While fuel dumps don't happen every day, they're also not uncommon. Nor do they usually represent a major emergency. In fact if an aircraft is taking the time to dump fuel before landing, that's likely an indication that the issue forcing the plane to land is serious but not critical.
In most cases, airlines only dump air in midair immediately before landing. They don't do it before or during takeoff, nor do they do it halfway through their flight. Rather, airlines may dump some of their airplane's excess fuel immediately before landing so that it lowers the weight of their aircraft.
Dumping fuel is only done when no other options are available. Unless a flight has a severe problem or a medical emergency that requires the plane to land immediately, the pilots would rather keep flying in circles to burn off fuel rather than dumping it.
Larger planes like the Boeing 747, on the other hand, have fuel jettison systems. If the aircraft tried to land without dumping the fuel first, it is considered an overweight landing attempt and could place immense stress on the airframe.
This is because landing can place additional strain on a jet. When a plane lands heavily, it can hit the ground too hard and damage itself. During an emergency, a jet may be forced to land earlier than anticipated. This is where fuel dumping comes into play.
If the aircraft does not meet the regulatory engine out climb requirements at maximum takeoff weight or if the manufacturer has not made provisions to structurally allow for an "over-weight" landing capability , the aircraft will normally be equipped with a Fuel Dumping system.
Fuel jettisoning systems can dump thousands of pounds a second. Most can get a plane back down to its max landing weight in 15 minutes or less, and it's usually as easy as flipping a switch in the cockpit.
The reason to dump fuel is simple: to drop weight. Any given aircraft has a Maximum Landing Weight (MLW) at which it can land, and in most cases that weight is lower than its Maximum Takeoff Weight (MTOW).
Without fuel, the engines won't work. If the plane runs out of fuel while in the air, the plane must be refuelled. Otherwise, the plane will crash. Sometimes there are undesirable situations, and there are examples of this situation in the history of aviation.
The maximum landing weight (MLW) is the maximum aircraft gross weight due to design or operational limitations at which an aircraft is permitted to land. The MLW is set in order to ensure safe landings; if an aircraft weighs too heavy during touchdown, it may suffer structural damage or even break apart upon landing.
One of the most common questions is how long a private jet can fly without refueling. The answer to this question depends on a number of factors, such as the type of plane, the weight of the fuel, and the weather conditions. The typical private jet can fly for about five to six hours before it needs to be refueled.
This is where the issue of excess fuel comes in. The more excess fuel we carry, the heavier we become. The heavier we become, the more lift we need to take off and keep flying. To do this, we have to accelerate to a faster speed, requiring more engine power.
Aerial refueling, also known as air-to-air refueling, in-flight refueling, and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel between two aircraft mid-flight. The aircraft loading the fuel is known as the “tanker,” with the recipient being the “receiver.”
As a rule of thumb for the Boeing 747, pilots either quote dump rates ranging within 1–2 tons per minute or reference a thumb formula of dump time = (dump weight / 2) + 5 in minutes. In 2009, an Airbus A340-300 returning to its airport of departure shortly after takeoff dumped 53 tons of fuel in 11 minutes.
No, no pilot would want to shut off engines before landing unless it was an emergency landing. Its possible the engines went to flight-idle which may be very quiet to somebody listening in the cabin. How do you think the aircraft got to the gate after landing if the engines were off?
In the sense that they burn less fuel per minute to get there, yes. That's because as they burn fuel along the flight, they get lighter. Less weight requires less lift to compensate that. Less lift causes less induced drag.
The window is replaced. Then the plane returns to service. It's not very exciting. A broken window is not usually "removed" because the window has multiple layers.
A pilot's job extends to more than merely flying the plane
For instance, the First Officer is required to leave to conduct an external walk-around preflight before returning. Along with this, keeping the door open allows the Captain to monitor the boarding procedure. Of course, non-pilots may also come in and out.
A: As a jet descends toward the runway, the pilot increases the power to maintain a specific descent rate (usually around 700 feet per minute). Jet engines require time to accelerate, so the increase in thrust (known as spooling up) improves the ability to go around should it be necessary.
Smoother flight
On clear nights, there is less friction against the wings which makes for obstruction-free sailing across the sky. Less air traffic also means smoother cruising, since most pilots can sit back and not worry about the aircraft in their path.
These clouds are contrails, short for condensation trails. Water vapor is one of the byproducts of jet fuel combustion and will turn into ice crystals in the cold air at the high elevations where jet airplanes fly. Those ice crystals create a cloud (the contrail), which does not pose any public health risk.
Most of the time, fuel starvation is due to pilot error. In some situations however, mechanical failures cause airplane crashes. Regardless, the airlines in these situations may be liable for injuries that result from such crashes.
The U.S. military's declassified 42-second color footage shows a Russian Su-27 approaching the back of the MQ-9 Reaper drone and releasing fuel as it passes, the Pentagon said. Dumping the fuel appeared to be aimed at blinding the drone's optical instruments to drive it from the area.
Let's start with a look at the most famous of jets, the Boeing 747. The Boeing website states that this model, with a gas tank capacity of 63,500 gallons, may burn five gallons of jet fuel per mile of flight. A 4,000-mile flight, then, requires 20,000 gallons of fuel.
Aerial refueling, also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from one aircraft (the tanker) to another (the receiver) while both aircraft are in flight.