area would weaken the structure further until the radome finally couldn't withstand the aerodynamic loads. Radomes are damaged and replaced more often than most folks would think, usually detected during the periodic inspections.

Scott

"As god as my witness, I thought turkeys could fly."

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Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Director

One of the funniest moments in TV, IMO. It was actually Mr. Carlson's idea and quote. Nessman was the horrified
on-air witness of the debacle...

"It's a helicopter, and it's coming this way. It's flying something behind it, I can't quite make it out, it's a large banner and it says, uh - Happy... Thaaaaanksss... giving! ... From ... W ... K ... R... P!! No parachutes yet. Can't be skydivers... I can't tell just yet what they are, but - Oh my God, Johnny, they're turkeys!! Johnny, can you get this? Oh, they're plunging to the earth right in front of our eyes! One just went through the windshield of a parked car! Oh, the humanity! The turkeys are hitting the ground like sacks of wet cement! Not since the Hindenberg tragedy has there been anything like this!"

_________________
He bowls overhand...He is the most interesting man in the world.
"In Peace Japan Breeds War", Eckstein, Harper and Bros., 3rd ed. 1943(1927, 1928,1942)
"Leave it to ol' Slim. I got ideas...and they're all vile, baby." South Dakota Slim
"Ahh..."The Deuce", 28,000 pounds of motherly love." quote from some Mojave Grunt
DBF