Today's Headlines - 01 August 2023
DGCA fined for Tail strikes
GS Paper - 2 (Infrastructure)
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has fined IndiGo a sum of Rs 30 lakhs and issued a show cause notice to the airline, following a special audit concerning frequent tail strike incidents. The special audit uncovered “certain systemic deficiencies” in IndiGo’s documentation pertaining to “operations/training procedures and engineering procedures”.
What is a tail strike?
A tail strike refers to an incident where the tail of an aircraft hits the ground or strikes any other stationary object.
While tail strikes can occur during takeoff, a majority happen during the landing of an aircraft.
According to Airbus statistical data, over 65 per cent of tail strikes happen during landings.
Tail strikes can cause significant damage to the aircraft, with major repairs needed to restore the plane’s structural integrity.
Even in cases where the damage is not major or immediately obvious, thorough inspections are carried out before the aircraft is declared fit to fly again.
What causes tail strikes?
While modern aircraft are fitted with a whole gamut of systems to aid pilots in flying aircraft and reduce the probability of human error, most tail strikes can be attributed to mistakes made by pilots.
Simply put, tail strikes occur when the pitch attitude of the aircraft (more on that in a moment) – while taking off or landing – is steep enough for the tail of the craft to hit the ground.
Aircraft, depending on their size, have different “tail strike margins” – the longer the aircraft, more prone it is to a tail strike as the rear of the plane juts out further behind the rear undercarriage.
An aircraft in flight is free to rotate in three dimensions: yaw, nose left or right about an axis running up and down; roll, rotation about an axis running from nose to tail; and pitch, nose up or down about an axis running from wing to wing. These are collectively known as an aircraft’s attitude.
Tail strikes are most impacted by the aircraft’s pitching motion. A positive pitching motion raises the nose of the aircraft and lowers the tail.
Tail strikes are caused by such a motion being executed improperly during take off and landing.
#upsc #news #DGCA #tail #strikes #infrastructure #indigo #systemic #engineering #aircraft #gamut #axis #rotate #motion #human #probability
DGCA fined for Tail strikes
GS Paper - 2 (Infrastructure)
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has fined IndiGo a sum of Rs 30 lakhs and issued a show cause notice to the airline, following a special audit concerning frequent tail strike incidents. The special audit uncovered “certain systemic deficiencies” in IndiGo’s documentation pertaining to “operations/training procedures and engineering procedures”.
What is a tail strike?
A tail strike refers to an incident where the tail of an aircraft hits the ground or strikes any other stationary object.
While tail strikes can occur during takeoff, a majority happen during the landing of an aircraft.
According to Airbus statistical data, over 65 per cent of tail strikes happen during landings.
Tail strikes can cause significant damage to the aircraft, with major repairs needed to restore the plane’s structural integrity.
Even in cases where the damage is not major or immediately obvious, thorough inspections are carried out before the aircraft is declared fit to fly again.
What causes tail strikes?
While modern aircraft are fitted with a whole gamut of systems to aid pilots in flying aircraft and reduce the probability of human error, most tail strikes can be attributed to mistakes made by pilots.
Simply put, tail strikes occur when the pitch attitude of the aircraft (more on that in a moment) – while taking off or landing – is steep enough for the tail of the craft to hit the ground.
Aircraft, depending on their size, have different “tail strike margins” – the longer the aircraft, more prone it is to a tail strike as the rear of the plane juts out further behind the rear undercarriage.
An aircraft in flight is free to rotate in three dimensions: yaw, nose left or right about an axis running up and down; roll, rotation about an axis running from nose to tail; and pitch, nose up or down about an axis running from wing to wing. These are collectively known as an aircraft’s attitude.
Tail strikes are most impacted by the aircraft’s pitching motion. A positive pitching motion raises the nose of the aircraft and lowers the tail.
Tail strikes are caused by such a motion being executed improperly during take off and landing.
#upsc #news #DGCA #tail #strikes #infrastructure #indigo #systemic #engineering #aircraft #gamut #axis #rotate #motion #human #probability