Air India 77W Damaged At EWR

AirIndia111 · Thu Jun 05, 2014 3:45 pm

Air India 77W VT-ALT was hit by a catering truck at EWR yesterday as it was being prepared for its return flight to Mumbai. Around 325 passengers were inconvenienced and Air India has ferried another 77W (VT-ALP) to bring back the stranded passengers.

The catering truck hit the rear fuselage and looks like the aircraft is seriously damaged.

https://www.facebook.com/AviatorsKingdom/photos/pcb.574083846039416/574083812706086/?type=1

https://www.facebook.com/AviatorsKingdom/photos/pcb.574083846039416/574083829372751/?type=1

Not a good week for Air India as their A332 VT-IWA was also hit by a stepladder last week due to a storm in Delhi.

https://www.facebook.com/planespottersindia/photos/pcb.711936332196711/711935572196787/?type=1

https://www.facebook.com/planespottersindia/photos/pcb.711936332196711/711935755530102/?type=1

PHX787 · Thu Jun 05, 2014 3:48 pm

Anytime a 777 gets damaged, a piece of my heart dies.....

I can't view the links well; is there an error?

maxamuus · Thu Jun 05, 2014 3:50 pm

I LOL'd at the comment on Facebook -

"oh god looks like catering van hit the lav!!how the hell it happened ! where was the guy trying to load the pax meals in lav!!"

777Jet · Thu Jun 05, 2014 3:51 pm

I miss read the title of this thread and thought another 787 was damaged

tkukucka · Thu Jun 05, 2014 4:05 pm

Looks like he got a little too close!

zeke · Thu Jun 05, 2014 4:48 pm

Quoting AirIndia111 (Thread starter):
https://www.facebook.com/planespottersindia/photos/pcb.711936332196711/711935755530102/?type=1

When I saw that damage it reminded me of "Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa", for this to happen at their home ports and out ports to me meas some sort of systematic failure.

Is it just me or are they getting a lot more of these sort of incidents ?

Granted a lot of airlines have equipment make the occasional dent (esp around cargo doors), to open the skin in both events takes some force/speed.

DTWPurserBoy · Thu Jun 05, 2014 4:51 pm

Boy, poor AI just can't catch a break with their 777 fleet. Might be time to borrow back one of the 77L's.

Sooner787 · Thu Jun 05, 2014 4:52 pm

Hmmmm.... that's going to be an interesting repair.

Revelation · Thu Jun 05, 2014 5:13 pm

Seems AI should spray their planes with truck repellant!

727LOVER · Thu Jun 05, 2014 5:14 pm

Quoting zeke (Reply 5):
Is it just me or are they getting a lot more of these sort of incidents ?

Granted a lot of airlines have equipment make the occasional dent (esp around cargo doors), to open the skin in both events takes some force/speed.

......or stupidity

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ENclaofYsw

dtw2hyd · Thu Jun 05, 2014 5:20 pm

Quoting DTWPurserBoy (Reply 6):
Might be time to borrow back one of the 77L's.

They have quite a few sparingly used 77Ws(6 per my count), 3x744s and one brand new B787 @CHS, before they touch 2x77Ls.

AirIndia111 · Thu Jun 05, 2014 5:59 pm

Quoting zeke (Reply 5):
for this to happen at their home ports and out ports to me meas some sort of systematic failure.

Nothing but sheer bad luck. The A330 at DEL was parked at the remote bay when a storm struck Delhi and the ground equipment smashed into the A330 wing. The same storm damaged 4 other planes (including those of Spicejet, Jet Airways, Indigo and Blue Dart) and also lead to 12 fatalities across the city including one on the tarmac.

The 777 incident is a mistake of the catering group at EWR.

Quoting dtw2hyd (Reply 10):
They have quite a few sparingly used 77Ws(6 per my count)

FYI, 9 77W's are currently plying on different routes as I type this post, with 2 under maintenance at BOM and ALT grounded at EWR.

dtw2hyd · Thu Jun 05, 2014 6:34 pm

Quoting AirIndia111 (Reply 11):
FYI, 9 77W's are currently plying on different routes as I type this post, with 2 under maintenance at BOM and ALT grounded at EWR.

Yes, I totally understand their short-haul ops.

