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Boeing 747 Freighter Tips Over Backwards After Being Improperly Unloaded in Qatar

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Consider it a lesson in why you should always, always read the manual: A Boeing 747 freighter aircraft got tail-happy in an unexpected way at Qatar's Doha International Airport, when a weight imbalance reportedly brought about by improper unloading procedures caused it to tip backwards onto its tail and thrust the nose of the jumbo jet into the air. (www.thedrive.com) More...

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shenghaohan
Shenghao Han 22
V0... Rotate...
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joeycao2004
Joey Cao 3
Cleared for Launch
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patpylot
patrick baker 9
boeing builds better butts: bet it was hardly scratched...
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sparkie624
sparkie624 3
Normally those kinds of tips are gradual and very low impact.... Will take some careful planning, but damage should be minimal.
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atanudey
Atanu Dey 1
I like your alliteration. You got five b's in a row.
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ffrcobra1
ffrcobra1 9
I bet the guy in charge of installing the tail stand is looking for a new job.
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ah6oy
Jim DeTour 1
Yah there's also why weren't they unlocking and moving freight forward to adjust. Could of been snagged pallet and front kept offloading the front leaving the guys towards the rear in a predicament. Or some heavier machinery was loaded in the rear that loading they made sure a few pallets to offset loading the rear wouldn't tilt the plane. Should of been a warning from origin in that case. Looks like the tail stand might be standard for awhile :) Normally you get a good indication the plane is shifting exterior and interior. Evidently the guys inside were deaf and dumb because both wheeled loader operators should of been screaming.
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RonNantes
Ron Nantes 4
Should "have" not should "of".
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Billj357
B Johnson 2
how about 'could have' ..
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mjones1pa
mark jones 5
You experts here have it all wrong. This is the new, “Top Secret “ 747 in Dump configuration mode. It’s used for passengers who need to rapidly de-plane to catch a connection. For cargo, you dump it right into waiting trucks.
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srobak
srobak 1
This is precisely why I always thought the C5 would make an excellent passenger plane.
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sparkie624
sparkie624 4
Someone just got a 3 Day Vacation without pay... LOL...
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allank
Allan Kidd 4
if you look closely you will see that is the new JATO 747 in launch configuration
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chairflyer2002
john krull 1
Might save fuel, but a real loss of personnel. Hopefully
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nasdisco
Chris B 4
Not at V2 yet.....
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sparkie624
sparkie624 2
Put enough power between anything and it will go up.... We proved that with the Apollo Missions.
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jbsimms
James Simms 3
And F4 Phantoms
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hortod1
dj horton 3
Thankfully it was a lesson learned while it was still on the ground and not after it got airborne
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Decibel
Jim Nasby 1
Well, it is a lot harder to unload while in flight...
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SmokedChops
SmokedChops 1
well, yes, there is that small issue... (these are right up there with the MX reports. "humming from behind center pedestal" reply "people behind pedestal told to learn actual lyrics")
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RDLoven
Richard Loven 3
This is Boeing’s fault too. They didn't’ explain the loading procedures clearly enough.
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sgbelverta
sharon bias 3
Well, it's not like the Iranians are going to get any parts to fix the thing from Boeing. Lucky for them it happened in Qatar. Qatar has a quality airport and they're equipped to handle this sort of stuff.
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MIKESWICK
MIKE SWICK 3
checklists checklists checklists
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DarrylLyons
Darryl Lyons 3
Weight and Balance 101. Progressive off-loading.
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pilot62
Scott Campbell 3
They don't like that , almost as stupid as the dreaded 737-900 ... that needs a fuel burn to reach a preferred altitude and a tail stick to unload PX ... " Oh wait we can't divert there, they don't have a tail stick" the 37.10 will be a nightmare as well
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ThierryDAVROUX
Thierry DAVROUX 3
Check your keyboard !

Indeed, this remind me an accident that happen some years ago, to an Emirates A330 (or may be A340) departing from LFPG. Same problem, incorrect loading that cause a premature rotation at take-off (and this was a flight with passengers). There is a very instructive report from BEA (Bureau Enquete Accident) about it.

To summarize: the origin of this incident was an incorrect value entered in the load calculation software, at the very first stage of flight preparation. This was because of a $10 keyboard has a defective "5" key… and no control of a valid value by the software.

Incredible, but true !
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ThierryDAVROUX
Thierry DAVROUX 3
Correction : this was on a A300-600 in 1997.

If you wonder how a such error is possible, the report is still available here:
https://www.bea.aero/fileadmin/documents/docspa/1997/a6-o970730a/pdf/a6-o970730a.pdf

