Incident Overview
Description
Substantially damaged when the nose ladning gear collapsed whilst parked at Manston Airport, Manston, Kent. Of the eight persons on board, none of the crew of three were injured, but five others (ground staff and air load masters) sustained injuries (one serious, four minor). According to the following excerpt from the official AAIB report into the accident: “Whilst parked on the ramp prior to engine start the aircraft’s nose undercarriage retracted allowing the nose to settle onto the ramp. It is understood that during the turn around the N§ 2 GPS had been changed and in order to open the access panel the undercarriage lever had been moved out of the ‘down’ position. Later, after the flight crew had boarded and begun their departure checks, ground engineers, who had been servicing the hydraulics with the undercarriage doors open, apparently pressurized the hydraulic system. At this point the nose undercarriage retracted The sudden dropping of the nose onto the ground resulted in those standing on the flight deck (i.e., the avionics engineer and the supervisor) being thrown violently off their feet. A scream was also heard from the main deck, and the avionics engineer immediately moved back to investigate. However, having reached the vestibule area, he was suddenly overtaken with extreme back and neck pain, and found himself unable to continue. The scream had emanated from the load master who had been involved in moving the palletised loads into the L1 doorway, and who had been standing between the pallet being moved, and the forward cabin bulkhead, when the nose landing gear had collapsed. When the nose had suddenly dropped, he found himself against the bulkhead with the pallet, which weighed approximately 2 tonnes), sliding towards him. With his back against the bulkhead, he had brought one knee up in front of him in an effort to brace himself against the approaching pallet, however the pallet drove his knee back, dislocating his hip. He was subsequently taken to hospital where he underwent an operation to re-locate his hip. He then spent four weeks in traction, followed by six weeks physiotherapy. The avionics engineer was also hospitalised for three days, having suffered bruising of his lower spine and whiplash injuries to his upper spine. The supervisor attended hospital as an outpatient, for assessment of whiplash type injuries. In addition, two ground staff engaged in unloading operations also suffered minor injuries”.
Source of Information
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/54230045e5274a1314000a11/dft_avsafety_pdf_501644.pdf, http://www.scramble.nl/civil-database/details?bt=DC8&af=547, https://www.jetphotos.com/aircraft/DC-8-46153_, https://www.flickr.com/photos/chrischenn76/5669874074, http://www.douglasdc8.com/dc88.htm, http://photobucket.com/images/united%20airlines%20douglas%20dc-8%20n8079uhttps://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/54230045e5274a1314000a11/dft_avsafety_pdf_501644.pdf, http://www.scramble.nl/civil-database/details?bt=DC8&af=547, https://www.jetphotos.com/aircraft/DC-8-46153_, https://www.flickr.com/photos/chrischenn76/5669874074, http://www.douglasdc8.com/dc88.htm, http://photobucket.com/images/united%20airlines%20douglas%20dc-8%20n8079uPrimary Cause
Failure to properly manage hydraulic pressure during a critical maneuver, specifically the retraction of the nose landing gear.Failure to properly manage hydraulic pressure during a critical maneuver, specifically the retraction of the nose landing gear.Share on:
