Can a large passenger airliner land if the flaps failed to extend. Has this ever happened?

Question

John, u sound like you know what yer talkin about - Good answer.

Answer 1

Yes, they can land with flaps retracted. The pilots have a chart that shows approach/ takeoff speeds for all flap positions for given weights of an aircraft. All they need is a long enough runway. The speed difference isn't as much as you might think. Example, 135 kts / flaps 45 and 175 kts at 0. And brakes and tires can take more than the plane can usually give them.

Its has happened, as redundant as aircraft systems are.

Answer 2

Commercial airliners have landed successfully in just about any configuration you can imagine, including all engines out. Flaps-up is a situation that I feel a pilot should declare an emergency. S/He should select an airport with as long a runway as possible. However if the final destination runway is long, there is no reason, IMO, to divert. This is not a situation where a pilot should feel compelled to put the aircraft on the ground ASAP. By reducing the fuel load, either by dumping or burning off, the pilot has lightened the ship thus reducing the speed necessary to stay airborne. That alone will reduce landing speed some. So you have a bit of a hot landing, perhaps a bit more thrust reverser power and maybe a bit hotter brakes but I don't see where this would qualify as a pilots nightmare.

I recall one landing in Anchorage, Alaska with no flaps. The aircraft was a 737, one of the early models. The pilot did a fine job, with most passengers not even aware that we had a problem.

I am a trained and experienced aircraft accident investigator, now retired.

Answer 3

A lot of modern airliners have all control surfaces controlled by three computer systems.

If the flaps failed , the computers would allow for this, flaring the aircraft more for instance as it came in to land. The landing speed would be pretty quick, but as people have said, if the runway is long enough, a few burst tyres could well be the worst that happens.

Answer 4

Yes it is definitely possible. I have witnessed (from the ground) the landing of a B767 without flaps. High speed, quite strange approach and heavy breaking action on the runway - 3 tires blew, but no other damage or injuries. It's about 10 years ago so the exact circumstances I do not remember in detail. But I remember seeing the crew after wards - they did not look "very happy" - so didn't the passengers.

Answer 5

Yes they can as long as they have got a long enough runway and a very good/experienced pilot. The flaps are used to enable the aircraft to fly at a much slower speed enabling more lift to keep the aircraft up, without the flaps the aircraft can still land safely but at a much higher speed and as long as the tyres hold out and the runway long enough it should be ok.
It has happened on several occasions with a successful landing

Answer 6

The plane can land but its a question of speed. flaps down allow s the airplane to go slower with more lift. Without flaps down the plane would have to hit the runway at a higher than desirable speed which could end up causing the plane to go off the end of the runway. This all depends on loads and runway length, size of planes etc.

Answer 7

Air Transat flight 236 landed without flaps on August 24, 2001. It also had no engine power, spoilers, reverse thrust, anti-lock brakes, etc. The only damage to the aircraft was blown tires.

Landing without flaps is very unusual, but it can be done safely, and pilots are trained extensively in simulators to handle the situation.

Answer 8

Another good question,

and very good replys to

yes it is possablie however the plane will run the risk of going over the runways i have had a look at plane crash info and i can not see any record of planes crashing and there being more then 30% of the passengers killed however i am not to sure if this is correct as i thought that it would be a lot more. However the website is very good for fthings like this have a look at it it is http://www.planecrashinfo.com/

Happy New Year!

Tom

Answer 9

I am a flight attendant and this has happened on one of my flights. The pilots were finally able to get a partial extension of the flaps, but we still had to land at a higher speed than normal. Luckily, all went well, and the tires didn't even blow out. We had prepared the passengers for a full-scale evacuation, just in case, but were relieved that it wasn't necessary.

Answer 10

Yes, it can land, just at a higher speed, as the extended flaps (and leading edge slats) increase the wing area, raising the stall speed.
FYI, when I was a crew chief in the service, one of our F-111's could not sweep the wings forward. (The F-111 had a sweep wing, that pivoted aft, into a delta wing config for speed, and pivoted forward for slower speed ops). We had to divert it to a base with a 5 mile runway, because it was going to be coming in so hot! Roasted the brakes, by the way.