A300 Baghdad

Operational Liaison Meeting A300/A310/A300-600
2004
Baghdad A300 Incident Discussion

DHL fli ht hit b missile i BAGDAD flight by i il in TRIBUTE TO ERIC, STEEVE AND MARIO
Customer Services
TRIBUTE TO ERIC, STEEVE AND MARIO

The facts How could it fly ?
Flight mechanics with thrust only
pitch co t o p tc control roll control
AIRBUS S.A.S. All rights reserved. Confidential and pro oprietary document.
Bringing the A/C back to the ground Conclusion
Page 2
THE FACTS
November 22nd, 2003. An A300-B4 cargo-transformed, S/N
094, operated by DHL, takes off from Baghdad to Bahrain.
Crew : Capt ERIC, F/O STEEVE, FE MARIO. Trip is short, payload is light (Mail) and TOW : 100t (to be
compared to 165 9t MTOW) 165.9t
A special Take Off procedure is applied to minimize ground

proximity time and threat exposure duration :

Take off with slats only and maximum thrust Early retraction of slats Climb at optimum climb speed (215kts)
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THE FACTS (continue)
Passing 8000ft a strong impact shakes the structure 8000ft, structure. Immediately Mario announces the loss of two hydraulic Immediately,
circuits (green and yellow).
Twenty seconds later, Eric feels the controls stiffening as

y ( ) the last hydraulic circuit (blue) is lost.
Page 4

A/C configuration is then the following : All hydraulics lost
Ailerons, rudder and elevators are floating in the wind (zero hinge moment) THS is frozen Spoilers are inoperative and prevented to deflect (sucked by the airflow) by a non return valve. But one of them is slightly leaking. Slats and flaps configuration are retracted and frozen Left wing in fire and associated fuel tank is emptying A significative amount of the left wing surface is missing
BUT:
BOTH ENGINES ARE STILL RUNNING
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Page 6
Eric Steeve and Mario have then to learn how to fly and Eric,
land an asymmetric aircraft by thrust application only.
Lets try to do the same (but in the quietness of the Let s

conference room).
Page 7
How could it fly ?
Flight mechanics with thrust only : pitch

From a trimmed position, an A/C like the A300 (with engine in wingpod) will react to a step change of thrust by :
An immediate pitch change (increase of thrust induces a nose up motion) An immediate speed change along with the thrust change (but it will not last !)
Page 8
How could it fly ?

Followed by a so called phugoid (long period lightly damped
oscillation at constant angle of attack, exchanging altitude and speed around the stabilised situation)
Pitch
, Vc
Pitch
, Vc
Pitch
Pitch , Vc
, Vc
Page 9
How could it fly ?

When the controls froze, A/C was stabilized at a certain speed, with a
given thrust and a given THS position A thrust variation (decrease) will create a pitch (down) moment
This pitch down motion will continue until : The thrust is restored at the adequate level, or The speed has increased sufficiently so that the down lift of the
tailplane compensates the pitch down moment created by the reduction of thrust. thrust
Page 10
How could it fly ?
To sum up : T
THE
THRUST BECOMES A PITCH CONTROL
Speed becomes a consequence of the chosen p q combination of pitch and thrust.
Note that against intuition (and initial reaction) reaction), a thrust reduction will finally induce a speed increase and vice versa.
Page 11
How could it fly ? Flight mechanics with thrust only : roll

In normal flight with no sideslip, lift is symmetrical.
The only way to control the lateral axis is the use of assymetric thrust f
Page 12
How could it fly ?

Increasing the thrust on one engine, will first generate sideslip
Page 13
How could it fly ?

And thanks to sideslip, the asymmetric lift will allow to generate some bank, but with a delayed response of the bank A/C
With left sideslip (more thrust on left engine), the engine) airplane yaws, then rolls to the right right.
Page 14
How could it fly ?

On top of it, in their case, the aircraft was in an evolutive assymetry (Surface missing, airfoil modified, massive fuel leak on the left wing). It then had a permanent tendancy to roll, evolving as the fuel leaks and probably wing parts fly away. Globally, the roll remained contained during two minutes, without any roll-specific crew action, between 12 right and 22 left, final stabilized state. Two minutes after the explosion, the crew had to cope with the final assymetry with some permanent sideslip.
Page 15
How does it fly ?

