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May 7, 2008 6:36 pm US/Central
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Flight Continues Trip Despite Plane Damage
Jay Gormley also contributed to this report.
FORT WORTH, Texas (CBS) ―
An American Airlines plane, damaged shortly after takeoff from Dallas Fort Worth, continued on to fly all the way across the Atlantic to Paris, France.
American Airlines Flight 48 took off on Sunday, April 20. The crew and the passengers were unaware that a large panel under the belly of the plane had just ripped off.
"The crew reacted appropriately because based on what they knew, they thought that a luggage container had shifted," said Capt. Karl Schricker, a spokesperson for the Allied Pilots Association. While he was not on the plane, he is well aware of the situation.
Photos of the damage show one of two air conditioning packs exposed on the jet's underbelly.
An internal memo to pilots states the crew heard a noise and felt a short-lived vibration after takeoff. After consulting with the crew and technicians on the ground, they determined that it could have been a cargo shift that caused the event.
The crew could not return right away to Dallas Fort Worth because the plane was 100,000 pounds overweight for an immediate landing, which is not uncommon for an overseas flight. All gauges were also showing normal.
"If you lose a critical panel a light will come on," said Capt. Schricker. "No light came on."
Because they did not hear any other noises or feel any vibrations, they elected to continue, knowing that they had at least three more hours before they reached the coast.
"The plane is extremely heavy for a flight to Europe from Dallas-Fort Worth. You have to really evaluate that. The minute you decide to air-interrupt immediately after take off, you're looking at dumping 60,000 pounds of fuel into the air over Texas," said Capt. Schricker. "You're also looking at declaring an emergency because you have to do an overweight landing."
A loss of a large panel should have caused the 767 to drag, leading to an unusual amount of fuel burn. But the pilots say Flight 48 burned fuel at a normal pace.
John Hotard, a spokesperson with American Airlines, confirms the incident, and said an investigation has been launched. However, he also said the pilots, crew and others on the ground did nothing wrong.
He says the flight was never in danger and that the aircraft was airworthy. The crew and the passengers were safe for the entire flight.
Hotard said the air conditioning panel was made of very light composite material and would not have damaged the plane if it struck it. He said the panel would have been part of routine inspections, but does not know when the last inspection on this aircraft was done.
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