That TBIT is a trick to get a/c in and out of. I would not want to try and manuver any a/c in or out of there. I remember the last time I was in LA, I was waiting to get on an Alaska flight. Part of the one terminal faces one of the piers for the TBIT. I watched the Evergreen ramp crew tow a China Eastern A340-600 down into one of the deep gates down the concourse…no thank you. Working for Swissport I used to hear tons of horror stories about a/c hitting wing tips…
I know it isn’t funny but I couldn’t help laughing when I saw that container stuck into the nacelle. Have they said if it got into the compressor? If not, the damage might not be too awful.
You’re not getting me upset…I laughed when I saw the picture What I can’t figure out is how long had the a/c been taxiing before it was figured out. In the footage I had seen on cnn the a/c looked to be away from the TBIT…how far I don’t know. The fact that in one frame there is a tractor attached to the nose is a moot point it may have been brought to tow the a/c away…I have not seen any follow up yet.
Just found this. Also I find it funny how during the entire thread over on a.net it took until the second to last posting for someone to correctly identify said container is not an LD-3 but an LD-2 which LAN as we can see by this metal does fly into LAX daily…on their B767-300.
I’m going to reach out to some of my friends at Swissport and see if they know anything…I’ll post if I find anything out.
I am curious…and neither of these diagrams show it. I know at JFK when an a/c dep its gate it is given a “start up block assignment” and that is where they start engines. I know as I mentioned in my first posting the a/c are towed into and from their gates at the TBIT…I presume they start at a certain point outside the “Ally”? Any one who flys heavy iron care to comment on and correct or confirm this??
P.S. The only language addressing the TBIT is about 3/4 down:
Everything you ever wanted to know about containers but were afraid to ask.
Also I find the person who did the write up in dami’s Delta link a bit off…I dont believe the intake on the L1011 would be able to get the LD3 ALL the way in as he had written…again someone want to correct me? An LD2 maybe
I wasn’t able to access the link you gave but another site did mention that the LD-3 is 52" x 64" x 71". The inlet on the RB211 (the engine on the L-1011) is about 84".
That is pretty interesting stuff!! I skimmed through some of it and yes there are start points…and strict guidelines covering the entire airport with regard to engine start run thrust…tks
Off the link I posted re. container dims:
Lower Deck Container-IATA Type 8D-IATA Prefix: APA-APA: LD-2
Maximum Gross Weight
1,225 kg / 2,700 lb
Volume
3.4 m3 / 120 ft3
Tare
60 kg / 132 lb
External Dimensions
(L x W x H)
1,194 mm x 1,534 mm x 1,626 mm
(47 in x 60.4 in x 64 in)
Aircraft Accepted For
777, 767
Top of page
Lower Deck Container-IATA Type 8-IATA Prefix: AK-ATA: LD-3
Maximum Gross Weight
1,588 kg / 3,500 lb
Volume
4.53 m3 / 160 ft3
Tare
70 kg / 154 lb
External Dimensions
(L x W x H)
1,562 mm x 1,534 mm x 1,626 mm
(61.5 in x 60.4 in x 64 in)
Aircraft Accepted For
DC10-30 Freighter, DC10, 747, 777, 767
What I can’t figure out is how long had the a/c been taxiing before it was figured out. In the footage I had seen on cnn the a/c looked to be away from the TBIT…how far I don’t know. The fact that in one frame there is a tractor attached to the nose is a moot point it may have been brought to tow the a/c away…I have not seen any follow up yet.
