50 SKY SHADES - World aviation news

Warning: Boeing 767 slides may deploy spontaneously and land in your front yard

Download: Printable PDF Date: 01 Apr 2016 07:18 (UTC) categories:
Publisher:
Warning: Boeing 767 slides may deploy spontaneously and land in your front yard - Airlines publisher
Dana Ermolenko
Aircraft: Airplanes
Source: Mashable

An emergency slide deployed from an airplane — while it was in the air — and landed in a front yard in Mesa, Arizona, on Wednesday afternoon.

No injuries were reported and the only damage was to a tree.

"It was just a loud bang and then the house actually shook," homeowner Andrea Self told local television station AZ Family. She said smelled something like "sulfur burning" immediately after.

A neighbor called 911 and said they had seen an object falling from an airplane. A spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) told Mashable that the slide came from a Boeing 767.

The aircraft, operated by cargo and passenger charter airline Atlas Air, was flying at 2,800 feet and about to land at Sky Harbor Airport when the right over-the-wing emergency slide deployed. The crew members got a cockpit message saying the slide had deployed, and reported the it to local police upon landing.

In December of last year, the FAA proposed a fix to more than 300 of Boeing's 767s after “multiple reports of uncommanded escape slide inflation.”

According to FAA reports, certain valves on the Boeing 767 needed to be replaced that could cause spontaneous deployment resulting in “injury to passengers and crew, damage to equipment, and the slide becoming unusable in an emergency evacuation.”

The agency gave airlines four years to make the fixes.

Only crew was on board the Atlas Air flight.

"It's definitely a blessing that the damage is a tree and not a person," Self said.

oeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.





Recommended

U.S. FAA certifies new Boeing 737-7 airplane

U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has granted Boeing an amended type certificate for the new 737-7 airplane, clearing it for commercial service. The smallest...

Groundbreaking for new facility at Clark International Airport

Lufthansa Technik Philippines, the joint venture between Lufthansa Technik and MacroAsia Corporation, broke ground this Thursday on its new base maintenance facility at Clark International Airport. Th...

Bell's first 505 for aerial policing work in Asia Pacific commences operations

Bell Textron announced the Aichi Prefectural Police have officially commenced aerial policing operations utilizing the Bell 505, marking a landmark moment for aviation in the Asia-Pacific region. A ce...

Volatus Aerospace partners with Singular Aircraft to introduce FlyOx 1 heavy-lift autonomous aircraft for Canadian wildfire response

Volatus Aerospace announced the next phase of its national wildfire response initiative through a strategic partnership with Singular Aircraft, developer of the FlyOx 1 multi-mission heavy-lift autono...

Android Apps development in Riga, Latvia