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Drone hits a B-737 in Mexico...


The facts uncovered by the investigators were wrong? Nah... I'll choose to go with printed fact and investigators reports over the media's knee jerk reactions... As much as some people want it to be a drone... In that highly reported and sensationalized incident, it wasn't. It was just the radome collapsing. And that happens.
 
This is what’s known as fake news. My first clue? Radomes do not have ribs, they are constructed of a continuous Fiberglas laminate known as prepreg plys. No metal, no ribs. Just glass and resin. Reason being, they MUST be radar transparent. Period.

Second clue? Radomes do not fail in this manner. That is impact damage. Period.

Of course “dronelife” is saying it isn’t so. It’s this constant denial and twisting of facts that doesn’t wash with me. What a bunch of tools.


No. It was investigated, the report clearly states that it was a failure. That was just one article on the media's failure to accurately report the findings.
Physics and ballistics... There would be a hole at the point of impact... Not dented and buckled composite material. Unless the drone was 6feet wide and surrounded by some kind of impact absorbing material...
 
No. It was investigated, the report clearly states that it was a failure. That was just one article on the media's failure to accurately report the findings.
Physics and ballistics... There would be a hole at the point of impact... Not dented and buckled composite material. Unless the drone was 6feet wide and surrounded by some kind of impact absorbing material...

I’m glad you put so much faith in the media. I don’t. I’ve seen radome strike damage firsthand with my own eyes up close and personal in a Boeing repair facility. They don’t get to this condition by themselves. I’ve seen bird strikes that don’t leave a hole. Dented and buckled as you say. Sorry you can’t see the truth.

Btw, the aviation herald article is almost a year old, the plane in this thread was hit a couple of days ago.

You mention the investigation found it was not a drone strike. Do you mind sharing this report? Everything I’ve found so far says they are still investigating.
 
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I’m glad you put so much faith in the media. I don’t. I’ve seen radome strike damage firsthand with my own eyes up close and personal in a Boeing repair facility. They don’t get to this condition by themselves. I’ve seen bird strikes that don’t leave a hole. Dented and buckled as you say. Sorry you can’t see the truth.

Btw, the aviation herald article is almost a year old, the plane in this thread was hit a couple of days ago.

You mention the investigation found it was not a drone strike. Do you mind sharing this report? Everything I’ve found so far says they are still investigating.


That link is to the last drone strike that wasn't... I never said it was this one. I said I'll wait for the investigators to PROVE it was a drone... Just like that one wasn't and instead was a collapse caused by an improperly installed radome that was defective to begin with. That is what the report said on that one. Read the entire article. I'm surprised you don't remember it from the news... It was only a year ago. So....
 
That link is to the last drone strike that wasn't... I never said it was this one. I said I'll wait for the investigators to PROVE it was a drone... Just like that one wasn't and instead was a collapse caused by an improperly installed radome that was defective to begin with. That is what the report said on that one. Read the entire article. I'm surprised you don't remember it from the news... It was only a year ago. So....

Sorry, my bad. Thought you linked an article relevant the the current issue, not something a year old.
I did read the entire article, less the comments, which mean nothing.
I fully remember it from the news as well....I work in the industry.
Bottom line is a drone will do damage to an aircraft. Read some official FAA reports on the subject.
Something hit the A/C. I can only think of two things that occupy that same airspace. Birds and UAV’s. No blood…hmmmmm…
As far as collapsing in mid flight, why did it not let go at cruise altitude? The air velocity is much higher than at landing. The radomes are not pressurized. It doesn’t make much sense.
My vote is for UAV strike. We’ll see what the “official” findings are.
 
Sorry, my bad. Thought you linked an article relevant the the current issue, not something a year old.
I did read the entire article, less the comments, which mean nothing.
I fully remember it from the news as well....I work in the industry.
Bottom line is a drone will do damage to an aircraft. Read some official FAA reports on the subject.
Something hit the A/C. I can only think of two things that occupy that same airspace. Birds and UAV’s. No blood…hmmmmm…
As far as collapsing in mid flight, why did it not let go at cruise altitude? The air velocity is much higher than at landing. The radomes are not pressurized. It doesn’t make much sense.
My vote is for UAV strike. We’ll see what the “official” findings are.

