(CNN) — Two days before US Airways Flight 1549 crashed into the Hudson River, passengers on the same route and same aircraft say they heard a series of loud bangs and the flight crew told them they could have to make an emergency landing, CNN has learned. Steve Jeffrey of Charlotte, North Carolina, told CNN he was flying in first class Tuesday when, about 20 minutes into the flight, “it sounded like the wing was just snapping off.” “The red lights started going on. A little pandemonium was going on,” Jeffrey recalled.
“It seemed so loud, like luggage was hitting the side but times a thousand. It startled everyone on the plane,” Jeffrey said. “We started looking at each other. The stewardesses started running around. They made an announcement that ‘everyone heard the noise, we’re going to turn around and head back to LaGuardia and check out what happened.’ “I fly about 50 to 60 times per year, and I’ve never heard a noise so loud,” he said. “It wasn’t turbulence, it wasn’t luggage bouncing around. It was just completely like the engine was thrown against the side of the plane. And when it happened again, everyone just started looking at each other and there was a quiet murmuring around the plane, and you could feel the tension rising just in looking.
He added, “About 10 minutes later when we never made the turn, we kept going, that’s when the pilot came on and explained — I wish I could remember the words — I remember him using air, compression and lock — I’m not sure the right order, but he made it sound like the air didn’t get to the engine and it stalled the engine out, which he said doesn’t happen all the time but it’s not abnormal.”
Hmmm, this is curious. Maybe some of our resident pilots can shed some light, that is if your not too busy watching the party in D.C.
“if your not too busy”
Not you too…..
Engine power loss is reported to the FAA. Probably a fuselage bird strike or a low altitude depressurisation of a cargo bay door.
He may have been talking about compressor stall / surge / lock / etc… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compressor_stall
I wouldn’t call a compressor stall a “normal” occurrence. The incident was logged by a different Capt., the engine was inspected and no damage was found. Still, I wonder if Capt. Sullenberger was advised of the problem. I can’t find any info on that.
As a retired Navy pilot my guess is that they experienced a compressor stall and I disagree with the idea that they aren’t abnormal. They are the result of disturbed air flow within the compressor section of a gas turbine engine and, while they may have been a fairly regular occurrence 40 years ago, modern motors rarely have them unless the compressor blades are damaged. I flew thousands of hours in my career and never experienced a single engine malfunction.
Where the engine stalled geographically is just a coincidence. It sounds like both happened right after takeoff. Typically at about 1000-3000′ you pull power from takeoff power to climb power. My book says to do this smoothly and deliberately, as a rapid power change can cause a compressor stall to happen, which is what this sounds like ( series of bangs or (‘burps’)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compressor_stall
This sort of thing is written up in the logbook the pilot reviews before every flight. Maintenance performs a series of checks, and the plane is back in service. A plane is a complex thing, full of pneumatics, hydraulics, fuel, electricity, etc, most of which move. Things break and make sounds all the time. If a pilot were to not fly for every squeak that is heard, there would be a lot of cancellations- daily.
Risk assessment, 2nd opinions, experience and all the other tools pilots use make this the safest way to travel.
My bottom line is, would I fly this airplane if my family were on board?
For you computer people, go to the airbus site and see just how advanced the airbus is. The flight control system is controlled by computers backing each other up, using different algorithms and code to ensure they both don’t experience the same fault at the same time. I flew for the Navy as well and I wish I had a 320 on station all the time.
Bottom line: Whatever might have happened two days earlier, it was totally unrelated to what brought down the plane. So, I see no point in making a big point about let alone even commenting on it.
Compressor stalls, though rare, are not a significant issue and can happen for many reasons. And they always sound much worse than they really are.
I was on a plane taking off from Seatac airport in Seattle in the mid-1980’s when we experienced a compressor stall. The pilot explained the occurrence a few minutes later, and we continued on to LAX without incident.
It is the most disconcerting occurrence I have experienced in 40 years of about 160 flights, but still only a 5 or 6 out of 10. The pilot made it sound like it was no worse than the coffeemaker spilling, of course.
Compressor stalls on the Airbus-mounted CFM engines is a known issue and GE/CFM have devised a software fix that’s currently in testing. Apparently the stall occurs when the pilot throttles back after takeoff, which affects airflow into the engine. It appears to occur most frequently on engines that have been in service for a while since their last overhaul (run hotter).
http://bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2009/01/05/daily35.html
[Please drop the WWW from URLs as WordPress doesn’t display it properly. – ed.]
There apparently wasn’t much information gathered from the black box other than the sound of 155 people shitting themselves.
#5 – Not really trying to be a smart-ass on this. But I don’t recall seeing anything suggesting that there was evidence of a bird-strike. Just people saying it was a bird strike (I’d think no one could see a bird go into an engine even if they were looking at the engine at the time). Of course, two engines dying instead of just one suggests a flock. But if there isn’t evidence (a dead bird) and two days earlier having engine issues, I wouldn’t just dismiss it as unrelated.
Axial compressor stall does not cause a “bang” sound. Compressor surge (the opposite of stall and vitrually impossible in a jet) might. I think this needs more investigation.
#8 Do not speculate unless you actually know what you are talking about. You sir, are an idiot.
Yes, you can very well see a single bird when flying into one. And if you are unsure of the damage a single bird can do, search around the internet for pix of birdstrikes that breach the windscreen and disable flight crew.
I would hate to be someone like you who can not accept fact.
#8–Chuckybaby==in links in related articles on this blog have been quotes and reports of both the co-pilot and pilot reporting they saw birds. Also reported were several radar sites that confirmed a flock of birds intersected with the flight of the jet.
But, I’ll match my ignorance as a basis to post shit with your own: I’m not aware of compression stalls in two engines at the same time and I’m also ignorant of compressor stalls ever bringing down an aircraft.
When you post from a basis of ignorance==yes, you are being an ass.
A history of compressor stalls may indicate that the engine(s) were worn, or at least high time. If the compressor is stalled, the engine will not produce thrust.
It is possible that a worn engine would be more susceptible to compressor stall following a bird strike. Even if the bird did not break anything going through, the residue might disrupt airflow enough to cause a stall on an engine that had reduced stall margin due to wear or previous damage.
#10, An Air France Airbus experienced a simultaneous compressor stall in both engines just last month.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123128402658958947.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
#10, learn to read
Couldn’t they have just walked to shore on the trash in the Hudson?
Sounds to me like GE and/or Snecma should reduce the number of flight hours between major overhauls if thats the problem. Software may help, but the engine is still worn. It’s like MS patching Windows ME! LOL