[REAL ATC] South African A340 FLAPS STUCK DOWN | Kennedy JFK

[@VASAviation]

*Thank you everyone who voted via Twitter for this video to come up today!* KUDOS to these pilots and ATC for bringing the aircraft back down safely! =)

[@SaranneLourens13]

Excellent crew. Glad I witnessed it first hand on this flight

[@deeremeyer1753]

How many comments are you going to make claiming you were on this plane?

[@deeremeyer1753]

And excellent crew of EIGHTEEN PEOPLE would contain at least two qualified pilots who before a very long over water flight would do the most comprehensive and careful walk-around inspection imaginable and would double-check the operation of every flight control surface possible and ESPECIALLY things like the FLAPS by having someone inside the cockpit moving the controls and someone on the ground watching them move. Assuming things like flaps are really doing what you think they're doing and what the computers and indicator lights claim they're doing is what gets people killed when it turns out they really weren't. REALLY GOOD pilots don't fly AIRBUS airplanes because REALLY GOOD pilots won't get in a plane they can't actually FLY. You were in the air in a broken plane for that much time because your airline, your government that owns it and the government-owned aircraft manufacturer that built the broken plane would all rather let computers "fly" the plane and be able to blame crashes on "pilot error" and it was being flown by a pilot that's either too clueless to figure that out or is okay with it or at least tolerates it because there aren't any other airlines that will hire him. And that's increasingly the case because the differences between Boeing and other REAL airplanes and "die by wire" Airbus junk are becoming increasingly obvious with every Airbus "incident" and every time some government-owned national airline does something monumentally stupid like continuing to fly a broken airplane away from the airport for 45 minutes despite knowing the plane was broken immediately after takeoff and that it sure as hell wasn't going to fix itself.

[@pac1261]

You tell 'em, man! Everyone knows that a REALLY GOOD pilot always arranges for equipment failures to occur while the airplane is on the ground, so he can 100% catch it during preflight. Taking off in an airplane that's going to fail in flight is a sign of rank incompetence or a morbid fondness for Airbuses, which as you point out are pretty much the same thing.

[@KeenanTims]

What professionalism from the pilot. One of the best communications I've seen on this channel. Clearly and concisely communicates his requirements and status, has the answers for ATC right away, and all under pressure of the pan situation. Sounds like he did well explaining to the pax too. Fantastic job by all on this one.

[@springbok4015]

Keenan Tims SAA pilots are some of the best in the world.

[@SpaceBaron]

You guys should read more history. :-D Back in the days of the first space flights all astronauts talked with a cool calm voice, no matter what happened. The spacecraft would break up in flight and the voice will always be cool and calm! It was later to become known as the Kennedy Voice. Since then, all pilots tried to copy this way of taking on a radio!

Balls.

[@Roadglide911]

Keenan Tims s flap asymmetry is not a big deal. The flap system is designed to “stop working” in the event that they for whatever reason lose synchronization. There was no reason for the pilot to panic or anyone else. If one side had continued to retract while the other remained extended then it would be an oh fk moment.

[@jancovanderwesthuizen8070]

@@springbok4015 Which is ironic because SAA as a company is pretty kak

[@benwingreeff6626]

I always smile when I hear springbok on air make me feel a bit closer to home

[@LaniAirbus346]

SAA pilots are very professional. Well done to all involved!

[@VASAviation]

They are, indeed :)

[@MaxBarnish]

some mix up though over emergency as PAN PAN PAN is an urgency not emergency

[@786ALHAQ]

The call was correct.

[@commodore665]

my late father was a Captain for SAL , which was SAA , he was on the long haul flights to Europe , but yes they are very professional

[@SaranneLourens13]

This is so interesting. I was on this flight. I have the video footage of the plane dumping fuel as I was sitting behind the wing. We dumped fuel for ages.

