angry tanker

Do FedEx MD-11s have predictive windshear?

Not this one

FANS cripple

Some. All of our MD-10's do.

Don't know about the FDRs.

Tuck

Only 1 MD-11 has PWS - the one that was in the accident in Subic a few years ago. It's back on the line now.

Sluggo_63

I don't know if PWS would have done anything here. From my understanding, PWS uses the radar to look ahead and see doppler movement in particles and predict windshear ahead. The radar needs something to reflect off of to do this (i.e. rain). It looked pretty clear in the video.

KC10 FATboy

I thought PWS systems were sensitive enough to detect smaller particles than rain (dust maybe) but I wasn't for sure. I can't seem to find anything on the subject and my manuals seem to be rather vague. I know there is a lot of testing for certification of CAT sensing radars.

FedElta

Any PWS system worth it's salt would have screaming last Fiday night into KJAN.............not a peep out of ours.

Regards,
BG

KC10 FATboy

Yeah, I've wondered the same thing. I've been in some really nasty weather and to date I've never heard a PWS warning or caution.

FedupFlex

The PWS is seperate system from the weather radar on the MD11/MD10. What seems confusing is that the Nav Display has to have the WxR selected to display the PWS icon, and the Radar has to be "ON" for take-off. The WxR can be "OFF" on approach and the PWS automatically starts doing its thing below 2300' AGL.

The PWS is a "doppler" system, so it needs some kind of particulate matter to refelect back to it.

All a moot point for the poor guys on FDX80 in NRT, though. Only 1 FDX MD11 has PWS at this time, and that wasn't the airplane.

Zapata

I agree. His use of a "Safety" site as a sounding board for his right wing anti-union extremism sure makes me question his objectivity.

990Convair

Just talked to a bud that was on a layover when beers started flowing from another non-Fed-Ex pilot. Turns out, the Captain that was in command on the EWR crash years ago was buying rounds for the Fed-Ex boys. He is flying for an airline up there and sat down to tell his tale on the EWR crash. Since the result was a broken gear, flipped jet, big fire....one can't help but think how it plays into NRT.

He said that they were on final to what they thought was a 6,700 ft runway (didn't figure the 1500 over-run). They planned to put her down firmly and did, and here's the whopper, they started to LOWER the nose thinking they were down, BUT, they had bounced didn't realize they were airborne and basically lowered the nose striking it first on the runway. You know the rest of the story.

Watch FLT 80's video. She bounces, flies along for a few seconds, then the nose gently lowers itself, striking first and starting the out of control bouncing and gear/wing seperation.

The EWR Capt said it was eerily similar....nose first, gear separates, wing separates, fire, flip.

Hmmm?