September11 From United States of America, joined May 2004, 3623 posts, RR: 23 Posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 4 days 23 hours ago) and read 4846 times:
Who thought severly damaged aircraft can not be repaired and fly again?
Two good examples:
Eastern 727 (N812EA)
Before (Nov '81) / After (May '90)
jreuschl From United States of America, joined Jul 2009, 415 posts, RR: 0 Reply 1, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 4 days 22 hours ago) and read 4840 times:
Certainly one that comes to mind is the WN aircraft that overran runway into a city street, N471WN, now flying as N286WN.
ClassicLover From Ireland, joined Mar 2004, 4528 posts, RR: 25 Reply 2, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 4 days 22 hours ago) and read 4826 times:
Yeah, the BOAC 707 that lost an engine on take off from London Heathrow in 1968 - its nose was transplanted onto a TWA 707 that had had the cockpit destroyed by a bomb.
The nose section of G-ARWE was salvaged, and used on a Boeing 707-331B, TWA's N28714, c/n 18408. The recipient aircraft was previously registered N779TW, which had been hijacked on a flight from Rome to Athens. Its cockpit had been destroyed by a bomb at Damascus, Syria, on 29 August 1968. It was found that the rest of the airframe was undamaged. The nose section of G-ARWE remained intact after the fire, and thus was fitted to N776TW. That aircraft was test flown on 4 December 1969 and flew with TWA for another ten years as N28714. In March 1980 it was withdrawn from service and stored at Kansas, Missouri. In 1983 it was sold to Boeing and flown to Davis–Monthan Air Force Base for use as spares for the United States Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker fleet. N28714's registration was cancelled in March 1984.
I do quite enjoy a spot of flying - more so when it's not in Economy!
September11 From United States of America, joined May 2004, 3623 posts, RR: 23 Reply 3, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 4 days 22 hours ago) and read 4769 times:
Quoting jreuschl (Reply 1): Certainly one that comes to mind is the WN aircraft that overran runway into a city street, N471WN, now flying as N286WN.
ER757 From Cayman Islands, joined May 2005, 2249 posts, RR: 8 Reply 4, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 4 days 22 hours ago) and read 4774 times:
Two that come to mind are an AQ 737 that had part of the top of it tear away in flight on an inter-island flight in Hawaii and the UA 747 that lost its cargo door and a section of fuselage skin above it on a HNL to NRT (or was it HKG) flight.
Both were repaired and flew again
Plainplane From United States of America, joined Mar 2008, 805 posts, RR: 1 Reply 5, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 4 days 22 hours ago) and read 4739 times:
Qantas 747-400 VH-OJH, incident occurred in 1999, was repaired and put back into service:
777STL From United States of America, joined Dec 2004, 3055 posts, RR: 3 Reply 6, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 4 days 22 hours ago) and read 4713 times:
Quoting ER757 (Reply 4): and the UA 747 that lost its cargo door and a section of fuselage skin above it on a HNL to NRT (or was it HKG) flight.
Both were repaired and flew again
rbgso From United States of America, joined Jun 2006, 576 posts, RR: 0 Reply 7, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 4 days 22 hours ago) and read 4694 times:
Wasn't there a fairly new E175 that overran the runway (in CLE I think) that sustained substantial damage to the nose. I think they riveted on a new nose shipped up from Brazil and the thing was put back into service.
B6JFKH81 From United States of America, joined Mar 2006, 2767 posts, RR: 7 Reply 8, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 4 days 22 hours ago) and read 4695 times:
The two that pop into my head immediately for me are:
N522JB which had an engine fire which required over a month of hangar time while Airbus On-wing re-built the freakin' wing:
rfields5421 From United States of America, joined Jul 2007, 6192 posts, RR: 25 Reply 9, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 4 days 22 hours ago) and read 4661 times:
The JAL DC-8 which landed in San Francisco Bay 2 1/2 miles short of the runway in 1968 - was refurbished at near the cost of the aircraft when new and flew on for JAL into the 80s. I think the plane ended up with Airborne Express as N808AX and was finally scrapped sometime late in 2001.
kaitak From Ireland, joined Aug 1999, 11997 posts, RR: 36 Reply 11, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 4 days 22 hours ago) and read 4569 times:
And don't forget that SATA A320 that had a landing sufficiently hard to pop a few rivets; it actually flew immediately after that (i.e. before repairs were carried out); it has now been repaired and returned to service.