[@SaranneLourens13]

Hi. Well I saw that the flaps werent going up. It was about 45min or so when the captain explained to us that they were having a problem with the flaps. He was very calm and professional and at no point did I feel we were in any danger. He then explained that they were going to try to go through the checklist to get them to reset so continued on and then came back on to say they did not succeed and therefore had to turn the plane around and dump fuel. This was when I started filming. We dumped for ages and kept circling. When approaching the runway alld the emergency vehicles lined the runway in case. The crew were great and my 7 year old son slept through most of it so there was no panic at all. The landing was also smooth so the pilot was excellent _lh3.googleusercontent.com/6yqfmbATMWmCPrZp6YHWlsdwvtAY3bCO8L5lJG8xR5qSMgIUex3aFvL2yY1d-eEl7z8ag8KGW6o_

[@onthebeach8211]

Saranne Lourens you're lucky this British guy was flying the plane. He was cool as a cucumber

[@SaranneLourens13]

On the beach wasnt aware of the British guy.who is he? The SA pilot was communicating with us. Legends in my book ☺

[@scottmoseley5122]

it would be great if you posted a link to your video here. What day was this incident?

[@SaranneLourens13]

sure Scott. i will look for it and do that

[@elcastorgrande]

Springbok was really on his game.

[@stefanlabuschagne1]

Pun intented 😂

[@pieterpohl1991]

I had no idea SAA's call-sign was Springbok. That's pretty cool!

[@Tracon9er]

Pieter Pohl same here!

[@springbok4015]

Pieter Pohl it's the national animal of South Africa. Kind of like the Kangaroo for Qantas.

[@pieterpohl1991]

Oh yea no, I am South African. I just thought it would be something boring like 'SAA' or such.

[@SpaceBaron]

The SAA's emblem used to be a flying spring buck back in the days of the orange tails up to the 90's. That is where the call sign comes from. If you are interested in call signs; Mango also has a very cool one: TULCA. It stands for The Ultimate Low Cost Airline!

[@pieterpohl1991]

Nico Visagie I vaguely remeber the old liveries of SAA, tho I was very young. That makes sense! Funnily enough I was going through a list of them on Wikipedia the other day and remeber thinking the Mango one is odd and makes no sense! Haha thanks!

[@walterriely4032]

Professional crew:-) I've flown with a few Sth Africans, all excellent pilots.

[@brianjreintjes]

Great as usual! Today I get to take care of my brother in law, he's a former air route controller at Kansas City Center, he was fired by uncle Ronald Reagen. He has multiple health problems, I'm giving my sister a break for the evening. Again great video.

[@VASAviation]

Thank you for watching! :)

[@antonik2674]

This is one of the worlds longest flights! From JFK to Johannesburg!

[@Rotsteinblock]

That explaines the long fuel dump

[@amandadangelo6161]

I agree ! SAA has some of the best pilots in the world!

[@VASAviation]

Indeed :)

[@786ALHAQ]

yeah but I am retired now.

[@johnthegreek7356]

I'd rather have the flaps stuck down rather than stuck up .. imagine trying to land with no flaps in an A340!!!

[@Kaipeternicolas]

Not a huge problem. Have seen it at LAX 24L before. Air Tahiti A343.

[@benwingreeff6626]

That a340 is a very forgiving aircraft huge but safe

[@mtech1961]

That's a South African Accent not British and the Pilots are all South African.We have had some of the best Pilots in the world Scully Levin was/is one of them. Ace pilot.

[@AnjaFourie]

People can't comprehend that there are many South African accents and expect South Africans to sound like Leonardo in Blood Diamond or something.

[@GodDammMarine]

You do a great job on your videos, thank you

[@VASAviation]

Glad you like them!

[@ilovechieftains]

Great Video! I like the new visualizations. Also, only just now realized this was an airbus a340, a rare sighting nowadays

[@SaranneLourens13]

Hi Jman, its great isnt it. Check out the video I posted of them dumping the fuel

[@paulgush]

It may still have the lowest fuel burn for the longest routes. Something the aviation press consistent gets wrong is making the assumption that 4 smaller engines burn more fuel than 2 bigger ones. 4 cost more to buy and maintain, but 4 is more efficient for long routes. Why? Because a civil airliner has to be able to accelerate and climb in the event of an engine failure upon takeoff. So, with a twin you need to be able to do that on 1/2 power, whereas you only need to be able to do it with 3/4 power on a quad. So, twin jets tend to have oversized wings and engines

[@Vpmatt]

Saffer pilots sound pretty cool.

