Private jet caught in wake of superjumbo flipped on its back, ROLLED 5 times and plunged 10,000ft

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Capetonian

Private jet caught in wake of superjumbo flipped on its back, ROLLED 5 times and plunged 10,000ft

#1 Post by Capetonian » Wed Mar 22, 2017 12:48 pm

Another badly written article from the DM.
The accompanying graphic says the private jet rolled five times, elsewhere it refers to three, and three to five. The bit about G-force is nonsense too.

Revealed: Private jet caught in the wake of a superjumbo flipped on its back, ROLLED and plunged 10,000ft before pilot pulled off miracle recovery

The terrifying incident happened on January 7 this year
Bombardier Challenger 604 jet flew about 1,000ft below an Emirates Airbus
The near-disaster happened over the Arabian sea, near Oman
Wake turbulence caused the plane to flip three times and plunge 10,000 feet
The incident caused serious injuries on the small Challenger aircraft

A German private plane flipped upside down, rolled uncontrollably and then plunged 10,000ft after hitting wake turbulence caused by an Emirates superjumbo flying above it - but miraculously did not crash.

The near-disaster caused serious injuries on the small Challenger jet, which was carrying nine passengers and crew members, and once the pilots initially recovered the plane it was forced to make an emergency landing.

The terrifying incident happened on January 7, when a Bombardier Challenger 604 business jet en route over the Arabian sea, about 630 nautical miles southeast of Muscat, Oman, flew 1,000ft below an Emirates Airbus A380-800 flying from Dubai to Sydney in the opposite direction.

Though the accident occurred two-and-a-half months ago, information of the incident was only recently revealed in a report by the Aviation Herald.

On January 7, a Bombardier Challenger 604 business jet flipped upside down, rolled uncontrollably and then plunged 10,000ft after hitting wake turbulence caused by an Emirates superjumbo flying above it, but miraculously did not crash

The Bombardier Challenger 604 (a file photo of the same model plane above) business jet en route over the Arabian sea had flown 1,000ft below the Emirates Airbus A380-800 flying from Dubai to Sydney in the opposite direction, when it got caught in its wake turbulence

The wake turbulence caused by the superjumbo Airbus - the world's largest passenger jet - was so powerful that about one minute after it passed by, G-force sent the Challenger, which was flying at 34,000 feet, into an uncontrolled roll that flipped the aircraft between three and five times.

Wake turbulence is formed behind an aircraft as it flies through the air, much like a boat creates a wake in the water. It is exacerbated by a pair of vortices - whirling masses of air - that spin from the wingtips. The vortices are mostly created when a plane is flying slow and the wings are working hardest to produce lift. The bigger the plane, the bigger the wakes. The most virulent wakes leave smaller planes vulnerable if they run into one.

Cacophonix

Re: Private jet caught in wake of superjumbo flipped on its back, ROLLED 5 times and plunged 10,000ft

#2 Post by Cacophonix » Thu Mar 23, 2017 8:19 am

Bad, hyperbolic and inconsistent journalism and subediting aside, getting involved in a wake vortex turbulence incident is a recipe for disaster as an ex colleague (who should have known so much better) found some years back when he didn't respect the 6 NM distance between Heavy and Small aircraft on final approach to 19 at Cape Town and ended upside down much to the consternation of his two passengers. He elected to pull through from the inverted position rather than rolling upright and came within 200 feet of making a big oily stain on the Cape Flats.

The A380 is now designated in its own Super category (along with the An-225) and in the case above the mandated separation distance is some 8 NM.

A380 Wake Vortex

Caco

Capetonian

Re: Private jet caught in wake of superjumbo flipped on its back, ROLLED 5 times and plunged 10,000ft

#3 Post by Capetonian » Thu Mar 23, 2017 9:00 am

I notice that they have now 'edited' the article and it no longer refers to G-forces.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... ashes.html
I still think it's time they employed an aviation correspondent with at least basic knowledge of airline operations and the theory of flight.

Slasher

Re: Private jet caught in wake of superjumbo flipped on its back, ROLLED 5 times and plunged 10,000ft

#4 Post by Slasher » Sat Mar 25, 2017 11:55 pm

There is adequate published margins for wake turbulence during takeoff and landing, but little is given to enroute at RVSM levels.

The worst case is flying the airway with a direct head or tailwind in RVSM airspace. Wake sinks about 500fpm, so 2 minutes later the clobbering will start on the lower aircraft - unless it maneuvers about .2NM left or right of track and parallels. Crossing 90* tracks where the crossing aircraft above is between 20-40nm ahead, the lower aircraft will be whacked but for a very small duration.

