Truck v Bridge, passenger dies.
A truck has crashed into a bridge, causing it to collapse and killing a passenger inside the vehicle in the New South Wales central-west.

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Grant
Darwin NT

The stated clearance is 3.8 meters. (12.5 ft). That's not a particular low clearance... The limit for all vehicles (at least here in Europe) is 4m (13.1 ft).

A cherry picker truck... Normally, these aren't unusually tall, unless... the lift arm wasn't fully retracted...

Passenger died, the driver survived. Two lives destroyed. A tragedy. R.I.P.

With the FOD walk picking up blades all along the runway, it is rather obvious what failed first. Vibration separates engine and pylon as designed. Rest follows.
Now the question is what caused the blade separation?

https://11foot8.com/

Wow... crash no. 181 since 2008...

Why don't they spend some money to lower the road under the bridge by just half a meter? Is there some financial interest in this website 11foot8.com? Ad revenues?

Now the question is what caused the blade separation?

An improperly secured engine, which partially detached and scraped along the runway shortly after takeoff thrust was applied until it finally separated from the wing?

https://11foot8.com/

Wow... crash no. 181 since 2008...

Why don't they spend some money to lower the road under the bridge by just half a meter? Is there some financial interest in this website 11foot8.com? Ad revenues?

Story I've heard is that there is infrastructure under the road and it would cost a fortune to move the sewer pipes as they are gravity fed. Oh and they did raise the bridge so it is now 11'8"+8" or 12' 4"

Now the question is what caused the blade separation?

An improperly secured engine, which partially detached and scraped along the runway shortly after takeoff thrust was applied until it finally separated from the wing?

Speculation is all we have for why there appears to be a huge blow out hole over the second stage compressor section in the photo of the engine.

There is video of the engine coming off the airplane. Remember the pylon bolts are made to fail in high vibration events so the wing doesn't take damage. This seems to have worked.

NTSB didn't quite release a transcript but anyone with knowledge realized from the description that V1 and Rotate were called out before the persistent audio alert (of an engine fire) was recorded until the end of the tape.

It is becoming obvious that a turbine disc in the engine failed and it was not contained. The question remains how did that failure began? Wear and tear? Corrosion? Damage? Manufacturing defect? Was it missed on an inspection?

https://11foot8.com/

Wow... crash no. 181 since 2008...

Why don't they spend some money to lower the road under the bridge by just half a meter? Is there some financial interest in this website 11foot8.com? Ad revenues?

Could be it would put the road below the groundwater level.
A bridge here, near the railway station, has that problem.

It is becoming obvious that a turbine disc in the engine failed and it was not contained. The question remains how did that failure began? Wear and tear? Corrosion? Damage? Manufacturing defect? Was it missed on an inspection?

What's interesting is that the FAA has grounded all MD-11s after Boeing recommended flights be suspended.
That is all MD-11 aircraft, not just those using a particular engine type. Sounds like there are concerns that the engine may have actually failed as a result of the pylon detaching from the aircraft, and not an engine failure causing the detachment.
Otherwise they would have grounded only those using the same engine type as the crashed aircraft (or they are just covering all possibilities, however unlikely).

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Grant
Darwin NT

They had pylon issues before Boeing bought the company. This time the aircraft are flying over US lawyer heads. I think the math says the potential cost is far worse than whatever loss the freight companies could pin on them.

https://11foot8.com/

Wow... crash no. 181 since 2008...

Why don't they spend some money to lower the road under the bridge by just half a meter? Is there some financial interest in this website 11foot8.com? Ad revenues?

Could be it would put the road below the groundwater level.
A bridge here, near the railway station, has that problem.

We have that here in a number of cities near the central station. Over the decades they upgraded old underpasses along trunk roads to fit today's full sized trucks.

But indeed, it costs a fortune... and a decade for planning and accumulating funds.... Pump stations for heavy rain.... Water-resistant underground concrete construction... And they never touch these historic gravity sewers as long as they have no damages.

That is all MD-11 aircraft, not just those using a particular engine type. Sounds like there are concerns that the engine may have actually failed as a result of the pylon detaching from the aircraft, and not an engine failure causing the detachment.

Unimaginable how these big express freight carriers now handle their day-to-day business. I don't think there are any large cargo aircraft the size of a MD-11 sitting idle somewhere in the desert to simply reactivate and wet-lease them.

As to... is the transport of our Christmas gifts endangered? (O_O)!

There's a handful of Boeing 747-8 freighters in long-term storage following the collapse of one air-freight organisation about three years ago. Being in long-term storage there will probably be a fair bit of work needed to get them back into service, so not an instant solution. That said both UPS & FedEx have 747-8F on their books, so they are at least familiar with operating them.

Other aircraft to consider are the B777 & A330, but they both have smaller cargo volume and weight capabilities.

In short it could develop into a bit of a bidding war for B747-8F, but it all depends on how quickly the MD-11 problems can be resolved.

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

Juan Brown gives a very good and clear update on the worldwide grounding of the MD-11:


MD-11s Grounded! FAA Emergency AD 2025-23-51



... Very good explanation of gyroscopic loading...

There is more detail needed yet before anything better than guesswork becomes available.


Fly safe?
Martin

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See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)

... Very good explanation of gyroscopic loading...

That video is worth watching just for that demonstration.

One bullet successfully dodged but how many more just waiting to be fired:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c24lv872nyjo

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

One bullet successfully dodged but how many more just waiting to be fired:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c24lv872nyjo

According to the latest statistics it collected in 2020, more than 40% of post-tensioned bridges in the country had not undergone PTSIs in the previous 18 years.

The report noted that water was "seeping" through parts of the flyover which contained some of the structure's cables which was a "serious cause for concern".

Other defects it detailed include issues with waterproofing and poor drainage on parts of the flyover, which increases the chance of de-icing salts getting into ducts holding the cables and causing their "rapid corrosion".

A combination of the aforementioned let to this:

Dresden, Carolabrücke on Sept 11 2024:

https://www.dw.com/en/germany-bridge-in-dresden-collapses-into-elbe-river/a-70185172

San Francisco Muni driver appears to fall asleep before train passengers are jolted
JARRING Videos embedded in article.

San Francisco morning commuters were taken for an unexpectedly wild ride after their train operator appeared to fall asleep at the controls.

Passengers were seen in security video footage obtained by ABC News screaming, with some even jolted from their seats and others slamming into the train's wall, after the operator appeared to doze off.

"I'm sorry, relax, relax, relax -- it wouldn't stop. We didn't crash," the driver said to the visibly shaken passengers after the train car came to a halt, according to the footage.

On Monday, SFMTA released a statement confirming the jolting train was due to "operator fatigue."

There's been rumours and stories about the problems caused by the Chinese blasting away to make their Belt and Road Initiative in places around the world and weakening ground structures, I wonder if this is another 1 of them?

Wild footage shows China bridge collapsing just months after opening.

A 762m bridge partially collapsed in China following a landslide on the mountain where it was built.

The Hongqi Bridge was only just completed earlier this year.

It was part of a highway that links Sichuan and the nation’s heartland with Tibet.

Harrowing video of the incident shows the landslide pounding rubble onto the bridge, with the span collapsing under the weight and impact.

A portion of the bridge appeared to fall into the river that the bridge was built across........