[@cedricdb]

9:37 Lol “We’ll give away the A340”

[@stefanlabuschagne1]

Not sure if it was intentional by the creators of this video to make the captions of the SA pilots green becuase our South African national rugby team is also called the Springboks and the colour of their rugby jerseys are green.

[@SethBergile]

Great graphics!!

[@VASAviation]

Thank you! :)

[@PlaneSpottingBerlin]

Great catch! All went good :D

[@FlyingMaxFr]

When there is a frequency change between Departure, Approach, etc., do ATC inform other colleagues of the events pilots are reporting? And which mean of communication?

[@cliveramsbotty6077]

The controllers are in the same room, often next to each other. They pass along slips that represent each aircraft and a more senior controller provides oversight. That is my understanding of it at least but I'm no expert.

[@Bravoeen23]

Generally the frequency changes are handled silently its called a silent handover. The systems we use are extremely modern we use digital strips which indicate every part of the process without​ having to do any telephonic coordination for instance does he have his clearance, has he started, is he on the taxi but everything out of the ordinary is telephonically coordinated.

[@FlyingMaxFr]

Thanks for your reply!

[@FoxtrotGolfLima]

Thanks for the video this was a great one

[@VASAviation]

Thanks Fabian! :)

[@francescadarimini6476]

Tnx again for all your work.

[@glynstein2922]

It's 2017 and Radio calls are still being Lost! The least they can have is a Radio "Buffer" Recording System, lost transmissions can be Recorded, Saved and Played Back ASAP in a Time Stamped Fashion. One after the other instead of two at the same time. Stack the transmissions and play back in order. Aircraft can be allocated 100.1 100.2 100.3 100.4 etc The ATC will hear them as if on the same frequency via the Recoder and in sequence.

[@computerjantje]

I love the animations of this video

[@jsm5827]

good upload and post, could do with a larger print of the communications make it a bit easier to read

[@VASAviation]

The comms captions are supossed to be in time with real comms :)

[@AhmetOzanalp]

thank you

[@MRBROWSER2012]

Anyone know why the flaps locked up? Never heard of that problem before. Normally the flaps are pulled back fully within a few hundred feet above ground level. In this case they needed a safe altitude to dump fuel. Anyone have any updates on the cause of the flap failure? Wonder if it's related to the 'fly by wire' architecture.

[@uniform8891]

I'm just a layman so won't know, but see Gage's comment above

[@X_BILSON]

Tower should have read those winds out a little more loud and clear - when giving the landing clearance. important info for a huge a346 with restricted flaps emergency. apart from that very professional.

[@watchgoose]

he could hear them just fine. remember you are listening to a copy of the audio. plus they are quite used to it.

[@justdrums5211]

Waiting for the "bla bla bla....Airbus sucks......bla bla " comments :D

[@scottmoseley5122]

cant we all enjoy a great video without the AB Boeing politics. sheeeeeesh

[@hloxyman9346]

Seems quite from them, thanks to the suspicious B787

[@matthiasfenchel-neumann8826]

Alex the pilot I prefer Bombardier

[@rickravenrumney]

JUST DRUMS It has nothing to do with Airbus...the A340B is a fantaastic Aircraft. I am partial to Boeing but my favorite airplane as a kid was Eastern Airlines A300. My dad worked for the Catering Company Marriott in flite Services and he used to take me in a van to see the planes get catered at Logan in Boston. I saw Constellations....Eastern Electras....Northeast Airlines Yellowbirds. DC9-10s...BAC111s...The Concorde on sales flights...Crazy Braniff 747s painted Bright Orange and it's other Aircraft every other color. Stuck flaps have nothing to do with manufacturer....it was probably a busted screw made from some aircraft supplier that went out of business 20 years ago and Airbus and Boeing got a great deal for 20 billion of them.

[@hloxyman9346]

Sounds like ATC was panicking than the pilots.

