FedEx MD-11 Incident At Memphis

KarelXWB · Wed Jul 22, 2015 8:00 am

A FedEx MD-11 tipped up during unloading at Memphis airport, hitting a belt loader.

No further details are currently available.

http://twitter.com/AviationSafety/status/623583253212069888

readytotaxi · Wed Jul 22, 2015 8:28 am

Ouch, someones got some paperwork to fill out.

wjcandee · Wed Jul 22, 2015 10:36 am

A not-uncommon thing with the MD11.

You have to load/unload it right, and normally there's a jackstand that should be in place if there's a danger of this happening.

scbriml · Wed Jul 22, 2015 10:38 am

Surprising really. One would have thought that FX had more than a little experience of dealing with MD-11s at MEM.

tb727 · Wed Jul 22, 2015 11:14 am

Good thing that K-loader was in the way to keep it from hitting the ground!

LH526 · Wed Jul 22, 2015 11:16 am

Quoting tb727 (Reply 4):
Good thing that K-loader was in the way to keep it from hitting the ground!

... that lateral damage to the rear fuselage might have been more severe than a simple slide tail skid ramp hit though.

tb727 · Wed Jul 22, 2015 11:26 am

Quoting lh526 (Reply 5):
... that lateral damage to the rear fuselage might have been more severe than a simple slide tail skid ramp hit though.

Yeah, they are way better off not hitting anything on the way down. I just noticed that it looks like there is a belt loader or something that got it on the left side too.

airtran737 · Wed Jul 22, 2015 12:57 pm

Quoting wjcandee (Reply 2):
You have to load/unload it right, and normally there's a jackstand that should be in place if there's a danger of this happening.

The MD-11/DC-10 doesn't have a tail stand option. FX usually uses a tether on the nose gear. Someone didn't follow procedures.

airxliban · Wed Jul 22, 2015 1:17 pm

Anyone know the tail number involved?

trnswrld · Wed Jul 22, 2015 3:19 pm

Quoting tb727 (Reply 4):
Good thing that K-loader was in the way to keep it from hitting the ground!

It would be the exact opposite of what you said like others pointed out above. You would MUCH rather have the plane hit the flat pavement rather than a truck which would cause all sorts of structural damage to the aircraft.

jayunited · Wed Jul 22, 2015 3:55 pm

Quoting tb727 (Reply 4):
Good thing that K-loader was in the way to keep it from hitting the ground!

Not necessarily the area of the aircraft that is in contact with the K-loader is supporting a tremendous amount of weight, weight it was never designed to support. There could be serious structural damage there.

richierich · Wed Jul 22, 2015 4:18 pm

Quoting trnswrld (Reply 9):
It would be the exact opposite of what you said like others pointed out above. You would MUCH rather have the plane hit the flat pavement rather than a truck which would cause all sorts of structural damage to the aircraft.

Quoting jayunited (Reply 10):
Not necessarily the area of the aircraft that is in contact with the K-loader is supporting a tremendous amount of weight, weight it was never designed to support. There could be serious structural damage there

I took it to be a sarcastic comment - anybody else?

Adipasquale · Wed Jul 22, 2015 4:59 pm

It will be interesting to see what exactly the damage is and how much it will cost FX to repair it. Somebody is probably getting fired for this.

ThReaTeN · Wed Jul 22, 2015 5:24 pm

Quoting wjcandee (Reply 2):
A not-uncommon thing with the MD11.

You have to load/unload it right, and normally there's a jackstand that should be in place if there's a danger of this happening.

I think it's safe to say the MD-11 isn't the most graceful airliner to have taken to the sky (or stood on the ground).

Quoting adipasquale (Reply 12):
It will be interesting to see what exactly the damage is and how much it will cost FX to repair it. Somebody is probably getting fired for this.

Seeing as the loader apparently has broken into a pressurized area, I wonder if this is actually in effect a hull loss?

[Edited 2015-07-22 10:28:33]

Revelation · Wed Jul 22, 2015 6:04 pm

Some things never change...

jayfred · Wed Jul 22, 2015 6:31 pm

Quoting richierich (Reply 11):
I took it to be a sarcastic comment - anybody else?

I certainly did. That joke:

fxramper · Wed Jul 22, 2015 7:27 pm

Amateur hour, no tether or balance pallet inside? Also, 8 employees were inside the a/c when the incident occurred.

Quoting airxliban (Reply 8):
Anyone know the tail number involved?

It's N592FE, an MD11.

Sooner787 · Wed Jul 22, 2015 7:32 pm

Quoting fxramper (Reply 17):
Amateur hour, no tether or balance pallet inside? Also, 8 employees were inside the a/c when the incident occurred.

Quoting airxliban (Reply 8):
Anyone know the tail number involved?

It's N592FE, an MD11.

Someone has some "'splainin'" to do

ScottB · Wed Jul 22, 2015 7:44 pm

Quoting fxramper (Reply 17):
Also, 8 employees were inside the a/c when the incident occurred.

Yikes! That could be really awful if pallets or containers started moving.

bennett123 · Wed Jul 22, 2015 7:53 pm

I imagine that finding a "new" MD11 would not be a problem.

