Comments on: Spanair Crash Does Not Mean the MD-80 is Unsafe

By: The Cranky Flier » Spanair Aircraft Did Not Have Flaps Deployed; Not Necessarily the Cause of the Accident

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:10:13 +0000

[...] if it were, it would be eerily similar to the crash of Northwest 255 more than 20 years ago, as Chris B first mentioned in the comments in my first Spanair post. So what exactly are flaps and why do they matter? I think it’s time for a brief tutorial. I [...]

By: Ibrahim

Ibrahim — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 19:03:56 +0000

Flight without flaps? Deadly? Try flying on one of Thai Airlines A300 jets from Bangkok to HoChiMinh City and back. I swear that big bird took off without flaps set in both take offs and I was sitting just behind the wings to see it with total amazement. The roar of the engines was something to listen to but those guys did fly without flaps. I sure was glad I was wearing brown slacks for camouflage of you know what. Surely a A300 is a much airworthy than an MD80. I had flown in enough number of DC9s that I will do my best to stay away from MD80s.

By: Steveee

Steveee — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 07:17:58 +0000

Well it now looks like the flaps were not set right. Very sad. It may take a long time to find out (if ever) why they were not set correctly for take off. But this has happened before. Do a Google search and a lot of information on failure to properly set the flaps on take off comes up. I have been flying since 1968 and can tell the difference between now and then. Before de regulation, the passenger was treated like a king on a flight. You got to know the flight attendants names. Even the pilot would come through the plane and talk to the passengers. Now it’s like a cattle car with wings and you hope there is some one flying the plane.
I know it is not the overworked pilots and flight attendents fault. Thanks to deregulation you get cheap tickets, but you get what you pay for too.

As far as the MD 80 goes, I like a plane with the engines on the wing. Seeing a wing with no engines makes me feel kind of, well I don’t know, unnerving. I will take a 707 Ooops, my age is showing, I mean a 747 any day.

By: CJ

CJ — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:21:36 +0000

I always thought that the MD-80 engines looked like 2 giant potatoes in the back. LOL

By: Philip Snyder

Philip Snyder — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:38:36 +0000

Since we’re giving into mass hysteria, don’t eat tomatoes, jalapenos, beef, and especially not the fish they serve on “Airplane”. :)

By: The Stig

The Stig — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 15:08:53 +0000

I fly quite a bit but I will not fly the MD-80. It just looks so wrong. I hate that plane.

By: CF

CF — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 17:00:51 +0000

Chris B – Very interesting. That would make it even harder to swallow since this was a problem that has led to an accident previously. It shouldn’t be able to happen again. Very sad, if true. (Very sad, regardless, of course.) We shall see.

By: Chris B

Chris B — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 16:44:16 +0000

I searched google news and found a link to the Wall Street Journal Online, which mentions the “wing flaps” Here’s the link:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121963044285868085.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

I don’t want to speculate anymore either. I really hope they will be able to get what they need from the 2 black boxes. My heart just really goes out to those who lost their loved ones. I know they really want answers right now, too. It is sad, that also it is being mentioned that some of the deceased will never be able to be identified. That is just horrible.

By: CF

CF — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:30:30 +0000

Chris B - I have no seen anything talking about flaps yet. Feel free to post reputable links here if you have them. My understanding now is that investigators are leaning away from an engine fire, something that so many people jumped on as a probably cause right away. I'll wait to see what they find without speculating any more.

By: Chris B

Chris B — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 09:59:45 +0000

CF – I’m not an expert, but it does seem very possible at this point. Supposedly, there really was no engine fire. The latest I just read from the news, the possible issue of forgetting to set the flaps is now coming up. There are a few planes that can take off without the flaps not set and not stall, but the MD-80… definitely not. I think that plane is just built different. The fuselage is very long in the front, and the wings are so far back, and appear small. Not to mention those quite heavy looking P&W engines in the back. I just feel so horrible for those who loss their loved ones. August-Sept always seems to be the time for so many airplane accidents. Possibly, cause of “Ghost Month”??? Look it up, you’ll see what I mean…