MrFedEx
Engorged Member
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the FAA needs to take a very close look at the MD11. This incident is eerily similar to at least a dozen others involving this aircraft, all related to landing problems associated with the lengthening of the original DC10 airframe and inadequate control surfaces. FedEx flipped and burned another one a few years back and pilots were brought back for re-training on landing procedures. Luckily, nobody was seriously injured in the first roll-over, which they blamed on the pilot, not the plane. The loss of life in Tokyo combined with the stunning live video will probably bring a renewed level of scrutiny to the MD11, and none too soon.
After talking with a number of our pilots over the years and listening to reports from other veteran pilots, it's clear there are some design issues with the MD11 that need to be addressed right now. It's a good thing almost all of them are freighters. I don't think it's a coincidence that so many passenger airlines got rid of their MD11's as soon as they could at bargain-basement prices. Whenever I've gotten off one, I always felt like kissing the ground on arrival because I had so little confidence in the plane.
Perhaps the Tokyo crash was caused by wind shear, but from the video I have seen there were other things going on as well, and several airline pilots who serve as media consultants have said the same thing. I really hope those two pilots did not die in vain, and that the investigation will get the MD11 straightened out once and for all.
After talking with a number of our pilots over the years and listening to reports from other veteran pilots, it's clear there are some design issues with the MD11 that need to be addressed right now. It's a good thing almost all of them are freighters. I don't think it's a coincidence that so many passenger airlines got rid of their MD11's as soon as they could at bargain-basement prices. Whenever I've gotten off one, I always felt like kissing the ground on arrival because I had so little confidence in the plane.
Perhaps the Tokyo crash was caused by wind shear, but from the video I have seen there were other things going on as well, and several airline pilots who serve as media consultants have said the same thing. I really hope those two pilots did not die in vain, and that the investigation will get the MD11 straightened out once and for all.