Is their EWR catering contract also up for renewal? I saw their JFK tender. May be current contractor is not happy.

aa2mm · Thu Jun 05, 2014 6:47 pm

I took a pic of that, while I got off UA 121 from BCN to EWR.
And later on, on my UA flight EWR IAH, I saw the AI plane parked on the other side of the runway.
A side note, Jet Aiways 77W was at the gate right next to AI.
It was around 230P yesterday.
The plane was surrounded by 5/6 police cars.

lightsaber · Thu Jun 05, 2014 7:39 pm

This had me laugh: ""Such things like aircraft getting hit by ground vehicles or passenger boarding ramps flying around during strong storms are common at Indian airports. But something like this happening in New York is unimaginable," said a senior pilot. "

Err... it shouldn't be common to have FOD damage anywhere!

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/I...t-damaged/articleshow/36083759.cms

Quoting maxamuus (Reply 2):
"oh god looks like catering van hit the lav!!how the hell it happened ! where was the guy trying to load the pax meals in lav!!"

Quoting 777Jet (Reply 3):
I miss read the title of this thread and thought another 787 was damaged

It is somehow still Boeing's fault.

Lightsaber

aircanadaa330 · Thu Jun 05, 2014 9:02 pm

I wonder if this aircraft will be cannibalized for spare parts......

scbriml · Thu Jun 05, 2014 9:04 pm

Quoting PHX787 (Reply 1):
Anytime a 777 gets damaged, a piece of my heart dies.....

Seriously? You need to get out more.

I'm sure someone will come along soon and tell us it's all AI's fault.

fca767 · Thu Jun 05, 2014 9:17 pm

Quoting lightsaber (Reply 14):

Or a cat jumping out at you as you go through the gate outside on the apron
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSx8WgoY1X4

karadion · Thu Jun 05, 2014 9:24 pm

Quoting fca767 (Reply 17):
Or a cat jumping out at you as you go through the gate outside on the apron

When's the cat? It's a 20 minute video.

Edit: Nevermind. It's at 2:15

[Edited 2014-06-05 14:30:37]

Norcal773 · Thu Jun 05, 2014 9:38 pm

Someone from India on Twitter wrote this about this incident and I thought it was hilarious especially because at the time I didn't know anything had happened to an AI 77W: "Pigeon poops on Air India 77W at EWR...Airline demands compensation from World Wildlife Foundation". lol. AI sometimes does get quite a poor reputation out there.

dtw2hyd · Thu Jun 05, 2014 10:51 pm

Quoting scbriml (Reply 16):
I'm sure someone will come along soon and tell us it's all AI's fault.

I think you missed few posts. There are suggestions of "Systemic problem" and "Cannibalization"

I am still waiting for couple of good ones.

1) AI should outsource heavy maintenance to NH (Just FYI, NH has no MRO)
2) This is the reason I never fly AI

Quoting Norcal773 (Reply 19):
AI sometimes does get quite a poor reputation out there.

For some reason Indians love to trash (literally) AI equipment and complain same time. May be they think it is acceptable because it is their (tax payer) money. Common sense suggests Indians should care for it more if it is their money.

There was a report about what pax flush down AI aircraft toilets.

Quote:
Everything made available to passengers for free was found flushed down the toilet," another official said. "Dozens of small blankets and pillows, items in overnight pouches such as socks, slippers and towels were flushed down."

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/i...to-return/articleshow/35916741.cms

JAGflyer · Thu Jun 05, 2014 11:59 pm

Quoting Norcal773 (Reply 19):

Absolutely disgusting behaviour on the part of the pax. I'd bar them from every AI flight for life and levy a 20,000 Rupee fine. It really hurts me when I see people intentionally damaging/destroying/wasting property solely because they feel entitled to it. This is not a case of 3rd world travellers never seeing a flush toilet and wanting to play with it, it's vandalism. That stuff is put on by the airline for passenger comfort and it costs money, it's not an entertainment device to throw down a vacuum toilet.

[Edited 2014-06-05 17:01:50]

ltbewr · Fri Jun 06, 2014 12:07 am

Sounds to me that there needs to be better training, spotters, maybe stop cutting pay and you can reduce incidents like this. This damage could cost AI $100,000's or more to fix, the lost use of the a/c, staffing issues, need to rearrange pax.