In the case of any known pregnant waddling duck 1,000ft above and within my area 20-40nm ahead (I fly Medium) I keep a sharp eye on the TCAS and then timely maneuver as necessary if the winds are unfavorable to stay on track. If it does cross my track 90* I maneuver towards the fat ugly bloody thing so as to cross its wake before it reaches my level.

Anyone who's been through MD-11 or DC-10 wake enroute in RVSM knows how bloody nasty it can be. Pregnant duck wake I suspect would be even worse.

Cacophonix

Re: Private jet caught in wake of superjumbo flipped on its back, ROLLED 5 times and plunged 10,000ft

#5 Post by Cacophonix » Sun Mar 26, 2017 7:11 am

Good point Slash and the incident Capetonian alluded to above probably matches the scenario you describe better than the 'following' scenario.

I wonder how much thought the powers that be actually gave to vortices when they proposed the use reduced of vertical separation minima in the first place? As you say it is up to the wetware in the cockpit to make those fine judgments on the fly, literally.

Caco

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Re: Private jet caught in wake of superjumbo flipped on its back, ROLLED 5 times and plunged 10,000ft

#6 Post by ian16th » Mon Mar 27, 2017 2:30 pm

This appears to have been really serious, resulting in a Cat 5 write off.

From the African Pilot Aviation News:

Wake turbulence writes off Challenger Bizet
8227e56a-a4da-47a1-bca6-2109f3d0d143.jpg
8227e56a-a4da-47a1-bca6-2109f3d0d143.jpg (148.28 KiB) Viewed 997 times


The Aviation Herald is reporting that the European Aviation Safety Agency is about to issue a safety information bulletin about high-altitude wake turbulence after a Challenger 604 business jet was written off after flying 1,000 feet below an A380. According to the Aviation Herald, the incident happened on 7 January over the Arabian Sea. It was reported that the vortices from the Emirates super jumbo jet caused the big business jet to roll three to five times as it went out of control and lost 10,000 feet before the pilots wrestled it under control and restarted the engines. The Challenger headed for an emergency landing in Oman and there were serious injuries to some of the nine people aboard. The G forces on the airframe damaged it beyond repair.

The Aviation Herald, which says it has had some trouble verifying some details, said German authorities are leading the investigation because the Bizjet was registered there. Canada’s Transportation Safety Board is also taking part because the plane was built there by Canadair, which was taken over by Bombardier. EASA is preparing its safety bulletin because reduced vertical separation minimums (RVSM) make 1,000-foot separations standard in most of the world and the airspace is getting more crowded. High-altitude wake turbulence lasts longer than the landing and take-off variety and can affect aircraft up to 25 NM away. The advice to pilots hit by wake turbulence is also counterintuitive in that it says the best immediate reaction is none. “Be aware that it has been demonstrated during flight tests that if the pilot reacts at the first roll motion, when in the core of the vortex, the roll motion could be amplified by this initial piloting action,” EASA says in the draft. “The result can be a final bank angle greater than if the pilot would not have moved the controls.”
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Re: Private jet caught in wake of superjumbo flipped on its back, ROLLED 5 times and plunged 10,000ft

#7 Post by Boac » Mon Mar 27, 2017 3:26 pm

I'd be wary of putting too much store by "African Pilot Aviation News", Ian, since the fertile imagination of their journalist also flips it end to end..............=))

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Re: Private jet caught in wake of superjumbo flipped on its back, ROLLED 5 times and plunged 10,000ft

#8 Post by ian16th » Mon Mar 27, 2017 3:32 pm

Boac wrote:I'd be wary of putting too much store by "African Pilot Aviation News", Ian, since the fertile imagination of their journalist also flips it end to end..............=))

They in turn were quoting the Aviation Herald!

Since thew demise of Uncle Roger in Flight, I ain't trusted any so called aviation journalist.
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Re: Private jet caught in wake of superjumbo flipped on its back, ROLLED 5 times and plunged 10,000ft

#9 Post by Boac » Mon Mar 27, 2017 4:10 pm

I think you and they misunderstood AvHerald.

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Re: Private jet caught in wake of superjumbo flipped on its back, ROLLED 5 times and plunged 10,000ft

#10 Post by ian16th » Mon Mar 27, 2017 7:45 pm

Boac wrote:I think you and they misunderstood AvHerald.

I can't have misunderstood the AvHerald, 'cos I haven't seen it.
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Re: Private jet caught in wake of superjumbo flipped on its back, ROLLED 5 times and plunged 10,000ft

#11 Post by Cacophonix » Tue Mar 28, 2017 9:53 am

A wake turbulence induced Lomcevak? :)

What next? A Hammerhead followed by a dive and straight into a half Cuban? =))

Caco

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