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Every so often you will read a headline that says: airplane of an airline suffered damage after a hard landing, but what does this mean and why is it? Photo Cargospotter
Few days ago, We saw several media outlets replicating the news that a plane had suffered damage after a landing hard or abrupt and it's just this photo:
https://twitter.com/fl360aero/status/1686391832123781120?s=20
Several of you wrote to me to ask about this event., So I thought it was appropriate to write this post to explain in more detail what a hard landing is..
Hard landing or abrupt landing
First let's start with the basic definition of this type of incidents:
The hard landing, in some regions called forced landing, is a landing in which the manufacturer's touchdown limit has been exceeded, expressed as descent speed or as load value "g".
In other words, A hard landing is a landing that occurs when an airplane touches the ground (Landing track) with a force greater than normal. This can cause damage to the aircraft and its occupants in the most extreme cases.. Hard landings are usually caused by a combination of factors, how to land at too high a speed, landing on too steep a slope or landing on a contaminated runway.
In a more technical way, A hard landing is considered as such when a landing exceeds the G-force limitations stipulated by the manufacturer in the operation manual at the time of contact with the wheels..
Although this may vary from aircraft to aircraft and manufacturer, in the case of the Airbus A320 family if it exceeds the 1.6 G's will be considered a hard landing, which will require maintenance to activate the respective inspection for these situations., I feel a landing 1.75 G’s will be considered a severe hard landing.
To understand better, if it is commented 1 Landing G is one time the total weight of the aircraft and the landing gears are designed to support it under normal conditions, in the case of Airbus up to 1.6 G, If the plane's sensors are exceeded, they will alert you of what happened..
How to detect a hard landing
There are some signs that may indicate that a landing has been hard.. These might be, among others:
- A strong impact when hitting the ground
- A loud impact sound
- A shake of the plane
- Damage to the aircraft, like burst tires, bent landing gear or dented fuselage.
Although many times for us as passengers we may think that we are experiencing a hard landing, The reality is that most of the time it is just more than our perception and that the landing can be even more abrupt than what we witness.
If one of these events is reported, The plane must undergo inspection prior to its next flight and depending on the severity, it could be on the ground. 45 minutes or more as the minimum average that this safety check requires according to the manufacturer and current regulations.
Consequences of a hard landing
Hard landings can have a series of consequences for airplanes and airline operations.:
- Damage to the aircraft, like burst tires, bent landing gear or dented fuselage
- Injuries to passengers and crew, like bruises, fractures or head injuries
- Flight delays or cancellations
- Unscheduled and high repair costs
Can they be avoided?
Completely and none pilot You never want to make a harder landing than normal., even though the saying exists: "stand, but sure".
Having said that, The crews are highly trained for these and other situations, taking into account that many times a hard landing is caused by factors external to the maneuvers in the cabin., how can it be a wind shear or downwind, like other sudden changes in weather conditions.
Without a doubt, the best way for the industry to work to reduce these incidents is through continuous training of crews., as well as the implementation of new technological aids in the cockpit.
Have you ever had a hard landing?? tell me in the comments…
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