Gr8Circle · Fri Jun 06, 2014 12:09 am

Quoting zeke (Reply 5):
for this to happen at their home ports and out ports to me meas some sort of systematic failure.

Is it just me or are they getting a lot more of these sort of incidents ?

It's just you my friend.....you seem to be ready to jump up and claim it was AI's fault.....don't take a.net so seriously.....the real world out there could be vastly different from what you read on here.....especially when it comes to AI....

Quoting scbriml (Reply 16):
I'm sure someone will come along soon and tell us it's all AI's fault.

Already started

photolppt · Fri Jun 06, 2014 2:47 am

I swear you I saw an headline 'Air India seeks compensation from Boeing' right next to this piece of news and picture of the damage to this 777.... you couldn't make that up!

Norcal773 · Fri Jun 06, 2014 2:55 am

Quoting 727LOVER (Reply 9):
......or stupidity

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ENclaofYsw

Holy sh*t, did that really happen? Yikes!

[Edited 2014-06-05 20:46:24]

Francoflier · Fri Jun 06, 2014 4:54 am

Quoting lightsaber (Reply 14):
But something like this happening in New York is unimaginable," said a senior pilot. "

Actually, I don't find it that surprising at all.
The quality of airport contractors in the NY area is no that good. Then again most ramp workers tend to be young types from less favored parts of the town and with lower education levels. They're paid close to minimum wage, and the employer gets what he pays for.

I hope these catering companies are well ensured against that kind of mishap. The cost of fixing that plane alone could easily make them go bankrupt.

EK413 · Fri Jun 06, 2014 5:08 am

Question: Where was the marshal?!?!?!?!?!?

EK413

strfyr51 · Fri Jun 06, 2014 5:12 am

if I'm not mistaken, that's a chemicly milled belly skin, the repair is not all that difficult but it's going to require the cargo pit to be completely disassembled and possible repair to the aft pressure bulkhead, . I'll bet the repair is about $750K easily.
won't be able to verify until the truck is removed.. sure hope it's fwd of the bulkhead. it could really just be a "Texas" patch

AirIndia111 · Fri Jun 06, 2014 5:27 am

Quoting strfyr51 (Reply 28):
won't be able to verify until the truck is removed.. sure hope it's fwd of the bulkhead. it could really just be a "Texas" patch

Another pic from twitter that should give more clarity:

https://twitter.com/inertiaboy/status/474214523147014144/photo/1

strfyr51 · Fri Jun 06, 2014 5:54 am

Thanks!! Looks like he missed it and the damage is forward. if that's a chem milled skin ?? I'll bet it's $200K just for the SKIN panel. if it's just 2024T3 Aluminum?? then it's going to be $200-225K in Labor and materials some of the rivets in that area might cost up to $100.00 Each because there's a skin lap in that area. Could take 2 weeks to fix once everything is bought and assembled for the repair. the damage looks too big for a texas patch though I'm almost dead sure the repair scheme will be laid out by Boeing if they themselve's don't do the actual repair.

Ferroviarius · Fri Jun 06, 2014 10:15 am

It should not be any problem for Air India to lease a 345 - and thus generate happy 2-4-2 Y pax, who avoid being 777 squeezed.

Ferroviarius

DexSwart · Fri Jun 06, 2014 10:56 am

Quoting Ferroviarius (Reply 31):
and thus generate happy 2-4-2 Y pax, who avoid being 777 squeezed.

I honestly hope this was posted in jest. The A345, great as it is, and Boeing, as horrid and terrible, according to most people on here (even though their AC can generate quite the profit...) aren't relevant to this thread.

Now, it's a shame to see that happen. How, though, I still can't see how this could happen.

Surely it can't just be a case of "Whoops. Left it in Drive again! Doh!" Or am I underestimating the mechanics of driving a catering truck?

dtw2hyd · Fri Jun 06, 2014 11:02 am

Quoting Ferroviarius (Reply 31):
It should not be any problem for Air India to lease a 345 - and thus generate happy 2-4-2 Y pax, who avoid being 777 squeezed.

India is a WB parking lot, I think Indian CAA should not register any more WBs. What AI need is 788s with Jetstar/Arik configuration or high density 320s/737s. Any other plane is waste of money.

