737 Hard Landing at John Wayne

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Darryl Snover

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Higher speed to compensate for winds? Wind sheer? Video at link

"An Alaska Airlines flight made a hard landing amid Tropical Storm Hilary late Sunday, shooting sparks on the runway at John Wayne Airport in Southern California.

Terrified passengers screamed as Flight 1288 from Seattle to Santa Ana in Orange County slammed into the ground at high speed, a video posted on YouTube shows. The plane appears to drag its left wing along the tarmac, causing sparks to fly into the torrential downpour. "


737 Hard Landing With Sparks
 
LLWS in the flair? Even so, based solely on the video, it did not appear to be an unusually hard set down.
 
Check out the AvHerald:



The Aviation Herald

Aviation Herald - News, Incidents and Accidents in Aviation
avherald.com avherald.com

An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-800, registration N516AS performing flight AS-1288 from Seattle,WA to Santa Ana,CA (USA), landed on Santa Ana's runway 20R at 23:14L (06:14Z Aug 21st) but touched down hard causing the left main gear strut being punched through the left wing. The aircraft came to a stop on the runway and was disabled. There were no injuries, the aircraft sustained substantial damage however.

https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/ASA1288/history/20230821/0250Z/KSEA/KSNA

Metars:
KSNA 210853Z AUTO 12010KT 10SM -RA BKN013 OVC021 19/17 A2991 RMK AO2 SLP126 6//// T01940172 51038 PNO $=
KSNA 210753Z AUTO 13011G21KT 10SM -RA BKN013 OVC023 20/17 A2988 RMK AO2 SLP117 T02000172 402500194 PNO $=
KSNA 210700Z AUTO 14017G23KT 10SM -RA BKN014 OVC020 19/17 A2984 RMK AO2 T01940172 PNO $=
KSNA 210653Z AUTO 14014G26KT 2SM -RA BKN014 OVC022 20/17 A2984 RMK AO2 PK WND 13026/0647 SLP103 T02000172 PNO $=
KSNA 210605Z AUTO 2SM +RA BR OVC011 21/19 A2981 RMK AO2 T02060189 PNO $=
KSNA 210553Z VRB03KT 2SM R20R/6000VP6000FT +RA BR BKN009 OVC013 21/19 A2979 RMK AO2 RAB02 SLP087 LAST 6//// T02060189 10250 20206 51082 PNO $=
KSNA 210501Z 17012G23KT 10SM FEW005 BKN018 OVC025 22/20 A2973 RMK AO2 PRESRR T02170200 PNO $=
KSNA 210453Z 17016G23KT 7SM FEW007 BKN014 OVC025 22/20 A2972 RMK AO2 RAE35 PRESRR SLP063 T02170200 PNO $=
KSNA 210444Z 20009KT 10SM FEW009 OVC015 22/21 A2971 RMK AO2 RAE35 T02220206 PNO $=
KSNA 210420Z 19012KT 2SM -RA SCT007 BKN012 OVC029 22/20 A2969 RMK AO2 SFC VIS 10 PRESRR T02170200 PNO $=
KSNA 210353Z 21013G20KT 2SM -RA BR OVC005 22/20 A2964 RMK AO2 PRESRR SLP036 T02170200 PNO $=
KSNA 210345Z 21012KT 2SM -RA BR BKN005 OVC010 21/20 A2963 RMK AO2 PRESRR T02110200 PNO $=
KSNA 210253Z 12015G23KT 6SM -RA BR OVC009 21/19 A2955 RMK AO2 SLP005 6//// T02110189 53037 PNO $=
KSNA 210231Z 12014G20KT 5SM -RA BR OVC009 22/20 A2953 RMK AO2 T02170200 PNO $=
KSNA 210219Z 13015G23KT 10SM -RA BKN011 OVC017 22/20 A2952 RMK AO2 T02220200 PNO $=
KSNA 210202Z 14014G24KT 10SM -RA BKN015 BKN055 23/20 A2951 RMK AO2 T02280200 PNO $=
KSNA 210153Z 14012G30KT 10SM -RA BKN013 BKN047 OVC060 23/21 A2950 RMK AO2 PK WND 15031/0125 SLP988 T02330206 PNO $=
KSNA 210126Z 15020G31KT 10SM -RA BKN013 OVC018 24/22 A2948 RMK AO2 PK WND 15031/0125 T02390217 PNO $=
KSNA 210110Z 13015G28KT 10SM -RA BKN018 BKN024 OVC055 24/22 A2948 RMK AO2 PK WND 14028/0107 T02440217 PNO $=
KSNA 210053Z 12011G18KT 8SM RA FEW012 OVC055 25/23 A2947 RMK AO2 SLP976 T02500228 PNO $=
 
robin ardoin said:
LLWS in the flair? Even so, based solely on the video, it did not appear to be an unusually hard set down.
Click to expand...
That's what I was thinking... the video does not look like that firm of a touchdown... I certainly have been on worse myself. To send a strut into the wing? There must have been something going on with that attachment point to cause it to fail like that.
 