There was also a JAL 747 that slid off a taxiway at ANC; it was returned to service (although after a long time).
Probably the best example is a USAF C-130 that was buried in antarctic ice; I believe it was transported to Christchurch NZ, where repairs were carried out by ANZ. Tough old bird, the Herk!
PSU.DTW.SCE From United States of America, joined Jan 2002, 6910 posts, RR: 29 Reply 13, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 4 days 22 hours ago) and read 4488 times:
Quoting September11 (Thread starter): I find it interesting that these airlines decide to keep and repair them. Good spirit?
It is purely economics. Almost anything can be repaired but for a price. The airline, owner (leasing company or bank), and the insurance company all determine what is the most reasonable and cost-effective course of action.
Also depends on an airline's fleet plans. If the fleet type was being retired or removed, then they wouldn't bother to repair the aircraft.
Engines, systems, doors, tails, and even wings can be replaced or repaired. However if there is significant bending to the fuselage or damage to the pressure bulkheads the aircraft will be written off.
"Damaged beyond repair" all depends on the extent of the damage, what parts need to be repaired/replaced, and the amount of labor required to repair.
A newer aircraft will often be repaired since it still has substancial value. The bar can be much lower on an older, fully depreciated, and paid-off aircraft.
This is often why you will see newer aircraft repaired, while with an older aircraft even a minor issue will send it off to retirement. An example of such was the NW DC-9-50 up in MSP a few years ago that lost braking power and collided with an Airbus. The damage to the DC-9 was repairable, but expensive especially for a 30 year old aircraft. Wheras similar, if not worse damaged occured to a NW 757 a fews ago in LGA but that aircraft was repaired and returned to service.
The NW 727 where its wing sheared into the side of a NW DC-9 lost in the fog while taking off in DTW in December 1990
There was a E-170 in CLE a few years ago that suffered significant damage to the forward fuselage during a runway incident in a snowstorm.
A Mesaba Saab 340 that was significantly damaged when a hangar collapsed from high winds in a thunderstorm in DTW back in 2000; required new horizontal and vertical stabilizers I believe.
The Express I Saab 340 that rolled into a concrete drainage ditch in MEM, aka the "ditch witch"
FlySSC From France, joined Aug 2003, 7313 posts, RR: 60 Reply 14, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 4 days 22 hours ago) and read 4485 times:
AIR FRANCE B747-400 F-GITA
While landing in poor weather on Rwy 22 at PPT (Papeete/Tahiti) from LAX, on Sept. 12 1993, the aircraft hydroplaned into the Pacific Ocean on the west side of the runway after an engine failure (3 engines went on reverse, 1 went on full thrust). the aircraft was repaired and returned to service and was since then affectionately called "le GITAnic" by AF Crews.
It was retired from service by Air France in 2010 and broken up...
FlySSC From France, joined Aug 2003, 7313 posts, RR: 60 Reply 15, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 4 days 22 hours ago) and read 4476 times:
On March 28 2002, the newly restored Boeing Stratoliner 307 "Clipper Flying Cloud" (NC19903) was forced to ditch into Elliott Bay after severe engine trouble ...
September11 From United States of America, joined May 2004, 3623 posts, RR: 23 Reply 16, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 4 days 21 hours ago) and read 4466 times:
September11 From United States of America, joined May 2004, 3623 posts, RR: 23 Reply 17, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 4 days 21 hours ago) and read 4465 times:
DesertJets From United States of America, joined Feb 2000, 7677 posts, RR: 18 Reply 18, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 4 days 19 hours ago) and read 4444 times:
Japan Airlines Flight 2 in 1968. A DC-8-62, reg # JA 8032 landed several miles short of the 28s at SFO in marsh land. The plane was recovered and repaired and went back into review service with JAL.
