A380 Hits Airport Building During Test Fly

[xbusman]

There is a big difference between being designed for a plane that size and being equipped and prepared for a plane that size. There is a belief that BKK was redesigned to accommodate the A380 after its introduction. Remember, BKK was designed a long time before the 380 was even in Foregards dreams.

So what did that mean, some gates were spread out (anybody seen any double decker gates at BKK?) some taxi ways were widened and bridges reinforced. However, to accommodate that plane, you are going to need a raft of new support equipment from equipment loaders to APUs. People need trained, new lines and safety zones set up, ATC has to be aware of separation issues, and on and on and on.

You can design on paper all you want, it might even be the right size, but integration is risky and complicated business and you better be ready for it. Even now, Singapore is finding all sorts of little things cropping up despite some of the best planning in the business and delivery scheduled for next month.

Again, that plane has no business in Thailand at this time. BKK has enough to worry about without adding unnecessary risk.

[chinthee]

for which the hanger whose door it hit had not been designed.

just a couple of posts ago we were told that the new airport was designed with this beast in mind ...............................

Precisely

Regards

PS expect elements of the US media to run this ad-nauseam

Boeing doesn't need to trash Airbus to score business. It's miles ahead.

[Thaihog]

What about those "poor old VIP's" stuck onboard during this saga and having to force down large quantities of vintage champagne, cavier and smoked salmon.

The delay probably put the catering bill up from 3 to 5 million baht.

[grimmbro]

Pretty amazing when you consider that the new airport was suppose to be built to meet the specifications of the A380. It was suppose to give Thailand the edge as a regional hub. Now we see they made the U-turns too tight. LOL

[TEFLMike]

The bus driver fled the scene. When he was questioned about the incident later, he blamed the Farang pilot of the plane for hitting his bus.

I am sure I heard a chorus of 'Wind beneath My Wings' yesterday , or was it the wind in the bus drivers underpants?

[Dakhar]

I'm sure it will buff right out.

[Redhawk]

Just wondering, as a pilot myself,

who is in charge when an aircraft is driven on the ground or flown, the pilot in command or who else?!

This is of course the responsebility of the cockpit crew, captain or first officer, who ever is the pilot in command it is by all means a bad excuse to be seen here by the officials but that's the way it works here.

I am wondering what kind of a pilot that is, who's not taking responsebility for his actions and how to fix a damage like this in an hour, it takes hours to oversee the whole damage like this, it is for sure not like a small wound what you would fix with a pflaster.

Any realiable pilot would refuse to continue this flight shortly after a damage of his wingtip, just my two cents.

[AsiaCheese]

Could you guys make the headline any more hyped up?

Wasn't even during the "flight"!

Nope, but the super-airplane at the super-airport scratching its wing [sort-of] is capable of pulling a super-audience of 510 pax in a ThaiVisa forum :D

Not bad, not bad.

[IMA_FARANG]

Just wondering, as a pilot myself,

who is in charge when an aircraft is driven on the ground or flown, the pilot in command or who else?!

This is of course the responsebility of the cockpit crew, captain or first officer, who ever is the pilot in command it is by all means a bad excuse to be seen here by the officials but that's the way it works here.

I am wondering what kind of a pilot that is, who's not taking responsebility for his actions and how to fix a damage like this in an hour, it takes hours to oversee the whole damage like this, it is for sure not like a small wound what you would fix with a pflaster.

Any realiable pilot would refuse to continue this flight shortly after a damage of his wingtip, just my two cents.

Many years ago I was in Boston, Massachusets at Logan Airport when a 747 apparently misjudged coming into the arrivals area, and ended up with it's nose going through the glass over the arrivals area. At the time the explanantion was that due to the setting sun the pilot (or whoever was in charge of bringing the aircraft in) wasn't able to see the stop point in the glare of the setting sun. I never bought that explanaation. Sure was a lot of excitement when the nose of the 747 came thru the glass wall by those passangers waiting to pick up their baggage.

Wonder if someone was fired for that incident?

[A_Traveller]

Could you guys make the headline any more hyped up?

Wasn't even during the "flight"!

Nope, but the super-airplane at the super-airport scratching its wing [sort-of] is capable of pulling a super-audience of 510 pax in a ThaiVisa forum :D

Not bad, not bad.

But the item was sent out as a breaking news item by email with that header, hence the traffic.

