787 genuflecting nose gear issue

[Quickstatus]

There has now been 3 inadvertent B787 nose gear retractions while on the ground.
KE 2018
BA 2021
LH 2026

The root cause for the first 2 are known. The manually inserted lock pin to prevent inadvertent nose gear retraction was incorrectly inserted into an adjacent similar looking hole. . The fix - to permanently block off that adjacent hole was promulgated by Boeing in 2018 after the first nosegear incident. The BA nose gear incident reported in the above AAIB report link occurred in 2021. BA did not do the fix because it was within the 36months grace period to effect the fix.

I would have thought that as because the LH aircraft was only a few months old that the fix would have been done on the manufacturing line. Assuming that is true and it is now impossible to inserts the lock pin incorrectly, possibly something else caused the inadvertent nosegear retraction??

787 Lifted back up - KE 2018

 

[oz_mark]

I would have thought that as because the LH aircraft was only a few months old that the fix would have been done on the manufacturing line. Assuming that is true and it is now impossible to inserts the lock pin incorrectly, possibly something else caused the inadvertent nosegear retraction??

Assuming the pin was there at all.

I guess we'll find out in due course...

 

[AIRwin]

I guess we'll find out in due course...

Once the cause has been pin-pointed

 

[Quickstatus]

Assuming the pin was there at all.

Yep, the "something else" includes forgetting to insert the lock pin or raising the gear without first checking the pin is in.

Human error cannot be completely reduced to zero.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Good grief… Loyalty Lobby reported that the LH 787 had ‘plunged’ to the ground, and the repairs would be very costly if in fact repairs could be done at all!

LL strongly suggests the plane will need to be ‘written off’ as a result of this. Backed up further by saying they’d hate to be the airport worker responsible writing off a $300m plane.

Still, a lesson for media students in click-bait hyperbole.

 

[oz_mark]

Good grief… Loyalty Lobby reported that the LH 787 had ‘plunged’ to the ground, and the repairs would be very costly if in fact repairs could be done at all!

LL strongly suggests the plane will need to be ‘written off’ as a result of this. Backed up further by saying they’d hate to be the airport worker responsible writing off a $300m plane.

Still, a lesson for media students in click-bait hyperbole.

Wouldn't expect anything less from LL

 

[NM]

Human error cannot be completely reduced to zero.

as I have learned and confirmed on many occasions, you can make most things fool-proof, but you can't make anything idiot-proof.

 

[Quickstatus]

idiot-proof.

Yes all humans are capable of being an idiot even the best trained and the most careful

, a lesson for media students in click-bait hyperbole.

Isn't that Media 101?. How to successfully create click bait?. Might even be a prerequisite skill for entrance into the Media course

 

[RooFlyer]

Good grief… Loyalty Lobby reported that the LH 787 had ‘plunged’ to the ground,

Well, it didn't descend gently, did it? (Video posted on another thread.). Stationary then falling abruptly under gravity I reckon qualifies as plunging.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Well, it didn't descend gently, did it? (Video posted on another thread.). Stationary then falling abruptly under gravity I reckon qualifies as plunging.

Maybe technically correct per the dictionary… but I don’t know whether you can ‘plunge’ 3 metres?

Isn't that Media 101?. How to successfully create click bait?. Might even be a prerequisite skill for entrance into the Media course

Until you lose credibility.

 

[jb747]

There has now been 3 inadvertent B787 nose gear retractions while on the ground.
KE 2018
BA 2021
LH 2026

There has been similar on every type you can think of, unless it has a fixed undercarriage.

I would have thought that as because the LH aircraft was only a few months old that the fix would have been done on the manufacturing line. Assuming that is true and it is now impossible to inserts the lock pin incorrectly, possibly something else caused the inadvertent nosegear retraction??

I doubt that the parts involved have been changed at all. It’s just that whatever is being used to block the hole should be installed at the factory. And by the same token, the same factory should securely bolt all doors in place. There are many points on this journey where it can go wrong.

 

[Quickstatus]

It’s just that whatever is being used to block the hole should be installed at the factory

BA had 36 months to fit the plug and waited until the last moment to fix it, but didnt think that the risk was worth doing it earlier.

One 787 with the plug installed.
The safety pin hole is for the lock pin.
2 holes side by side both round, one a little bigger than the other, and both fit a cylindrical pin. A bigger hole is also more noticeable and easier to fit a pin.

I wonder who thought that ramp workers would get it right all the time.

 

[Quickstatus]

Until you lose credibility.

I suggest that is a prerequisite