PHOTOS: Syrian A320 tail after collision with MIL chopper...

[Stratofreighter]

http://avherald.com/img/syrian_arab_a32 ... 0920_1.jpg

The damage of YK-AKF:

Oh dear...

http://avherald.com/h?article=45671063

A Syrian Arab Airlines Airbus A320-200, registration YK-AKF performing flight RB-501 from Damascus to Latakia (Syria),
was climbing through FL120 out of Damascus
when the main rotor of a military helicopter clipped the upper half of the vertical stabilizer and rudder off the airliner.

The helicopter crashed, the A320 was able to return to Damascus for a safe landing.

The helicopter crew died, there were no injuries aboard the A320, the A320 received substantial damage.

According to http://avherald.com/h?article=45671063 YK-AKF may have had 200 passengers on board.
And FL 120 is a rather high level for a helicopter to operate...

[michel N]

FL 120 is a high altitude for helo's, but flying lower with a mil chopper in Syria is quite dangereous these days....

[Optimus]

My 2 cents as some things make me wonder:
- was there also damage to one of the wings of the Airbus, considering the rotor diameter of the Mi-17 is only 21.3 meters? If the Airbus had a forward motion, how could the fuselage of the chopper have stayed clear from the Airbus its wing (34m wingspan) and/or fuselage? In this case, I would expect the chopper rapidly descended from a higher altitude possibly without noticing the Airbus coming from below (suggesting no checking of radar systems) and as such hit each other.
-initial reports (however I will take these with a grain of salt) would suggest that the chopper tried to stay/move clear of anti-aircraft artillery. No reports thus far that the Syrianair was doing anything else but climbing through FL120, so what was the helicopter doing in its path? Maybe the helicopter crew had mistaken the climbing Airbus for a (pretty slow...) missile and therefore tried to move out of its path?
- Didn't the Airbus its radar and crew notice close traffic? What was the local ATC doing at the time to prevent this?

Maybe we will never know. All in all, those on board the Airbus were extremely lucky as opposed to the military crew of the Mil, as a split second diifference had made the outcome completely different.

Kees

[pjotrtje]

A Mi-17/Mi-8 sits approx. 450cm tall, so looking at the height of the damage, either:
1. the tail was hit by the fuselage of the helo i.s.o. the rotor; or
2. the Airbus was extremely lucky not to have the horizontal stabilizer hit by the chopper's fuselage.

Reminds me of the B-52H that lost 90% of it's vertical stabilizer due to flutter, and managed to land safely (albeit on a looong runway).

[Stratofreighter]

Reminds me of the B-52H that lost 90% of it's vertical stabilizer due to flutter, and managed to land safely (albeit on a looong runway).

You rang, m'lord?
http://www.talkingproud.us/Military/B52 ... oTail.html

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wclfY0Meruw[/youtube]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wclfY0Meruw

[Optimus]

Reminds me of the B-52H that lost 90% of it's vertical stabilizer due to flutter, and managed to land safely (albeit on a looong runway).

What's the tailnumber of the B-52? I can't see it

Kees

[Stratofreighter]

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articl ... zy-377309/

PICTURES: Circumstances of Syrian A320 collision remain hazy

26 minutes ago

Mystery still surrounds the circumstances of an apparent mid-air collision involving a Syrian Arab Airlines Airbus A320 that resulted in substantial damage to the twinjet's vertical fin.

The only verification of a collision came from a brief statement released by the ministry of information and carried by Syrian government media, which stated that a military helicopter - possibly a Mil Mi-17 or Mi-8 - had collided with the jet, which had returned to land at Damascus.

Unverified images of a Syrian Arab Airlines A320 in a hangar show damage to the fin and rudder consistent with at least two horizontal clockwise rotor blade strikes at a height of about 9.3m (30ft), ruling out a ground collision because the Mi-17's rotor height is too low.

The lower half of the rudder remained attached. Lack of evident damage to the rest of the airframe, notably the horizontal stabiliser, might indicate that the helicopter passed aft of the A320.

The altitude of the collision is unconfirmed, but has been variously reported, without reliable sources, as having occurred at 12,000ft - despite this being unusual for a military helicopter operation - or as low as 1,200ft.

Syrian Arab Airlines has so far declined to comment on the accident and Airbus has not been in communication with the carrier for several months. The airline had been subject to sanctions before the outbreak of armed anti-government hostilities.

While government media claimed there were 200 passenger on board, Flightglobal's Ascend Online database lists the configuration of the aircraft (YK-AKF) as 151 seats.

No photographs or comments from passengers appear to have emerged on social networks.

There are traffic collision-avoidance system upgrades available for the Mi-17, but there is no confirmation as to whether the helicopter had an active system installed.

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articl ... zy-377309/