Gust lock

Last updated
Gust lock on a rudder. GUST LOCK ON RUDDER (1373262822).jpg
Gust lock on a rudder.

A gust lock on an aircraft is a mechanism that locks control surfaces and keeps open aircraft doors in place while the aircraft is parked on the ground and non-operational. Gust locks prevent wind from causing unexpected movements of the control surfaces and their linked controls inside the aircraft, as well as aircraft doors on some aircraft; otherwise, wind gusts could cause possible damage to the control surfaces and systems, or to nearby people, cargo, or machinery. Some gust locks are external devices attached directly to the aircraft's control surfaces, while others are attached to the relevant flight controls inside the cockpit.

Contents

Safety

A gust lock can pose a serious safety hazard if it is not disengaged before an aircraft's takeoff, because it renders the flight control inoperative. Many internal gust locks have a safety feature that locks out the aircraft's throttle or engine-start controls until removed and stowed. External-only gust locks typically lack this safety feature, and must be tagged with a large red remove before flight streamer.

The prototype of the B-17 crashed on October 30, 1935 Boeing Model 299 crash.jpg
The prototype of the B-17 crashed on October 30, 1935

The first Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress ever built, the initial Model 299 aircraft, was lost in just this way on October 30, 1935, when its gust locks were left engaged, with the resulting crash killing Boeing chief test pilot Leslie Tower, and United States Army Air Corps test pilot Ployer Peter Hill. [1] Less than a year later, German Luftwaffe Generalleutnant Walter Wever lost his life in a similar accident from gust lock neglect, when his Heinkel He 70 Blitz monoplane crashed on June 3, 1936, from the Blitz's aileron gust locks not being disengaged before takeoff.[ citation needed ] Prince Gustaf Adolf of Sweden, the American singer and actress Grace Moore and 20 others were killed in 1947 during the crash of a KLM flight at Copenhagen Airport due to the flight crew forgetting to disengage the gust lock on the elevators of the aircraft. In 1977 the crash of Air Indiana Flight 216 occurred due to failure to remove the gust locks.

A C-124 transport carrying US servicemen home for Christmas crashed in 1952 due to engagement of gust locks.

Dan-Air Flight 0034, a Hawker Siddeley 748 series 1 (registration G-BEKF) operating an oil industry support flight crashed on July 31, 1979 at Sumburgh Airport in the Shetland Islands. The aircraft failed to become airborne, ran through the perimeter fence, and crashed into the sea. The accident was due to the elevator gust lock having become re-engaged, preventing the aircraft from rotating into a flying attitude. The aircraft was destroyed and 17 of the 47 people on board drowned.

On August 27, 1992, at Gimli Industrial Park Airport, a modified version of the DHC-4 Caribou crashed due to a design flaw which permitted the gust-locks to engage during take-off. [2] [3]

On May 31, 2014, a gust lock left in place caused the crash of a Gulfstream IV at Hanscom Field, killing Philadelphia Inquirer co-owner Lewis Katz as well as six others. [4]

On July 24, 2021, in Lewiston, Idaho, former Naval Aviator and F-14 Tomcat pilot Dale Snodgrass was killed when the plane he was piloting crashed due to loss of control on takeoff caused by the gust lock not being removed before the flight. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Airlines Flight 585</span> 1991 aviation accident in Colorado

United Airlines Flight 585 was a scheduled passenger flight on March 3, 1991, from Denver to Colorado Springs, Colorado, carrying 20 passengers and 5 crew members on board. The plane experienced a rudder hardover while on final approach to runway 35 at Colorado Springs Municipal Airport, causing the plane to roll over and enter an uncontrolled dive. All 25 people on board were killed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">USAir Flight 405</span> 1992 plane crash in New York City

USAir Flight 405 was a regularly scheduled domestic passenger flight between LaGuardia Airport in Queens, New York City, New York, and Cleveland, Ohio. On March 22, 1992, a USAir Fokker F28, registration N485US, flying the route, crashed in poor weather in a partially inverted position in Flushing Bay, shortly after liftoff from LaGuardia. The undercarriage lifted off from the runway, but the airplane failed to gain lift, flying only several meters above the ground. The aircraft then veered off the runway and hit several obstructions before coming to rest in Flushing Bay, just beyond the end of the runway. Of the 51 people on board, 27 were killed, including the captain and a member of the cabin crew.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">USAir Flight 5050</span> 1989 aviation accident

USAir Flight 5050 was a passenger flight that crashed on takeoff from LaGuardia Airport in Queens, New York. As the plane took off from LaGuardia's runway 31, the plane drifted to the left. After hearing a loud bang, the pilots attempted to reject the takeoff, but were unable to stop the plane short of the end of the runway. The plane continued past the end of the runway and plunged into Bowery Bay. Two passengers were killed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gimli Industrial Park Airport</span> Airport in near Gimli, Manitoba

Gimli Industrial Park Airport is a civilian airport and former military field located 2 nautical miles west of Gimli, Manitoba, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comair Flight 5191</span> 2006 passenger plane crash in Lexington, Kentucky, United States

Comair Flight 5191 was a scheduled United States domestic passenger flight from Lexington, Kentucky, to Atlanta, Georgia. On the morning of August 27, 2006, at around 06:07 EDT, the Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet 100ER crashed while attempting to take off from Blue Grass Airport in Fayette County, Kentucky, 4 miles (6.4 km) west of the central business district of the city of Lexington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air Moorea Flight 1121</span> 2007 aviation accident

Air Moorea Flight 1121 was a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter which crashed into the ocean shortly after takeoff from Moorea Airport on Moorea Island in French Polynesia on 9 August 2007, killing all 20 people on board.

