DC & JB in Plane Scare

Somehow I'm getting a little tired of all the Michelin bashing. Just for the record: The US Space Shuttle lands on Michelins.

 

Yeah, but what if they refuse to land?

 

So did the Concorde....

T308

 

Ouch!

 

Well yes, but any tire would have been shredded by that piece of metal courtesy of UPS.

 

Wrong! Not UPS but Continental.

Now offer an apology to UPS.

 

They both suck, have them bend over infront of a Gorilla, case closed.

 

Actualy the Concorde should had been airborne 2000 feet before it hit the strip of metal. But due to a maint. error the L. Main gear was angled to one side causing drag on the take off roll.

Also the Michelin tire had been listed as a problem on the Concorde since day one with several blow outs causing holes to be punched thru the underside of the wing.

 

wow

 

You telling me that wing damage from tyre failure is limited to the Concorde?

 

True, there is a comical element to it, but don't forget - a faulty piece of galley equipment is what supposedly caused that SwissAir MD-11 to crash off the coast of Nova Scotia back in 1998.

Any mention of smoke or fire inside an airplane causes great bureaucratic ripples...at least in the US.

The odds are DC being involved in two events like this are unbelievably small - he has got to be thinking "What the hell??"

 

Guys the 2 incidents are not really compariable. The first was a fncken scary CRASH!!! and the pilot and co-pilot died! DC had to walk out of the burning wreckage ... DC has BALLS.

This one was just an emergency landing ... but I bet he was a little worried as it made the landing!.

Pete

 

The last I heard the US Space Shuttle is not going anywhere, anytime soon.

You want to know about how Michelin operates... Here READ!

ARTICLE TITLE: Michelin pensioners file lawsuit in N.S. claiming millions owing

Mon Jun 20, 2:39 PM ET

HALIFAX (CP) - Hundreds of Michelin pensioners have filed a lawsuit in Nova Scotia claiming the tire-making giant owes their pension plan hundreds of millions of dollars.

The lawsuit against Michelin North America (Canada) Inc. was filed Monday in Nova Scotia Supreme Court by the Concerned Pension Group at Michelin, which represents 570 pension plan members.

The court application seeks a ruling regarding Michelin's management and administration of its employee pension plan.

The group wants the court to determine whether the trust plan has been compromised by surplus funds being diverted to meet employer contributions.

The pensioners claim the funds were intended for the exclusive benefit of employees, former employees and beneficiaries.

A spokesperson for Michelin Canada wasn't immediately available for comment.

The pensioners say payment of the company contributions to the pension plan would result in a surplus totalling over $350 million for benefit enhancements or distribution to plan members.

Michelin has three plants in Nova Scotia

The company's pension plan currently has about 4,000 members with assets valued in excess of $500 million.

 

RTF July 13

Tires were never a concern for the CAIB.

 

I agree. They had nothing to do with the problems of the space shuttle. Either way I just hope everything works out fine for Magny-cours.

On a more related note:

Some words from Dupasquier:

Dupasquier fired up for Magny Cours
Michelin vow to win many more races in '05

The pressure is on Michelin in France

Under-fire Michelin are determined to recover from the shock and shame of their 15 million Dollar tyre blunder in the United States by regaining top form and winning again according to Motorsport Director Pierre Dupasquier.

The indefatigable Frenchman, who has worked for the Clermont Ferrand based French tyre manufacturer for 43 years, added that if anyone was culpable for the mistake that led to the six-car race fiasco at Indianapolis, it was him.

"I am not resigning, nor am I retiring early," Dupasquier stated. "I am due to retire anyway at the end of the year and, until then, we will continue, fighting and working, to do our best. We have to recover from this."

"Do I look like someone who is giving up," Dupasquier questioned with a a grin. "No, I am not giving up, but I admit that if it is anybody's fault - what happened that is - it is mine. But Michelin are not going to sack me and I am not resigning. It is not the Michelin way. We are going to do all we can to make better tyres, make sure this never happens again, make faster tyres and win more races."

"If it is anyone's fault it is mine. But there were a lot of ways of carrying on with that race and I think there might have been 200 possibilities. But it did not happen. We are all part of a global team and now we have to do something for the sport. For Formula One. That is why we have made our promise. And you know when Michelin says it will do something, it will do it. That is the Michelin way. We do not need any advice about this from Mr Mosley. We know what to do."

E.A.
Source AFP

 

Not to take the thread too far off topic (although it is about the dangers of flight) I couldn't help but think about the Challenger tragedy over the USGP weekend (and I'm not overly dramatic here, I really did think about it): There the Thiokol engineers recommened against a launch because of the rubber of the o-rings not sealing in those temperatures. At Indy Michelins engineers recommended against the race because of the rubber of the tires not holding up to the stress of the banked track.

Although I was very upset about the pullout of the 7 teams, I was somewhat relieved no lifes were at risk (or not more than usual).

 

Thank God no one was hurt! Thank God Ralf is fine!

But why did such a situation arise in the first place?

Why after so many years of racing and so much money being thrown at development could there not be a safe Michelin tire?

Why did Michelin bring only one specification to the race?

 

Because they screwed up.

Dupasquier should retire (he is one year away from it anyway).

I'm not trying to defend Michelin for their screw up. But they can't be blame for everything. And the Concorde would probably still be flying if it hadn't been for Continental (thanks for the correction and also thanks for the tire update). Although that is debatable since it didn't really meet its expectations (similar to the Shuttle).

 

How ironic:


New Tire for Space Shuttle Atlantis
20 July 2005, 5:26 p.m. EDT
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Shuttle engineers preparing NASA’s Atlantis orbiter for the second return to flight mission will make the move from its protective hangar to the massive Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) no earlier than 12:00 a.m. EDT (0400 July 21 GMT).

Lower than normal pressure readings in Atlantis’ right front tire prompted the delay, NASA officials said. After investigating the tire, engineers found that the tire’s pressure sensor connection – not the tire itself – had a glitch and would be solved by standard tire change out, they added.

 

New RTF July 26

Michelin! Michelin! Michelin!
when will the nightmare end

were the sensors designed by Michelin too!?
Maybe Michelin will ask NASA to put chicanes on the landing strip?!

 

To be honest not even sure they are using Michelins now. They might have switched to Goodyear, not sure. They did use Michelins in the past.