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Russian Airliner Crash
Let me start by saying my heart goes out to all the families affected by this horrific incident. As Engineers (on this site) and some of us ex forces, it makes no difference which nationality or religion you are when we see such an incident unfold. it must be the understanding of machines and people which draw us to be concerned about the plight of others.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTPHxAYAVAg
The incident does raise many questions and the inquisitive amongst us, not the journalists with an insatiable need for dross but what happened and why of those with a technical disposition. To consider those of a foreign nation to be less capable than the west does not wash with me - this could just have easily been a Boeing (not that they are having any technical issues at present). Aeroflot have a better safety record than AAA for example.
I'm curios as to why lightening should have struck and affected this plane, much research has been done on aircraft safety regarding electrical strikes and most research has concluded the lightening has little or no affect on aircraft as they are not grounded whilst they are usually in flight when struck. The Faraday cage design is also a factor which minimises the effects of lightening strikes on aircraft.
The aircraft does appear to slam into the ground before the fire ignites which would indicate that a fuel tank ruptured in the bounce and started the fire ball being ignited from the engine exhaust gasses. The loss of control of electronics is obviously what started the ball rolling and would certainly have led to the hard landing and bounce.
Its sad we live in a world where some people consider themselves and their needs greater than others - If you find yourself in a similar situation leave your bloody bags alone. You may cause your own demise by being unable to exit with your own baggage. 50/50.
I will be following the investigation with great interest and will be thinking about those who lost their lives until i see a satisfactory conclusion is found to help those individuals and their families/friends be at peace.
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Juan Browne of the blanocolirio talked about this today. He's an FO type rated on the 737 and and in this video he discusses both planes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eT9XakALwU
It looked to me that the main gear collapsed upon the second impact (the whole rear of the plane dropped). Whether that was the cause of or incidental to the fuel tank ruptures I wouldn't pretend to know.
Neil
