SP-LPC in 2005, just 6 years before the incident. |
|
| Accident summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | 1 November 2011 |
| Type | Belly landing following possible system failures |
| Site | Warsaw, Poland |
| Passengers | 220 |
| Crew | 11 |
| Injuries | 0 |
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Survivors | 231 (all) |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 767-300ER |
| Aircraft name | Poznań |
| Operator | LOT Polish Airlines |
| Tail number | SP-LPC |
| Flight origin | Newark Liberty International Airport Newark, NJ USA (EWR/KEWR) |
| Destination | Warsaw Chopin Airport Warsaw, Poland (WAW/EPWA) |
LOT Polish Airlines Flight 16 was a passenger flight which performed an emergency landing at Warsaw Chopin Airport, Poland, on 1 November 2011. All 231 aboard survived. The aircraft involved, a Boeing 767-300ER, was operating LOT Polish Airlines' scheduled international service from Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey, USA, to Chopin. It had to perform a belly landing on runway 33 after its landing gear would not extend. A preliminary report put the cause down to a hydraulic leak shortly after take off.
It was qualified as an aviation accident by State Commission on Aircraft Accidents Investigation.[1]
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On 1 November 2011 at 13:35 CET, LOT Polish Airlines Flight 16 was scheduled to arrive at Warsaw Chopin Airport from Newark Liberty International Airport when the approach was aborted due to the failure of the landing gear to deploy.[2] The technical difficulties were detected by Captain Tadeusz Wrona within 30 minutes after takeoff from Newark Liberty International Airport. The crew indicated that the central hydraulic system had malfunctioned.[3] The decision was made to continue to Warsaw in order to use up the heavy load of fuel needed for the transatlantic flight.[4]
Captain Tadeusz Wrona, a thirty-year veteran pilot with twenty years of experience on the 767, and first officer Jerzy Szwarc[5] informed Warsaw air traffic control (ATC) that they were unable to lower the landing gear due to a hydraulic systems failure. Warsaw ATC instructed them to circle the airport for over an hour and consume excess fuel in order to land light and to allow time for emergency services on ground to prepare for the emergency landing. Visual verification by two Polish Air Force F-16 fighter jets showed that none of the landing gear were down; attempts to lower the gear by alternative means (electrically and mechanically) failed.[6]
The airport was evacuated for the arrival of the aircraft, and roads around the airport were closed to accommodate emergency services. Other flights which were due into Warsaw were diverted to Kraków, Katowice, Poznań, Łódź and Gdańsk or returned to their point of departure.[6]
On board the LOT Polish Airlines 767-300ER were 231 people, eleven crew and 220 passengers.[7][8]
At 14:40 CET the cockpit crew successfully performed an emergency landing at Warsaw Chopin Airport on Runway 33 with no loss of life while the aircraft sustained substantial damage in the accident.[8] Upon landing, all 220 passengers were evacuated in 90 seconds.
The airport remained closed to traffic until 4:00 CET, 3 November 2011 due to the effort of removing crash debris and inspection of the airport runways and aprons etc.[9] Shortly after the evacuation, a team from the Polish State Commission for Aircraft Accident Investigation arrived, and discovered that the C829 circuit breaker, which protects a number of systems including the alternate landing gear extension system was "popped". The C4248 breaker for the alternate landing gear remained closed. Once the aircraft had been lifted off the runway, the C829 circuit breaker was closed, and the landing gear was able to be extended, using the alternate system. This allowed the plane to be towed to the LOT maintenance hangar,[10] for repairs and investigation.[11][12]
Poland's President Bronisław Komorowski thanked and praised the crew for their successful landing.[13]
Chesley Sullenberger, who successfully ditched US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River on 15 January 2009, stated that this might have been the first emergency landing of its kind.[14]
The aircraft involved was a Boeing 767-300ER, registered SP-LPC, named Poznań, serial number 28656, it was first delivered to LOT on 15 May 1997,[15] and had undergone "full maintenance" in March 2011.[16]
The incident is currently being investigated. A [//www.transport.gov.pl/files/0/30680/20111400RWenglish.pdf preliminary report] shows that the aircraft suffered a hydraulic leak right after takeoff from Newark (after the landing gear and flaps were retracted). The leak was discovered to have been caused by a damaged hose in the central hydaulic system. Pressure in the central hydraulic system dropped as a result. The drop in pressure was recorded on the EICAS and by the flight data recorder.[10][17]
Both the captain and the first officer held Airline Transport Pilot Licence, and had accumulated over 25,000 hours of flying time between them, with over 15,000 of that being on 767 aircraft.[10]
| External media | |
|---|---|
| Images | |
| "Photograph of aircraft coming to rest". Aircraft-spotting.org. 1 November 2011. http://aircraft-spotting.org/showphoto.php?photo_id=75244. Retrieved 4 November 2011. | |
| skrzydla.org photo 2 | |
| Airliners.net photo | |
| Videos | |
| OKĘCIE LĄDOWANIE AWARYJNE POLISH AIRLINES LOT BOEING 767 EMERGENCY LANDING WARSAW. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEbRiYDYJe8.(Polish) | |
| rmf24.pl video 2 | |
| Awaryjne Lądowanie – WARSZAWA 01.11.2011 Boeing 767 cz.4. 1 November 2011. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBgxakhZ8m4. (Polish) | |
| Boeing 767 Newark-Warsaw Okecie LOT accident landing 01.11.11. 1 November 2011. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scUoqzG67-w.(Polish) | |
| DRAMATIC EVACUATION Emergency Landing LOT Boeing 767 Warsaw DECK AMATEUR VIDEO. 1 November 2011. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TM-1tOVAf0.(Polish) | |