At landing, their nose is has a different attitude than any angle they see in stable level flight. At altitude moisture may accumulate in defects in the materials, freeze and cause further expansion of the material. As they come in for a landing, more stress is loaded from the bottom of the radome from air pressure. Like trying to squeeze an egg from the point versus the side...
In my opinion, any direct impact with a heavy battery pack will leave both a hole, and detritus embedded in the aluminum frame. Not to mention a mark.. Forget the plastic body of the drone, which is still more robust than a bird. No visible scratches or marks... Even zoomed in. And at the crumpled and indented spot, I see no impact evidence. Batteries at 200mph are going to make holes and leave immediately identifiable evidence of a strike. A bird does... And they are nothing but a soft ball of feathers. A battery is a heavy and dense object, ballistiscs dictate a hole at the very point of impact. No glancing blows at 200+ MPH. Imagine a brick going through a windshield at 60 mph... It damages the steel around it. And I hate to use that as an analogy since idiots have murdered people like that..> AND, when it IS a drone.. That idiot will have murdered people too. I believe it is an inevitability.. I just don't see the evidence, in my opinion, that there was an impact with an object weighing greater than .55 lbs but less than 55 lbs.. Or impact with an object that contains heavy or dense parts made of metal or thermoplastics....
I think, at those speeds, the friction of impact alone would cause plastic to melt and streak the plane... Like rubbing a giant crayon down the side. I could be wrong. But I have a very analytical mindset. And I've seen what plastic scooter mirrors do to car doors when drunks ride them at the beach, and they are usually only going about 15-20 when they make contact....LOL.
I'll bet that when it is a drone, we'll know on day 1,
 
At landing, their nose is has a different attitude than any angle they see in stable level flight. At altitude moisture may accumulate in defects in the materials, freeze and cause further expansion of the material. As they come in for a landing, more stress is loaded from the bottom of the radome from air pressure. Like trying to squeeze an egg from the point versus the side...
In my opinion, any direct impact with a heavy battery pack will leave both a hole, and detritus embedded in the aluminum frame. Not to mention a mark.. Forget the plastic body of the drone, which is still more robust than a bird. No visible scratches or marks... Even zoomed in. And at the crumpled and indented spot, I see no impact evidence. Batteries at 200mph are going to make holes and leave immediately identifiable evidence of a strike. A bird does... And they are nothing but a soft ball of feathers. A battery is a heavy and dense object, ballistiscs dictate a hole at the very point of impact. No glancing blows at 200+ MPH. Imagine a brick going through a windshield at 60 mph... It damages the steel around it. And I hate to use that as an analogy since idiots have murdered people like that..> AND, when it IS a drone.. That idiot will have murdered people too. I believe it is an inevitability.. I just don't see the evidence, in my opinion, that there was an impact with an object weighing greater than .55 lbs but less than 55 lbs.. Or impact with an object that contains heavy or dense parts made of metal or thermoplastics....
I think, at those speeds, the friction of impact alone would cause plastic to melt and streak the plane... Like rubbing a giant crayon down the side. I could be wrong. But I have a very analytical mindset. And I've seen what plastic scooter mirrors do to car doors when drunks ride them at the beach, and they are usually only going about 15-20 when they make contact....LOL.
I'll bet that when it is a drone, we'll know on day 1,
There is an impact hole. A very big one. There is no aluminum frame on a radome. “Zooming in” on a photo is not proof that there are no marks. You have to get EYES ON. Look, I could pick your whole paragraph apart, but I can see it will do no good. I will waste no more time with this thread.
 
There is an impact hole. A very big one. There is no aluminum frame on a radome. “Zooming in” on a photo is not proof that there are no marks. You have to get EYES ON. Look, I could pick your whole paragraph apart, but I can see it will do no good. I will waste no more time with this thread.

No Aluminum FRAME? The entire SUPPORT STRUCTURE is Aluminum. What did you think the plane was made out of? So, once again... There is NO WAY a radome is going to turn a battery pack to dust. It will go through, and it will BURY itself in the ALUMINUM PLANE that the radome is attached to.... That is a FACT. That is physics, that is ballistics... And I don't care if you are a Pilot or load luggage all day long. I deal with PHYSICS and BALLISTICS and their effects on materials of different compositions all day every day and most nights. SCIENCE!
And that hole?... That is what is known as DELAMINATION in every industry where composites are used... And it is BEYOND the damage, past it, secondary... Not in front of it... SO, it is ancillary not PRIMARY. Hence... NO IMPACT. We can disagree all day....


Plus I've already seen some preliminary reports.

Delamination and radome failure ... due to possible previous bird strikes.
 
I am not convinced it was drone that big dent in the dome looks very smooth with no scratches??? Strange
 

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