Read page 13 about the keyboard problem.
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baqwas
Matha Goram 1
Million dollar aircraft and still using membrane keyboards? I had to use a $9 (MSRP) keyboard at work (the Gray Lady of Silicon Valley) and came home to a electro-mechanical keyboard at home. My keyboard is still working. Wonder what happened to the Gray Lady!
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kerimparrot
Mike Williams 1
Back in the late '80s my alarm company used to install an inexpensive alarm system who used membrane keypads. We replaced at least 1 keypad/control for a coustomer who used a pencil's eraser. He was unable to use his fingers like most people do.As of now I belive that alarm system is now 100% unreacheable.It was an ACE security control panel from Adcor Electronics. I still have the installers programmming manual. I think we added a hard buttoned keypad to do normal daily on/off security functions.
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pandmhicks
Philip Hicks 3
Didn't they have a tail steady [ tail jack ] ? Ar Auckland [ AKL ] when doing a turn around of a B747 Freighter the a/c handling crew always installed a tail steady. Signature required on our paperwork as well!
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sparkie624
sparkie624 3
You would think... But I guess you could say that got a real Tail Stand.... LOL.... Lay it on the tail and stand it up Proud.... :)
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srobak
srobak 1
shoulda fired up the engines and run it down the taxiway for a hell of a show.
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dardav
dardav 4
as a infidel I accept all blame. Who knew. Somebody call somebody!!
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jbsimms
James Simms 5
Rosie O’Donnell sitting in the back?
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[This poster has been suspended.]

dabeed
Dave Fisher -2
asshole 2.0
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dabeed
Dave Fisher -2
asshole comment
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vulcancruiser
Larry Loffelmacher 2
Every few years we get one of these......photo op then forgotten.....it'll buff right out
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TWA55
TWA55 2
What goes up will at some point go down, may nn to consider a tail stand.
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PegLegJim
Jim Welch 2
You just KNOW some guy went home and had to say “Sorry Honey. I lost my job today.”
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rastapoodle
rastapoodle 2
I was a 'loadmaster' for UPS Airlines for 8 years. I was expected to load/unload the 747 fast but always by the book. At airports where UPS had ground service vendors, if I witnessed something that could get me fired, I had to stop the vendor. Between a language barrier and being female, I did not always get cooperation, but I kept my job. Write-ups were time consuming but I was flying on that plane, so I was protecting my own a@@, as well. Loved our charters, got to see the world, loved the 747, DC-10, not so much. We rarely used the nose, mostly the side door.
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ElliotCannon
Elliot Cannon 1
I don't remember having loadmasters at UPS. I remember load supervisors but not "loadmasters". Of course that was 13 years ago.LOL I don't remember DC-10's either. Did you mean MD11?
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rastapoodle
rastapoodle 1
Sorry, I did mean MD-11. But yes, I did not work for the package side of the business, I worked for the Airline. We were part of the charters for the military for the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF).
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gosports1
Richard Otterbourg 2
Lets Keep the Comment's to the Topic
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atanudey
Atanu Dey 2
ROTFLMAO. Should have RTFM.
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chairflyer2002
john krull 2
Fire up the engines with brakes on, then release brakes. Guaranteed shortest take off distance for ANY aircraft but VTOL. (Especially for a B747!).
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Moviela
Ric Wernicke 2
What do you expect when the loadmaster comes to work in short pants and flip-flops?
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SmokedChops
SmokedChops 1
"your LD3 of sildenafil is here!"..."how can you tell?"..."just a guess.."
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pilot62
Scott Campbell 1
just fly it home, no wing or engine damage
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Gregger2000
Greg Starkey 1
Don't they use 'load cell's ' ? DUH
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panam1971
panam1971 1
I'm pretty sure somebody fell asleep during the class on "Weight and Balance"...
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sparkie624
sparkie624 2
Must have been 1 of the 7 Dwarves... Maybe it was sleepy... Either way it goes, he/she got a rude awakening!
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CAH747
CLARENCE HELLER 1
Do the load plan in the office,then you know what will & what will not be correct. CAL lost a 747 due to improper repair of a tail strike. weakened the pressure bulkhead. broke in flight & lost all
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stansdds
Michael Stansfield 0
"Tips over backwards"? Did not look like it tipped over to me, just sitting on its tail. Modern journalist schools strike again.
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VivPike
Viv Pike 6
LOL. It tipped over backwards, dude. What else? OK - maybe English is not your first language.
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paulgilpin1953
paul gilpin 1
your wife boards an aircraft:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRuAhBMFu9g
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[This comment has been downvoted. Show anyway.]

Neil49
Neil49 0
Infantile.
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kd7eir
Jim Myers -3
Keep your filthy politics to yourself.
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rboddy91
Rich Boddy 1
Why are you the way you are?
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cowboybob
cowboybob -1
wow Boeing probably screwed this up too....
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joelwiley
joel wiley 0
Don't want to sound like a conspiracy theorist here, but how often does that kind of incident occur? This is the only one they have, and getting replacement parts can be dicey with the sanctions.
Was it accidental incompetence or deliberate?
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sparkie624
sparkie624 1
I don't think this was a conspiracy issue here, and I very seriously doubt that it was anything else other than someone screwed up in the work force... (IE Tail Stand)... But I would rather see one laid pm it's tail due to bad loading vs one where it's load shifted in flight.... For those who do not remember the "Crash of Boeing 747 in Afghanistan caused by shifting cargo" where "The National Transportation Safety Board said an improperly secured vehicle in cargo rendered the huge aircraft uncontrollable in 2013 crash" - At least here no one got injured (Severely anyway) - I imagine the guy moving the load inside the plane got a bruise or 2.... A little bit of sheet metal work and this one is back working again... (God Bless Sheet Metal Mechanics)!
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ed7778
Dennis Stockton -7
Allahu Akbar!
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