Regards

[Valehree]

Latest news....hanger foundations were laid in wrong place, full investigation to follow, results expected some time before the world ends.

[h5kaf]

If the building had not been there it couldn't have been hit. No way is it the fault of the Thai driver, the building must have been erected by a farang. Compensation claims will be interesting. After all the lives of very important Thai officials were probably put at risk. THIS IS MAJOR.

[Big A]

Airbus let Thai Airways International (THAI) uses the world's largest passenger plane in the trial flight from Bangkok to Chiang Mai.

And look what happens!!

Edited September 1, 2007 by Big A

[anon467367354]

"THAI president Apinan Sumanaserani said the accident did not result from pilot error, but that it may have occurred from the size of the aircraft which was larger than the safety line marked for aircraft making a U-turn."

Quote of the century!

arent' these guys supposed to have whistles or something? I don't understand how this can happen in these days of the modern whistle.

[Charma]

Didn't we have a recent posting about a "dangerous" car park attendant who caused an accident with his whistle? I bet he got a transfer to the airport!

[pgrin]

Here's a pic

[steinf]

Unfortunately, the pilot retains responsibility for the aircraft. With an aircraft of this size on an inaugural flight I would have thought they would provide "wing spotters" to insure the massive wings would not have an unfortunate encounter with buildings or the myriad of antenna and other structures that could potentially be hazardous to aircraft movement. This is going to be an issue for this particular aircraft for sometime to come as current airports weren't designed for an aircraft this large.

Fred

http: //stein482.spaces.live.com Visit My Website

[gentman]

Can someone who have pics of the aircraft without the winglets please post that here.

[TBWG]

".....tug driver and wing walkers should all get a kick up the a-hole over this."

That's why they have wing walkers.

~WISteve

Hi

Now this I must see an A380 with wing walkers, surely a massive step backwards, seen them on bi planes but never on airliners. Money must be good tho, bit cold and boring on long haul

TBWG

[Foggy Bottom]

If the building had not been there it couldn't have been hit. No way is it the fault of the Thai driver, the building must have been erected by a farang. Compensation claims will be interesting. After all the lives of very important Thai officials were probably put at risk. THIS IS MAJOR.

It's all the farang's fault - if the farang had not brought their farang plane here in the first place, there could not have been an accident, because they would not have been here to have one.

...... That'll be the conclusion once they get the BiB Traffic division involved

[TEFLMike]

Good job it was a bus and not a tank..... perish the thought

[Shrubbery]

What a stupid headline! It makes it seem like an inflight disaster instead of the little taxying glitch that it was.

Even if the Bangkok Post put it that way, isn't there anybody at Thaivisa.com with enough sense to rephrase daft headlines? Or do you like to cause alarm?

Maybe something to do with getting hits on the site. 7600+ since it was first posted 8 hours ago.

I'm intrigued as to why the thread was moved from "Suvarnabhumi Airport Forum".

[bob6023]

Maybe the "bus" driver felt the building would get out of his way , like every thing else in the way of a bus in TL

I flew out of Dn Muang recently. Not a bad airport at all.

[geoffphuket]

Suvarnabhumi. The hub of Asia air travel.....and now accidents

[buddyholly1]

True responsibility should lie with whoever is ultimately in charge of the Thai airports, as well as that individual's boss.

What is the reason that people use the word ''individual'' now, instead of such simple words as ''man'', ''woman'' or ''person''? Do they ever think what the word means: ''something that can not be divided''. Why call a person ''something that can not be divided''?

[marc288888]

If the thai,s driving is anything to go by this is no shock ......funny it was to big but nothing to do with pilot what did he think it was a mini

[karazyal]

The pilots was not blamed for the damage as Mr Apinan said the accident occurred because the jet is so large that it needs more space on the taxiway.

*

Isn't it a little late in the game to "suddenly discover" that the wingspan is a little longer?

Is this really "new information" to Thai Air?

Thought they knew they were getting a larger airplane!!!

[mackayae]

I have observed that when Thai officers prepare for a big event, they prepare fairly thoroughly. Let's see, we have this big, big, huge, immense, large, yai mahk airplane coming. It's so big that we might have to.....order more fruit punch.

Touche!

[frankthetank]

At least we know for sure that the pilots are not women!

They usually cannot get IN to parking spaces without hitting something!

[britmaveric]

Trivia question: Where was A380 first accident???? Swampy Airport Bangkok Thailand.