Stop drop and roll will not save you in hell. --- seen on a church marque in rural Virginia
cedarjet From United Kingdom, joined May 1999, 7724 posts, RR: 55 Reply 19, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 4 days 18 hours ago) and read 4423 times:
Mexicana landed a 727 gear-up on a training flight; as well as the minimum damage to belly and wings, it also caught fire. Was repaired and sold to Dan-Air. Sorry no reg but maybe others on here know her history better?
fly Saha Air 707s daily from Tehran's downtown Mehrabad to Mashhad, Kish Island and Ahwaz
tb727 From United States of America, joined Jun 2005, 1398 posts, RR: 4 Reply 20, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 4 days 18 hours ago) and read 4417 times:
We had a Falcon that landed short at LEX in it's previous life and punched the gear through the wing. It had a new wing put on it off another plane and is still flying today. It's a great airplane, probably my favorite 20, I think I have about 500 hours in it.
Viscount724 From Switzerland, joined Oct 2006, 21679 posts, RR: 23 Reply 22, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 4 days 16 hours ago) and read 4401 times:
Quoting MattRB (Reply 10): C-GAUN, more affectionately known as the 'Gimli Glider'.
It wasn't really that severely damaged, mainly just the collapsed nose gear and some fuselage skin damage.
Another AC (then TCA) aircraft that WAS severely damaged but flew again was an almosts new DC-8-54F CF-TJM that overran the runway at LHR by about 2,000 ft. after a very late rejected takeoff on a flight to YUL and wound up in a cabbage field with major damage to the forward fuselage, engines, landing gear flaps, etc. Only a few minor injuries to the 97 passengers and crew. It was repaired in a BOAC hangar at LHR by a TCA and Douglas team and returned to service in 1964. It was the first DC-8 combi delivered (and the 2nd built). TCA was the launch customer for that model.
UltimateDelta From United States of America, joined Sep 2007, 2002 posts, RR: 6 Reply 23, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 4 days 16 hours ago) and read 4400 times:
Delta MD-88 N914DL- Landed short at LGA in 1996 (ripped off both main landing gear legs), but repaired.
Viscount724 From Switzerland, joined Oct 2006, 21679 posts, RR: 23 Reply 24, posted (2 years 7 months 1 week 4 days 16 hours ago) and read 4394 times:
For some reason I can't edit Reply 22 again. Some words in the text below the last photo disappeared when I edited it the first time. That sentence should read:
Unfortunately that aircraft had further bad luck 3 years later when it crashed near YOW on a training flight, killing the 3 crew.
25 Viscount724: Another was the Pan Am 707 that lost about 25 feet of the right wing, including the #4 engine which struck a building in San Bruno, narrowly missing s
26 Speedbird741: British Airways 747-236 G-BDXH was quite seriously damaged as it flew into an ash clowd over Indonesia performing flight 9 in 1982. It was repaired an
27 Skydrol: What a stunning photo!! Amazing what a nice bath in the sea can do to make a white airplane shine! LD4
28 HA_DC9: Not so, N73711 (Aloha 243) was written off and never flew again after its emergency landing. It was dismantled on-site and sold for scrap and parts.
30 UK_Dispatcher: That would be G-BNLP, also known as 'Lumpy Papa' due to the clearly visible lump in the top of the fuselage after the repairs. Take a look at these p
31 TruemanQLD: Apparently the aircraft flies differently to the other 747, some steering 'differences' True in most cases, however, many claim that the QF 747-400 t
32 Viscount724: After repairs it was re-registered N4724U. I guess someone considered that the 13 in the original registration was unlucky.
33 starguy: Virgin Atlantic Airbus 340-300 G-VSKY suffered extensive damage after the failure of the left landing gear on a flight from LAX to LHR. The aircraft w
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