SWA Tire Fire @ HOBBY ???

[A4sForever]

Southwest Jet suffers tire fire at Houston Hobby

While I hesitate to second guess another crew when I wasn't there -- there IS video available and as such this appears to be a brake fire or tire failure w/ resultant fire on landing -- and they don't clear the runway ??? And they evacuate the pax ON the runway ???

This seems like a potential overreaction to a highly manageable situation. Speculation is worth exactly what it costs you -- i.e., NOTHING ... but sometimes you can connect the dots ... you can 'speculate' ... based on the situation and your experience and training.

The potential for injury is much greater during a pax evac scenario than something going 'wrong' on a brake fire @ landing ... again, I wasn't there ... but I've had brake fires.

Just provided for info and your corporate interest ...

 

[Brett327]

I'm thinking that the tires probably didn't survive, and I imagine taxiing on rims and/or seized brakes is probably a non-starter.

Brett

 

[A4sForever]

Yeah ... hard to tell -- it looks like there's still plenty of rubber on the last few clips that show gear ... but my main "hey, look at that" explicative-deleted was the pax evac for a brake/tire fire (?) ... I'm wondering what went into the decision on that one, unless it's airline specific SOP -- especially w/ Crash & Rescue apparently on scene ASAP ??? Assume talkin' w/ TOWER on the roll-out ???

The evac looks like it kinda went 'askew', what with lots of carry-on visible at the end of the slide, shoes left on and that one guy chasing his papers/attache case around the concrete ...

To me -- it's not worth an evac. I've blown engines and didn't evac 'cause there was no 'need' and too much potential downside. I know other guys who did -- and wish they didn't. But I wasn't there, either ... talk being cheap & all ...

 

[Schnugg]

Those flames were good size and licking up under the wing pretty good.

I'd be curious as to what tower said to them to perhaps instigate the evacuation..."Your're on fire" is what comes to mind...???

 

[Catmando]

Those flames were good size and licking up under the wing pretty good.

I'd be curious as to what tower said to them to perhaps instigate the evacuation..."Your're on fire" is what comes to mind...???

I'd be curious too. Hearing you are on fire on landing roll-out kind of primes you for an EVAC.

While I tend to agree with A4s that the EVAC was probably unnecessary, I have seen other guys do it under similar circumstances. Personally, I wouldn't though, especially with fire trucks there and if talking to the firemen.

Mi dos centavos.

 

[zipmartin]

I've received numerous calls and emails inquiring.....curious minds want to know.....it was not me.

As has been mentioned by others, not trying to second guess, as I wasn't there.....a little inside info. Fires and emergency evacuations have been a hot topic in training and our PT's the last couple of years. Who knows why, but that has been a favorite subject at the schoolhouse. Looking at the video, I'm surmising the crew received a call from tower to the effect of, "Hey Southwest! You've got a fire on the right side of the aircraft, under the wing!" Bingo. Two hot topic training scenarios happening. Better do what we've practiced numerous times in the sim. Handle the situation, communicate to the stews, run the checklist. As I said, just surmising. It's easy to armchair quarterback.

Many, many years ago, on a dark, dark night in Rosey as dash-4 in a 4-plane weps hop to Vieques, I aborted at about 100kts when everything in the cockpit of my trusty A-7 went black (generator failure). With no electrics to power the anti-skid, I promptly blew the right tire. I managed to keep the a/c on the runway, lowered the hook prior to the long-field gear, and thought I had it made. The right main-mount was now ground down to the axle and was sharp as a razor. It cleanly cut the cable and caused the a/c to swerve to the right where I departed the runway at about 10 kts, ending up stuck in the mud. When I didn't rendezvous with the rest of the flight, the lead asked dash-3 to call tower and ask where I was. The tower's answer was "He departed the runway in flames!" They thought I was dead and it was only a blown tire. If I had it to do over, would I abort at 100 kts for a generator failure? Probably not. But at the time, I didn't know it was just a generator failure. I just knew that everything went black and I knew that not far off the end of the runway was a lot of water. But I really laugh now when I think about tower's statement that "He departed the runway in flames!" That kind of statement could really affect the decision-making process. My three cents worth.

 

[A4sForever]

I've received numerous calls and emails ....

IF you find out whether or not they knew they had an impending problem while still airborne ... i.e., prior to landing ... would you let us know ???

Maraming salamat, G.I. ....

 

[resctech]

Extended version

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/video?id=6809981

Here is a link to an unedited clip, about 6 min long, just before 3 min Houston Fire ARFF shows up, within the regs as I understand. Not sure why the news crew decided to film that aircraft on approach, not uncommon though. Almost all of the Houston news helicopters refuel there, and most, along with HPD acft launch from there. HFD wasn't staged, we usually do on anything that is reported while in flight.

 

[mtsupilot09]

That's a good clip, resctech. Good job by the HOU ARFF.

 

[zipmartin]

Latest update: The NTSB is handling the event as an "incident" due to the evacuation. Amount of information available is limited. Could be awhile before we know much.

 

[RHPF]

I like the guy who tossed his briefcase down the slide in front of him (so to not lose paperwork in the fire), only to then have the papers fly away in the wind (losing them when they would have been safe).

 

[A4sForever]

I still think ... based on a whole lot of hours in the 'decision seat' AND the 'instructor seat' ... that this was an overreaction to an easily managed 'situation' ... if I'm wrong, fuck it ... I'm wrong.

Sometimes ... you just gotta' say what you believe ...

 

[Staubb00]

right now there is a drive to push the FAA to bump up the staffing requirements for ARFF. The video kind of shows why that's not a bad idea... one guy to help them get off the slide and then no one to keep the passengers corralled once they get off the taxiway. At airports with a lower index (like mine) there would be no one there at all besides the guy in the truck spraying the foam!

http://www.fireengineering.com/disp...port-Safety-By-Improving-Firefighting-Standar

 

[A4sForever]

right now there is a drive to push the FAA to bump up the staffing requirements for ARFF.

Totally agree ... there SHOULD have been 5 times the C&R personnel on deck available as opposed to those who are visible on the vid ...