Northwest Regional Airport is a privately owned, public use airport 3 nautical miles (5.6 km) northwest of Roanoke, in Denton County, Texas, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan-Air Flight 0034</span> 1979 aviation accident

Dan-Air Flight 0034 was a fatal accident involving a Hawker Siddeley HS 748 series 1 turboprop aircraft operated by Dan-Air Services Limited on an oil industry charter flight from Sumburgh Airport, Shetland Islands, to Aberdeen Airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Continental Airlines Flight 1404</span> 2008 aviation accident

Continental Airlines Flight 1404 was a Continental Airlines flight from Denver International Airport in Denver, Colorado, to George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas. On the evening of December 20, 2008, the flight crashed while taking off from Denver, resulting in two critical injuries, 36 noncritical injuries, and a hull loss of the Boeing 737-524 aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Preflight checklist</span> List of tasks performed prior to takeoff

In aviation, a preflight checklist is a list of tasks that should be performed by pilots and aircrew prior to takeoff. Its purpose is to improve flight safety by ensuring that no important tasks are forgotten. Failure to correctly conduct a preflight check using a checklist is a major contributing factor to aircraft accidents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air Indiana Flight 216</span> 1977 aviation accident

The Air Indiana Flight 216 crash occurred on December 13, 1977, at 19:22 CST, when a Douglas DC-3, registration N51071 carrying the University of Evansville basketball team, crashed on takeoff at the Evansville Regional Airport in Evansville, Indiana. The aircraft lost control and crashed shortly after lift-off. The plane was on its way to Nashville International Airport, taking the team to play the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders in Murfreesboro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Rediske Air DHC-3 Otter crash</span> Air taxi crash at Soldotna Airport, Alaska

On 7 July 2013, a single-engine de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter, operated by air charter company Rediske Air, crashed on take-off at Soldotna Airport, Alaska. The sole crewmember and all nine passengers on board were killed. The crash was attributed to improper loading.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress crash</span> Vintage World War II heavy bomber crash during tourist flight

On October 2, 2019, a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress owned by the Collings Foundation crashed at Bradley International Airport, Windsor Locks, Connecticut, United States. Seven of the thirteen people on board were killed, and the other six, as well as one person on the ground, were injured. The aircraft was destroyed by fire, with only the tail and a portion of one wing remaining.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan International Airlines Flight 590</span> 1991 aviation accident

Ryan International Airlines Flight 590 was a cargo flight carrying mail for the United States Postal Service from Greater Buffalo International Airport (BUF) in Buffalo, New York, to Indianapolis International Airport (IND) in Indiana, with a stopover at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE) in Cleveland, Ohio. On February 17, 1991, the McDonnell Douglas DC-9-15RC operating the flight crashed on takeoff from Cleveland during icing conditions. Both pilots, the aircraft's only occupants, were killed. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that the causes of the crash were the flight crew failing to deice their aircraft, and the inexperience of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), McDonnell Douglas, and Ryan International Airlines with icing condition on DC-9-10 aircraft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ameristar Charters Flight 9363</span> 2017 aviation accident

Ameristar Charters Flight 9363 was an air charter flight from Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti, Michigan to Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia, which experienced a rejected takeoff and runway excursion on March 8, 2017 as the result of a jammed elevator; the McDonnell Douglas MD-83 operating the flight was substantially damaged, but only one injury and no fatalities occurred to the 116 crew and passengers on board.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transair Flight 810</span> 2021 aircraft crash in Hawaii

Transair Flight 810 was a Boeing 737-200 converted freighter aircraft, owned and operated by Rhoades Aviation under the Transair trade name, on a short cargo flight en route from Honolulu International Airport to Kahului Airport on the neighboring Hawaiian island of Maui. Immediately after an early morning takeoff on July 2, 2021, one of its two Pratt & Whitney JT8D turbofan engines faltered, and the first officer, who was flying the aircraft, reduced power to both. The two pilots—who were the only aircraft occupants—began executing the Engine Failure or Shutdown checklist, but became preoccupied with talking to air traffic control (ATC) and performing other flying tasks, and never reached the section of the checklist where the failing engine was to be positively identified and shut down. The captain assumed control but misidentified the failing engine, increased power to that engine, and did not increase power to the other, properly functioning engine. Convinced that neither engine was working properly and unable to maintain altitude with one engine faltering and the other idling, the pilots ditched off the coast of Oahu about 11 minutes into the flight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Bedford Gulfstream IV crash</span> Aircraft accident in Bedford, Massachusetts, U.S.

American millionaire philanthropist Lewis Katz and six others were killed in a Gulfstream IV crash in Bedford, Massachusetts, on 31 May 2014. Katz, the co-owner of The Philadelphia Inquirer and several major sports teams, had chartered the twinjet for a day trip from Atlantic City, New Jersey, to Concord, Massachusetts. In addition to several personal friends, he had also invited Edward G. Rendell, a former governor of Pennsylvania, who was unable to accept.

References

  1. Doyle, David (2020). B-17 Flying Fortress, Vol. 1: Boeing's Model 299 through B-17D in World War II. Atglen: Schiffer Publishing, Ltd. pp. 6–7. ISBN   9780764359552.
  2. "ASN Aircraft accident de Havilland Canada DHC-4T Caribou N400NC Gimli Airport, MB (YGM)".
  3. "Tech Support Forum".
  4. "NTSB: Pilots left wing controls locked in place in Gulfstream crash that killed 7". USA Today .
  5. "CAROL Query: investigations July 2021". Data.ntsb.gov. Retrieved 2022-08-19.[ not specific enough to verify ]

"Gust lock". The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aviation and Space. Vol. 6. Los Angeles: A.F.E. Press. 1971. p. 1043. LCCN   68014013.