Very nice job by that crew. That isn't the first time a 747 has had a flight control problem (or even a rudder hard-over, I believe), and it probably won't be the last.
Wow, great read. I wonder if Boeing has considered retrofitting the 747s and other lines with rear view cameras to see the tail. My father designed a camera system on the A380 for viewing the cargo hold (not sure what purpose that really serves). It's definitely something to consider. Maybe like the rearview camera on the Ferrari FXX that is built into a fin shaped design for aero considerations.
Something I was thinking as I was reading how much rudder input they were having to put in as well. Pretty scary thought honestly.
What would they have done differently if they could see it? They had an instrument indication which told them it's position, and the aircraft was behaving in accordance with that indication. Plenty of business jets have various external cameras, although I don't know how many are pointed at the tail.
Scary ! I traveled that exact route on NW a ton from 2001-2005. There were other options but I always felt better on a 47-400.
those men are heroes and true professionals I can't imagine keeping my cool in a situation like that......kudos to them!
I think that the saving grace here is that the 747, like most Boeing jetliners, has a split rudder, which allowed the crew to apply full right (upper) rudder to counteract the full left uncommanded lower rudder. The one Boeing that did not have a split rudder was the 737, and that resulted in several fatal accidents, notably one in Colorado Springs and one in Pittsburgh, before the aircraft were modified, probably much as the 747s were after this incident. They're not perfect, but I still try to follow the saying I used to see in Seattle, "If it ain't a Boeing, I'm not going".
Ironic that the split rudder was designed to save weight. A single rudder would have to be built stiff enough to resist fin bending and torsion and would have required humongous hinge fittings and a heavy rudder. Each section of the slpit rudder can can move with a short section of fin without loading up the other section of rudder.
Dont the 707, 757 and 767 also have single rudders? A split rudder design that articulates is much better design IMO since it creates more lift with less drag than a single rudder design that only deflects and does not articulate. Split rudders offer redundancy as well as noted in the example. Cheers
