There are many catastrophes that are narrowly avoided by aviation. It would appear that a Boeing 717 departing from Dubai about a week ago almost had a major incident after takeoff. I have been able to piece together what happened so far.
What happened to this plane on the runway?
The flight was scheduled to leave at 2:25AM on December 20, 2021. The flight was operated by one of the newest Boeings, with the registration code A6-EQI.
I have been able to piece together what I have been told.
The previous crew had set the flight director to an altitude of 4,000 feet, but the pilots forgot to set the flight director to an altitude of zero feet.
The plane was flying at a rate of 262 knots after takeoff, which is supported by actual flight data, but under normal circumstances the plane would be flying under 200.
The pilots decided to continue to Washington even though the plane had sustained damage, I am still trying to figure out what that means.
I have been told that all four pilots have been fired, and that the US Federal Aviation Administration is now investigating this incident, given that the flight was US-bound.
Below is some data from Flightradar 24 for the flight in question. The left column is the altitude and the right column is the speed.
Here is the data for the flight.
Here is the data for the flight several days before.
The data is vastly different. It seems that a Boeing snoozing full of passengers and fuel was descending right after takeoff, to the point that it was lower than many high rises in the area.
The incident happened on a plane.
A memo has been sent to pilots.
The airline did send out an alert to pilots today, essentially referencing the incident, and they haven't commented on it yet.
There are no requirements to change the MCP after landing or shutting down. There have been times when the attitude wind has been set to the airport which can cause issues on the ground. After landing or shutting down, airfields cannot be set for airport arrivals.
I wonder what it was like on the plane.
I wonder if passengers had any idea what was going on, because I would be curious to hear from a passenger.
On the other hand, passengers might not have known what was going on since it was dark outside and most people don't pay attention to aircraft movement.
The plane was barely climbing after takeoff, but the passengers just kept flying faster and faster.
I am not surprised to see things like this happen once in a while, I feel safe flying with Emirates.
It's not unusual for pilots to be tired when they operate long haul flights in the middle of the night.
The reason for that is that the smallest plane of the airline, the 777, doesn't have a lot of experience at the controls.
Many pilots have only recently been brought to work after being out of work for a long time, so they have become a bit rusty from the coronaviruses.
I wonder what it was like for passengers.
The bottom line.
I am certain that more information will come out soon, but I am pretty sure that an Emirates Boeing 777 had a frightening departure out of Dubai a week ago. The altitude for after takeoff was set to ground level rather than 4,000 feet, and as a result the plane didn't climb very high, but rather just sped up. The plane flew at a frightening 261 knots, just 175 feet over the ground, which must have been frightening for those on the ground.
Hopefully, we will learn more since the FAA is investigating the incident. Please let us know if you have more information on the incident.
The tip of the hat is to God Save The Points.
Ben is the founder of OMAAT.