Both AI and 9W have enough spare(relative term) WBs to start good size airline.

Spiderguy252 · Fri Jun 06, 2014 2:28 pm

How could a truck punch such a hole in the behemoth and still live to tell the tale? It's not like it was speeding in at a hundred miles an hour or anything...

DTWPurserBoy · Fri Jun 06, 2014 3:03 pm

The outter skin is very fragile. I have seen catering trucks, belt loaders and even pickup trucks barely touch the airplane and it causes significant damage. One day at JFK we were boarding to go to ARN and all of a sudden the airplane jerked violently to the left. I looked out the window and a catering truck had backing into the #3 engine leaving a huge ding...and all you could see was the two guys on the truck running like hell as fast as they could across the tarmac. We got cancelled.

HAWK21M · Sat Jun 07, 2014 7:36 pm

Why cant people just follow the rules......

PHX787 · Sun Jun 08, 2014 4:07 pm

Quoting scbriml (Reply 16):
Seriously? You need to get out more.

.....I don't get what you're insinuating. The 777 is one of my favorite planes to be a pax on.

BSRadar · Sun Jun 08, 2014 5:07 pm

Quoting PHX787 (Reply 37):
Quoting scbriml (Reply 16): Seriously? You need to get out more.

.....I don't get what you're insinuating. The 777 is one of my favorite planes to be a pax on.

Like scbriml, I think I felt the same measure of concern. I thought it rather kind of him to suggest a possible remedy.

747megatop · Sun Jun 08, 2014 5:33 pm

I was wondering, if this had been a 787 (carbon composite fuselage) how would the damage have been? Would it have been very minor or much worse? Also, how would they have repaired it? In the case of this 777 since this is aluminium i guess they will put a patch of skin on it and rivet it in place. But what about a carbon composite fuselage as in the case of a B 787?

goosebayguy · Sun Jun 08, 2014 5:55 pm

I just do not get how the truck could be there. I guess there is a high turnover of truck drivers due to low wages etc? A case of pay more get experienced drivers and the costs will be lower due to less accidents?

karadion · Sun Jun 08, 2014 6:15 pm

Quoting goosebayguy (Reply 40):

The incident was on the ass-end of the plane. I suspect that they were going around the plane but really misjudged how low the plane was, how far they were in to load food on the plane, or just wasn't paying attention at all.

777Jet · Sun Jun 08, 2014 8:31 pm

Quoting lightsaber (Reply 14):
Quoting 777Jet (Reply 3):
I miss read the title of this thread and thought another 787 was damaged

It is somehow still Boeing's fault.

Of course! AI has to sue somebody...

747megatop · Mon Jun 09, 2014 12:20 am

Quoting goosebayguy (Reply 40):
A case of pay more get experienced drivers and the costs will be lower due to less accidents?

No. That is not the solution. The solution is technology. Port of Rotterdam uses driverless trucks - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRoHV2wxRt8 .That would really reduce these accidents to ZERO. If they could build such trucks to be used on an airport ramp..inch up to the aircraft and then raise the container to correctly align with the aircaft loading door to load the food carts that would be ideal. But the driver union (if there is one) would not be pleased. Even if a fully automated technology like the one in the video cannot be used then at least how about a semi automated one where if a truck is too close to a plane then automaticall brakes are applied?

scbriml · Mon Jun 09, 2014 4:15 am

Quoting PHX787 (Reply 37):
.....I don't get what you're insinuating.

I'm simply suggesting that your reaction to an inanimate object receiving some minor damage is a little over the top.

747megatop · Mon Jun 09, 2014 5:59 am

Quoting karadion (Reply 41):
The incident was on the ass-end of the plane.

Looks like this T7's ass got kicked by a catering truck. That one hell of a kick ass truck!

dtw2hyd · Mon Jun 09, 2014 1:02 pm

May be quick turn around times and servicing wide range of aircrafts (RJ to Super Jumbos) could be factors in increased number of contacts.

trigged · Tue Jun 10, 2014 5:53 pm

Quoting 727LOVER (Reply 9):
......or stupidity

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ENclaofYsw

How in the..... oh, nevermind, if anyone has seen my sister-in-law drive, they would probably not be surprised this incident happened.

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