[@bobbypaluga4346]

Better stuck down than up

[@flybyairplane3528]

Gee the ability to dump fuel from an AIRBUS AIRCRAFT, THIS was not always the case, you had to fly around burning off fuel, so now they finally realised their mistake !

[@VASAviation]

Not every Airbus has the ability to dump.

[@matthewhall5432]

why the differences in speaking between saa and jfk. saa sounds less complicated.

[@b-i-c7969]

FLAPS STUCK! FLAPS STUCK! I BEG YOU!

[@benconway9010]

have u got "miracle on the Hudson" conversation?

[@Teverell]

The raw recording's here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flight_1549_FAA_New_York_TRACON_audio_extract.ogg (though you've probably heard it!). I have no idea if anyone's done a video - they should!

[@loveakttkxkd1]

is the audio quality like this for the pilot and the atc? how can anyone understand what the others are saying?? my dream is to work for atc but im afraid that i might be able to understand a single word :(

[@MichaelGooden]

The audio quality for the pilots and ATC is usually _much_ better than this. These ATC recordings are made available by members of the public who are using enthusiast equipment from less than ideal physical locations.

[@loveakttkxkd1]

Michael Gooden thanks!

[@danvaldivia6155]

Why did he say "Pan Pan Pan" instead of Mayday? I thought that was the standard for declaring emergency

[@YAOmighty]

Dan Valdivia Pan Pan Pan is the lower tier of Mayday. It signalfies a problem that has no direct effects.

[@danvaldivia6155]

Thank you! I understand the difference now thanks again.

[@17574214]

Been an aviation enthusiest for 50+ years. Never heard of pan pan pan until now. Does it mean anything? eg save our ship??

[@somerandomguy18]

PAN = Possible Assistance Needed

[@Madmatt157v2]

WAYY Late comment but I don't think PAN PAN PAN has any meaning in the US, only in Europe. (different with boats.) from wikipedia: "In French, a panne ([pan], "pahn") is a breakdown, such as a mechanical failure. In English, it is also sometimes["

[@pzpzpzpzpzpzpzpz]

Was that Kennedy Steve at GND?

[@billybuttons4298]

No

[@alexandrabcdn4692]

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@mr.g3588]

Dumping fuel just a few miles off of New Jersey's billion dollar tourist industry- just great

[@786ALHAQ]

evaporates. cleaner than the burnt fuel

[@breezyjr]

What does "heavy" mean? I originally thought it had to do with, say, extra fuel at takeoff, but seeing as how they dumped fuel, why would they still call, "heavy?"

[@VASAviation]

Heavy is referred to wake turbulence. Let's say, big airplane.

[@breezyjr]

Ahhh.. thanks.

[@gavinsingh4450]

John Doe No, that's not correct.

[@38911bytefree]

An A340 dumping fuel, sure this was longer appart from more than a hour burning on the engines at 12.000. Luckily they stuck on deploy position ... Issues with airplanes is, they fly 99% of the time, so even with proper maintenance, something is going to happen. Most of the things that happen can be addressed, controlled or have redundancy. How old was this A340 ?.

[@skripez4088]

What does "PAN PAN PAN" mean. And "ILS"

[@przemysawgumienny2621]

PAN PAN PAN means 'there's something wrong, but no lives are currently endangered" MAYDAY means "there's an emergency and people may die"

[@skripez4088]

Thx!

[@scottmoseley5122]

yup thanks.. i was wondering too.

[@rachedbennasr2394]

ILS is the instrument landing system, as far as i know it's used when there are imc conditions

[@Xg78]

tie oneon PAN PAN PAN = We have priority , make our way clear

[@keshawnbrown4378]

Thursday fourth of July

[@mmichaeldonavon]

See, it's always the North Eastern Controllers with the Smart Ass comments - they need to monitor the controllers from the UK, or Europe. But, you know those New Yawkers.

[@darylgruar]

Really ATC need the fuel in pounds! The plane is in kgs. The crew talk normally in kgs. The crew are working a situation and yet the ATC want the answer in pounds.

[@unloopy]

Multiply by 10, double it, then add a tenth to whatever you've got.