N328KF · Wed Jul 22, 2015 7:56 pm

Quoting bennett123 (Reply 20):
imagine that finding a "new" MD11 would not be a problem.

Or accelerate a 777F delivery.

fxramper · Wed Jul 22, 2015 8:19 pm

Quoting ScottB (Reply 19):
Yikes! That could be really awful if pallets or containers started moving.

Have been on plenty of ramps with much less violent incidents and employees got 'hurt'.

Quoting bennett123 (Reply 20):
I imagine that finding a "new" MD11 would not be a problem.

The fleet is shrinking in size. I'm sure the cargo on board was downloaded into fresh cans and flown on a MD.

Quoting N328KF (Reply 21):
Or accelerate a 777F delivery.

Market is affecting those deliveries. Too much density. FX ordered more 76F.

NWAROOSTER · Wed Jul 22, 2015 8:22 pm

Quoting adipasquale (Reply 12):
It will be interesting to see what exactly the damage is and how much it will cost FX to repair it. Somebody is probably getting fired for this.

This is a leased aircraft owned by Wilmington Trust Company. We will see what they want to do with it. It was delivered to AA in February of 1993 and owned by WTC. The insurance payoff may make it a parts aircraft. Another question is when will the lease be up and how long did FedEx plan on flying it? Also, when is the next major check due?

bennett123 · Wed Jul 22, 2015 8:31 pm

According to www.md-eleven.net, Martinair, Eva and Ethiopian have retired MD11 in the last few months.

They are immediately available and would be cheap.

PW100 · Wed Jul 22, 2015 8:36 pm

Quoting bennett123 (Reply 20):
I imagine that finding a "new" MD11 would not be a problem.

I imagine that most of the candidates already wear the correct colours, though perhaps somewhat faded.

richierich · Wed Jul 22, 2015 10:02 pm

Quoting PW100 (Reply 24):
I imagine that most of the candidates already wear the correct colours, though perhaps somewhat faded.

Anybody know roughly how many "airworthy" (or close to airworthy) MD-11s FedEx has stored in the desert? Seems to me this might be a case of swapping a MD that is not a candidate for repair with a perfectly good, but old, MD sitting in the sand somewhere.

n471wn · Wed Jul 22, 2015 10:32 pm

Quoting richierich (Reply 25):
Anybody know roughly how many "airworthy" (or close to airworthy) MD-11s FedEx has stored in the desert? Seems to me this might be a case of swapping a MD that is not a candidate for repair with a perfectly good, but old, MD sitting in the sand somewhere

10 are in storage

wrenchon727 · Wed Jul 22, 2015 10:36 pm

All 7 stored MD11 were wrote off in May.
The bulk door frame damage has been repaired.The center cargo door was closed and the loader contacted and damaged the door, awaiting a donor door. No need to send it to the boneyard yet.

Max Q · Thu Jul 23, 2015 3:42 am

Well at least it wasn't another MD11 landing accident.

That's what I assumed when I saw the title..

wjcandee · Thu Jul 23, 2015 4:26 am

Quoting airtran737 (Reply 7):
The MD-11/DC-10 doesn't have a tail stand option. FX usually uses a tether on the nose gear. Someone didn't follow procedures.

Yeah, duh. I'm an idiot. I was thinking as I was writing that a tail stand didn't seem right for an MD11. But I was tired and didn't check before posting. Of course it's a tiedown. I remember at least one pic of one of your old airline's MD11s in the same position years ago. Some contractor didn't follow instructions, and teeeeter-thunk.

What these ground guys don't understand is that the MD11 likes to pose in the same position that one finds it on all those models on stands that people have on their desks. Very vain plane, it is.

[Edited 2015-07-22 21:33:51]

wjcandee · Thu Jul 23, 2015 4:27 am

Quoting tb727 (Reply 4):

Good thing that K-loader was in the way to keep it from hitting the ground!

I think he was kidding. He knows about this stuff.

wjcandee · Thu Jul 23, 2015 4:32 am

Quoting NWAROOSTER (Reply 22):
This is a leased aircraft owned by Wilmington Trust Company

Nothing is really owned by them. They are the agents for the owners, which are partnerships or investors. At World, for example, a lot of the MD11 aircraft were owned by Northwestern Mutual Life and by Disney. But the nominal owner was Wilmington or another professional fiduciary.

wjcandee · Thu Jul 23, 2015 4:32 am

Quoting Max Q (Reply 28):
That's what I assumed when I saw the title..

Me, too.

RetiredWeasel · Thu Jul 23, 2015 4:43 am

This is my favorite picture of a wide-body sitting on its tail.

http://www.goes-r.gov/users/comet/vo...edia/graphics/Ashfall_Airplane.jpg

A World Airways DC-10 at Cubi Point in the Philippines with bad timing. Just happend to be on the ramp when Mt. Pinatubo blew in 1991. Wet volcanic ash accumulated on the horizontal stab and it just 'tipped'. Power cable still plugged in though.

seabosdca · Thu Jul 23, 2015 4:55 am

Quoting wrenchon727 (Reply 27):
The center cargo door was closed and the loader contacted and damaged the door, awaiting a donor door. No need to send it to the boneyard yet.

Retrieving a door rather than a plane from the boneyard has gotta save a few bucks

...