'Swaying' 777

[EA01]

Paxing back in from Rarotonga last night (Spending a few hours in a AKL airport hotel) before returning BNE this morning.

Cabin announcement there is some 'weather' over the approach & we set a hold off the NZ East Coast. All fine, Air NZ free WiFi so watching who else is around the area on 'Flightradar24', best you can do down the back.
Our turn came and a 'Firm' landing folowed, thats all fine by me, no nasty stuff, can only guess it was mostly right on the nose.

Get to the bay, feel the brake, hear the engines spool down, hear & see the 'seat-belt' sign go off. Arise and retrieve that overhead onboard luggage & head toward the door.

Now here's the odd thing. I can feel the whole 777 'swaying'. I've had a hell of a cold, a few drinks, and self administereed antibiotics for what I perceive to be a worsening middle ear infection. So, with little sleep, illness, medication etc. my thoughts are 'middle ear' tricks (I knew I was in no way fit to fly myself, thats for sure!!)

Next Cabin announcement, 'We are experiencing wind gusts in excess of 100kph, and are unable to attach the aerobridge at this time......please make yourselves comfortable.

By now I'm standing in the rear of Premium economy & looking at my angle through the windows opposite, and I can see a cople of 'LD3' cargo containers straining to lift off their 'rolling wheel' trailer. They must be tied to it somehow.

I chat to the hostess at L3 door (?), she'd never seen anything like it. Look back out the windows & the tailer with the LD3s on it had blown around 45deg. ......I wait some more & go talk to the R3 (?) Hostess, she'd never seen anything like it either in 20+ plus years, this continual slight sway of the entire aircraft parked at the bay....not a C182, a B777!.

She said to me 'Did you see the 'bagggage containers' .... 'Go'?

I said no....I look out the window and see two 'LD3' containers wedged into the forward fuselage of a Jetstar A320, a third had apparently lodged into the number one engine, since removed from when I saw it.

In all about an hour waiting for the wind to abate to the safe aerobridge operating limit of 70kph.

[Karearea]

There was a particularly bad storm in the Auckland area yesterday, gusts over 100 km/h, thunder, hail, power outages, drama etc.

[EA01]

Yeah, I know, I was there!!!.....Crossing the road to get a microwave meal from the 'Countdown' at AKL Airport(?) I felt my left foot being blown behind my right in order to fEll me!!

[tango15]

When I worked at EMA, we had an office on the first floor overlooking the apron. On a similarly windy day, but not as strong as those experienced by EA 01, we watched an LD 3 making its way down the apron unaided. Called the tower, who said they were aware and had called the RFFS. I heard later that the RFFS response was -'Leave it, it will stop somewhere.'

[CharlieOneSix]

77mph gusts move an aircraft at DFW.

[tango15]

Wot- no chocks?!

[Boac]

Chocks would be of not much use there. I recall sitting in a DanAir 737 at LGW - the 1997 'storm', I think - when the aircraft next to us (chocked) was swung 30 degrees by a gust. Luckily as we had a tug.......................

[tango15]

Chocks would be of not much use there. I recall sitting in a DanAir 737 at LGW - the 1997 'storm', I think - when the aircraft next to us (chocked) was swung 30 degrees by a gust. Luckily as we had a tug.......................

Well, maybe not, but I'm surprised that there are no chocks in place, or is this some sort of SOP during such weather? Never heard of it previously.

[llondel]

Chocks stop the thing rolling fore and aft, I don't see how they'd work sideways because you're not dealing with a rolling wheel but a sliding one. There's nothing on the side of the tyre to anchor a chock. It does look like the nosewheel rotated after an initial skid mark to the side and started rolling to some extent.

[llondel]

OK, having thought about it a bit more, I guess the main gear has to roll for it to spin like that, so that's where they should have the chocks.

[Wodrick]

B727 which weathervane sin provocation, chock all mains and nose. Brakes set and leave the aircraft with 360 deg clear.
If the equipment is available tow bar connected and hang a tug on it. That usually stops them !