Good landing.

Even better landing if the plane wasn't damaged.

I flew in Hurricane Andrew while crewing an HH3F. Fun stuff.

This is insanity. It's not like the storm popped up out of nowhere.
 
I've been in a landing where the overheads popped open, but none that "touched down hard causing the left main gear strut being punched through the left wing."
 
kind of brings to mind the recent flight where a passenger feared for his life... what was that one?
 
Tantalum said:
An Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-800, registration N516AS performing flight AS-1288 from Seattle,WA to Santa Ana,CA (USA), landed on Santa Ana's runway 20R at 23:14L (06:14Z Aug 21st) but touched down hard causing the left main gear strut being punched through the left wing. The aircraft came to a stop on the runway and was disabled. There were no injuries, the aircraft sustained substantial damage however.

https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/ASA1288/history/20230821/0250Z/KSEA/KSNA

Metars:
KSNA 210853Z AUTO 12010KT 10SM -RA BKN013 OVC021 19/17 A2991 RMK AO2 SLP126 6//// T01940172 51038 PNO $=
KSNA 210753Z AUTO 13011G21KT 10SM -RA BKN013 OVC023 20/17 A2988 RMK AO2 SLP117 T02000172 402500194 PNO $=
KSNA 210700Z AUTO 14017G23KT 10SM -RA BKN014 OVC020 19/17 A2984 RMK AO2 T01940172 PNO $=
KSNA 210653Z AUTO 14014G26KT 2SM -RA BKN014 OVC022 20/17 A2984 RMK AO2 PK WND 13026/0647 SLP103 T02000172 PNO $=
KSNA 210605Z AUTO 2SM +RA BR OVC011 21/19 A2981 RMK AO2 T02060189 PNO $=
KSNA 210553Z VRB03KT 2SM R20R/6000VP6000FT +RA BR BKN009 OVC013 21/19 A2979 RMK AO2 RAB02 SLP087 LAST 6//// T02060189 10250 20206 51082 PNO $=
Click to expand...
Interesting that the wind is missing from the report just before the accident. Before that was reported as variable at 3 knots. So the pilots may have had incorrect or misleading information about the wind conditions.
 
Good observation, I missed that on my initial peruse.
 
From the linked article (bolding from me):

"Alaska Airlines Flight 1288 was forced to make a hard landing at John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, amid Tropical Storm Hilary."
 
"hurricane made me do it?" Oh I'm stealing that for next time I put my struts through the honeycomb razors I got for wings.

"Colonel, I had this thing on titanium rails, dat foggin' wind just Judased me there end game...*throws arms up* " :fingerwag:
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
I never understood screaming. Alarm, sure. But I think if someone was screaming, I would be like the lineup in Airplane, shaking sense into the passenger, hauling off with a good slap to the face.
Click to expand...
I've got to agree with you there. I don't get it either. :dunno:
 
From the video, it doesn’t look like an abnormal landing, sink seems fine. no flare and sparks start coming from the landing gear area.
 
I know passenger reactions aren’t really a scientific gauge, but there were quite a few audible gasps when it touched down, before people started noticing the sparks. I think it’s fair to say it was, at minimum, a firm touchdown.

That gusty crosswind and the need to put it down early on a short, contaminated runway didn’t help things.
 
Uh… the Dale Earnhardt crash didn’t LOOK bad, but the announcers gasped…

I’ve performed and witnessed quite a few “firm” landings in transport category jets. They can take quite a beating, trust me.

That had to be a CRUSHER. Don’t know why, but it couldn’t be anywhere near “firm” unless there was previous damage or a very odd part failure.

Gusty is usually easier, like a wheel landing (taildraggers). Gust additive gives plenty of authority to just set it where you want it, as opposed to the inaccurate bleed off speed till she lands thing.
 
Last edited:
Some one on another forum suggested it could be a main gear trunion pin break.
 
hindsight2020 said:
"hurricane made me do it?" Oh I'm stealing that for next time I put my struts through the honeycomb razors I got for wings.

"Colonel, I had this thing on titanium rails, dat foggin' wind just Judased me there end game...*throws arms up* " :fingerwag:
Click to expand...
Good old London City Airport.
 
Apparently was NOT a hard landing.. 1.7g vs the 2.2g limit:

 
Tantalum said:
Apparently was NOT a hard landing.. 1.7g vs the 2.2g limit:

Click to expand...
Why do I need somebody to read it and point at the pictures for me?
 
What crazy circumstances. Landing *sorta* hard in a tropical storm, but it would have broken, anyway, and made the news all the same. You don’t see that often!
 
Ouch.


96749_f4ehupoaqaa2hi__651887.jpg



96750_ntsb_alaskaair_1288_santaana_20aug2023_585796.jpg
 
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