Naim 6 Report post Posted June 17, 2007 I had my first ever experience with wake turbulence last Friday evening as our AK884 (9M-AFA) was preparing to land at R19L, BKK Suvarnabhumi. It was pretty scary and ppl were screaming. We were heading north above Bangkok when the plane suddenly snapped to the right at a steep angle, maybe close to 45deg. Then it was like being snatched back (from further rolling) and the plane gradually leveled off to continue with the approach. I thought the plane was going to roll further due to the quickness of the whole thing (maybe the computers took over to prevent something nasty?). I asked the captain at the gate about it, and he said it was wake turbulence thanks to a 747 ahead of us. Quite an experience, unnerving though. I wonder how's the wake turbulence of an A380? Anybody with wake turbulence experience? +++ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Radzi 2 Report post Posted June 17, 2007 I wonder how far was your aircraft behind the B747. A 2 minutes separation normally should be enough; on approach that translates to about 5 nm. I've had wake turbulence before, but nothing so much to cause the passangers to scream. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rozhan 0 Report post Posted June 17, 2007 It must have been a very scary experience for many. Some explanation to pax as to why it occured could calm them down. Good that the computers helped to stabilize it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kelvin B 0 Report post Posted June 17, 2007 Glad that everything turned out okay and everybody is safe and all right...... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TK 0 Report post Posted June 17, 2007 hhmm...wake turbulence.. we see aircraft sizes, small medium and large. Base on it, and also Ground speed, we know what would be the impact. Plus, distance between 2 aircraft of same level, or crossing each other's path....it can happen during approach, climb and also cruise. well, i dont like wake turbulence...especially on final, tailing a Jumbo ahead, and i tell you, even the 777 i flew...still has an impact on it! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Naim 6 Report post Posted June 18, 2007 My avatar on the left shows the Bangkok view from my seat minutes before the said wake turbulence. See how low we were then. I guess if anything went wrong, little margin left lah. +++ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yusoff 1 Report post Posted June 18, 2007 Scary experience... and a very lucky one considering the plane has 'tilted' at such a big angle... Nice avatar. I was just about to PM you to ask where is that... nice. Are you going to post that somewhere? A.net probably? I wish to keep it... doesnt matter if you cpyright it.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Naim 6 Report post Posted June 18, 2007 Scary experience... and a very lucky one considering the plane has 'tilted' at such a big angle... Nice avatar. I was just about to PM you to ask where is that... nice. Are you going to post that somewhere? A.net probably? I wish to keep it... doesnt matter if you cpyright it.. Thanks, the pic is not that great, a bit blurry. I'll try to brush it up and put it on imageshack for downloading. Actually, I was expecting the plane to flip or something, because the movement was very sudden & strong, but I guess it's hard to crash an A320 due to the computers (or so I learned on Discovery channel). I could feel the plane being yanked back from further rolling. I think it happened too fast for the pilots to react manually. +++ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chan CS 0 Report post Posted June 18, 2007 So is that mean the computer is the one to thank? What if this happened on their B733? Just out of curiosity. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Denny Yen 0 Report post Posted June 18, 2007 AA 587 crashed in Nov. 2001 and wake turbulence partly contributed to the fatal events that led to its crash. http://www.ntsb.gov/events/2001/AA587/wake_turb_web01.wmv http://www.ntsb.gov/events/2001/AA587/default.htm Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Naim 6 Report post Posted June 18, 2007 ...I was just about to PM you to ask where is that... nice. Are you going to post that somewhere? A.net probably? I wish to keep it... doesnt matter if you cpyright it.. As said not a great pic, but here it is (click the thumb), snapped a few minutes before hitting the wake turbulence above Bangkok town. +++ AA 587 crashed in Nov. 2001 and wake turbulence partly contributed to the fatal events that led to its crash. http://www.ntsb.gov/events/2001/AA587/wake_turb_web01.wmv http://www.ntsb.gov/events/2001/AA587/default.htm Good article here too. http://www.flyingmag.com/article.asp?secti...mp;print_page=y Which ends with this ominous para. The other change, which has already been set in motion by this accident and will continue, is to re-educate pilots about what VA means for airplanes that currently exist. Still, the most re-educated pilot in the world may forget what he knows if the airplane is flipped over at low altitude by a wake turbulence encounter, or when he thinks it’s about to be. I guess we have been lucky that warm evening above Bangkok. +++ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Teoh Z Yao 0 Report post Posted June 18, 2007 I didn't follow all through the Nat. Geo. AA 587 story. Was it an Airbus A300? Airbus relies on computer a lot in abnormal maneuvres as I learned fro Nat. Geo. a few years back. Yesterday when I saw the AA 587 incident, it kinds of tell me the downside of leaving the computers to make decisions during an emergency can cause the pilots to over-react. What do you think? Naim, must be scary at that moment, but a nice experience... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gavin Andrew David 6 Report post Posted June 18, 2007 If I'm not mistaken computers take over once bank angle is in excess of 30' on the airbus . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Khaled 2 Report post Posted June 18, 2007 I didn't follow all through the Nat. Geo. AA 587 story. Was it an Airbus A300? Airbus relies on computer a lot in abnormal maneuvres as I learned fro Nat. Geo. a few years back. Yesterday when I saw the AA 587 incident, it kinds of tell me the downside of leaving the computers to make decisions during an emergency can cause the pilots to over-react. What do you think? Naim, must be scary at that moment, but a nice experience... From what I understand, the co pilot over corrected by using the rudder. thus end up with pilot induced oscillation and caused the vertical stabilizer to snap after all of it 6 joints fail. I experienced it during climb behind A330 which was approx 20nm ahead of us. It caused the aircraft to shake violently before suddenly entered almost 45 degrees bank and the autopilot disconnected. I don't mind if the computer can help recover the aircraft. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chan CS 0 Report post Posted June 18, 2007 I experienced it during climb behind A330 which was approx 20nm ahead of us. It caused the aircraft to shake violently before suddenly entered almost 45 degrees bank and the autopilot disconnected. I don't mind if the computer can help recover the aircraft. What was the aircraft? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Khaled 2 Report post Posted June 18, 2007 From what I understand, the co pilot over corrected by using the rudder. thus end up with pilot induced oscillation and caused the vertical stabilizer to snap after all of it 6 joints fail. I experienced wake turbulence during climb behind A330 which was approx 20nm ahead of us. It caused the aircraft to shake violently before suddenly entered almost 45 degrees bank and the autopilot disconnected. I don't mind if the computer can help recover the aircraft. typo What was the aircraft? Me in B737 classic series. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Teoh Z Yao 0 Report post Posted June 18, 2007 typo Haha... You "experienced" snapped fin... Could have been deadly! Wow... Wake turbulence can be so violent! 45 deg. bank and a crash (AA)... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