Synthesis:
Symmetrical change of thrust application will allow to control pitch and then vertical speed. But pitch control can be loose due to the p g , phugod, making slope visualisation very difficult. g p y Thrust being used for pitch control cannot then be used for speed control. Speed must be accepted as an undesired result of the desired slope. When controlling the flight path, the crew will then have to accept the resulting speed and to control the slope through an active control of the pitch via the thrust .
Assymetrical thrust application will allow to control the roll, but with a delayed response of the aircraft aircraft. Therefore, A/C control is achievable, but (at the least) demanding
Page 16
Bring the A/C to the ground

The crew had no powerpoint slides to learn these flight
mechanics
First they manage to control the pitch, extending the

landing g g gear ( y g (by gravity) to limit the speed increase. At this y) p time the A/C is more or less stabilized in slight turn.
Then they learn to control the roll, going through some roll
excursions beyond 30.
Page 17
Having learned to manage the flight path, the crew is

ready to attempt the landing.
What about you ? Are you comfortable with this new way
of controlling the airplane ?
Dont forget that the left wing is on fire ! So, it may be g g , y

time to come back and land.
Page 18

Page 19

They elect for the 33R the longest of the 2 runways 33R, runways. Good news : 20kt turbulent wind from the 290 ! After some downwind leg they come back for long final in leg,
a right turn (although the aircraft tends to roll left by itself).
In addition to the flight path, they closely monitor the left

, y p p tank, ready to open the crossfeed despite the leak and the fire (not intuitive is it ?) : the engines must stay alive at all price!
Page 20
Bring the aircraft to the ground

Approximate trajectory
Missile hit
Basic principles understood

Page 21

Finally the 33L was closer from their final flight path The crew piloted the A/C down to the flare, coping with the
p g phugod, the asymmetry in roll and the Xwind y y 25 min after missile impact, the A/C was landed (NOT crashed): On the runway 33L, with a controlled touch down (Vz below 10ft/s), a positive pitch With some divergent heading ( ) and some bank to the g g (8) right (10)
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Runway exit

Page 23
Thrust reversers were used

Page 24

A/C exit runway rapidely, but reversers associated to rolling in the sand provide a
good substitute to poor braking. After 1km of deceleration, A/C stops.
Page 25

Disregarding some light damage on the landing gear (deflated
tyres), aircraft is intact (but for the wing !) y ), ( g )
No injuries for the crew or people on ground
Page 26
Conclusion
Each such situation is unique and cannot be trained for in
advance.
Crew will have to adapt himself, applying the following

basic principles
Pitch is Pit h i controlled b th t t ll d by thrust Speed MUST be DISREGARDED (provided vertical speed is controlled)
Roll is controlled by differential thrust with considerable time response DO NOT RETARD thrust at flare
Page 27
Well done Mario, Eric, Steeve! You really did write a nice page of aviation history!
Page 28

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Operational Liaison Meeting A300/A310/A300-600

Baghdad A300 Incident Discussion

TRIBUTE TO ERIC, STEEVE AND MARIO

Bringing the A/C back to the ground Conclusion

Baghdad A300 Incident Discussion

A special Take Off procedure is applied to minimize ground

proximity time and threat exposure duration :

Baghdad A300 Incident Discussion

THE FACTS (continue)

Twenty seconds later, Eric feels the controls stiffening as

Baghdad A300 Incident Discussion

THE FACTS (continue)

THE FACTS (continue)

Baghdad A300 Incident Discussion

THE FACTS (continue)

Lets try to do the same (but in the quietness of the Let s

Baghdad A300 Incident Discussion

How could it fly ?

Flight mechanics with thrust only : pitch

Baghdad A300 Incident Discussion

How could it fly ?

Baghdad A300 Incident Discussion

How could it fly ?

Baghdad A300 Incident Discussion

How could it fly ?

THRUST BECOMES A PITCH CONTROL

Speed becomes a consequence of the chosen p q combination of pitch and thrust.

Baghdad A300 Incident Discussion

How could it fly ? Flight mechanics with thrust only : roll

How could it fly ?

Baghdad A300 Incident Discussion

How could it fly ?

How could it fly ?

Baghdad A300 Incident Discussion

How does it fly ?

Baghdad A300 Incident Discussion

Bring the A/C to the ground

First they manage to control the pitch, extending the

Baghdad A300 Incident Discussion

Bring the A/C to the ground

Having learned to manage the flight path, the crew is

Dont forget that the left wing is on fire ! So, it may be g g , y

Baghdad A300 Incident Discussion

THE FACTS (continue)

Baghdad A300 Incident Discussion

Bring the A/C to the ground

In addition to the flight path, they closely monitor the left

Baghdad A300 Incident Discussion

Bring the aircraft to the ground

Basic principles understood

Baghdad A300 Incident Discussion

Bring the A/C to the ground

Baghdad A300 Incident Discussion

Baghdad A300 Incident Discussion

Thrust reversers were used

Baghdad A300 Incident Discussion

Bring the A/C to the ground

Baghdad A300 Incident Discussion

Bring the A/C to the ground

No injuries for the crew or people on ground

Baghdad A300 Incident Discussion

Crew will have to adapt himself, applying the following

Baghdad A300 Incident Discussion