Tupolev Tu-154 (RA-85563) has flight issues and almost crashes (edited and condensed)

[saabdude67]

That has got to be the best piece of flying I've ever seen! I never did get why Tupolev gave this plane anhedral rather than dihedral wings... Certainly doesn't help the dutch roll and dihedral effects seen here...

[rkan2]

This is like flying FSX with keyboard! I've never been able to land with only keyboard :D

[LOPEZdJUNGLIST]

a lesser pilot would have lost that no doubt

[LOPEZdJUNGLIST]

air stolichnaya 

[rkan2]

Glad I wasn't the pilot, because I would have puked after the 10th oscillation.. and at every fifth oscillation after that!

[combatwombat996]

lol even the aircraft are drunk

[flighty1996]

it can't be blamed on the aircraft type at all

[ikilem]

that's what happens if you use vodka instead of jet fuel.

[venus1an]

@ikilem

Idiot comment is a straight result of shit inside instead of brains, you seems to be a very poor man, nothing can help you

[clayman1982]

holy @#$%@#$ @#$%^^ @#$%. @#$%@$ing awesome

[FinSituation]

That would be fucking scary if i would be a passenger

[Fasulichenko]

Yaw-damper problem? The crew were amazingly skillful and lucky to land safely!

[Samyaza69]

All the Russian planes have problems! Well at least they got many so they can crash some!

[badboiant29]

It was on my birthday! :D

[launchsa]

Less Vodka next time!

In December 2010, Uzbekistan Airways declared that it will cease to operate Tu-154s from 2011.

In March 2011, the Russian Federal Bureau of Aviation ordered a total withdrawal of the Tu-154 from service.

As of January 2011 over 110 serious crashes involving the Tu-154!

[vonkaunaz]

@launchsa But the bulk of those crashes are due to poor and miserable maintenance of the airplanes. It was not like that in Soviet times when standards and maintenance were utterly strict. This announcement has NOTHING to do with the quality and/or performance of the Tu-154. Put any Boeing or Airbus under the poor maintenance records many Tu-154s were subject to in recent years, and they will just crash the same.

[Instructor2233]

@vonkaunaz - I TOTALLY agree; which is why these aricraft are STILL operating today. 

[21boxhead]

@shvak73 I know but if there was

[datathunderstorm]

In Soviet Russia, Tupolev 154 flies you!

Jokes aside, I flew to and from Russia on these very tough old birds for many years, and never experienced any mishaps! The TU-154 is far stronger than it looks, trust me. It was designed to set down on rough airstrip if need be - that's why it has 6 wheels on each of the two rear struts!

[vonkaunaz]

@datathunderstorm Countless European friends have flown in Tu´s and IL´s and tell me the experience is IDENTICAL, if not better, when compared with other Western airlines (and better than flying on any shitty present-day American airlines). The recent incidents with Tupolevs have been mainly due to the poor maintenance of recent years. The pilot on this specific bird is not from this world; he should be in the air force or something like that or in the Russian space program.

[beroth1]

I would have pooped my pants!

[soyuz1991]

tupolev planes suck

[21boxhead]

wow i bet passengers where praying and screaming

[grimraz0r]

@21boxhead there were no passengers in it, only pilots

[21boxhead]

@grimraz0r I know but I was being imagery

[PHAER]

unbelieaveble!! Really!!

[finskadventures]

Nice to see Russia has sober pilots with good brains too. Artwork. I hope he got a bonus.

[BritishSexComedy]

What a hunk o' shit!!

[gioalex1990]

air drifting... smooooooooooth!

[Shellocker]

This pilot has balls!!!!

[latenesatroden86]

damn..

[lmno456]

That pilot is a hero. The plane appears to have lost all rear stability controls.

[flighty1996]

@lmno456

Russian pilots are best in the world

[tabamoura]

1- this guy will need some new underwear

2- holly shit , the guys is a good pilot.

[airsidetv]

Anyone notice the puff of smoke from the rear at 0:37?

[tabamoura]

@airsidetv that's a cloud, you think its smoke because you heard a noise right when the airplane passes in front of it, but stop at 0:35 and you will see the cloud in front of the airplane.

[irvinekinny]

BTW, the pilots then got awarded with a Hero of Russian Federation rank. (Or "title"? I don't quite know how to translate that). And if you search, older Tu's have sometimes encountered a "controls reversing" malfunction, mostly with yaw, after servicing.

[ostatnidryjaz81]

Beautiful flying and handling the flight control surface failure. meaning hydraulic lines might have been rotten or cracked after 10 years of standing and ailerons rudder or elevator might have been getting stuck and had to be reversed by the pilot fighting it in the air.Only with Russian Pilots you can cheat death. Czystych nieb (wishing you clear skies )

[ostatnidryjaz81]

Beautiful flying and handling the flight control surface failure emergency. meaning hydraulic lines might have been rotten or cracked after 10 years of standing and ailerons rudder or elevator might have been getting stuck and had to be reversed by the pilot fighting it in the air.Only with Russian Pilots you can cheat death. Czystych nieb (wishing you clear skies )

[ostatnidryjaz81]

Beautiful flying and handling of the Tupolev during its flight control emergency (Ailerons and Rudder failure in the tail flight controls.. Only with Russian Pilots you can cheat death and land for a second chance. Na Zdrovie

[hgprt12]

what went wrong? does anyone know?

[KartKing4ever]

It looks like me flying in Flight Sim.

[scvs2]

What exactlly happened? Seems like the pilot just wanted to have some fun.

[s2pidpaul]

"...after being stored for 10 years"

Maybe the plane was stored for so long, it forgot how to fly properly? or perhaps it's was doing some sky stretching exercises... LOL

Nevertheless the flight crew did one heck of an amazing job there... ^

[GmmRpm1]

how the fuck did it not crash???? maybe thats just how Russians like to fly...

[minumephoto]

danger

[ferdinand31388]

Russian aircraft are strong, no doubt about that.

[deimos2k6]

hahaha maybe a tail servo broken? LOL

[Ferradini75]

Wow, I bet that been on that plane I'll I have to quote Will Smith in Bad Boys 2 "THAT one puckered up my butt-hole!". That pilot deserve a medal.

[SuperCloudBerry]

oh. my. god. ! o-O those pilots definately got nerves of steel !

[ahmedab84]

wow cant imagine what was going through their minds while the plane is being tossed around like that.

[shiningstarptnk1]

holy crap!

[FeroxX]

do a barrel roll !

[Porscheke7]

What is the cause of this erratic flight behavior? Lack of thrust?

[carlislespedding]

Skill and courage. You don't get much better than that

[ContainmentFailure]

That almost ended  in early retirement.

[commandro]

@ContainmentFailure yes, in russian aviation 30 yr old planes are considered not even eligible for their first service

[CattyRose91]

Congratulation guys, good job, you are heroes :)!

[CattyRose91]

*Impossible is nothing*

[grevensher]

Simply amazing. Who was the pilot?

[YEMILTWO]

Maybe the pilot was showing off to his mum on a Mother's Day flyby.....Do the Russian's celebrate Mother's Day ?....I'm not sure, I'll have to check that out and see if the dates coincide....

[ErosPriit]

hvatit, vsjo normalna

=)

fucking madness, can you imagine being on such a/c?

[sabertoothray]

that pilot better have gotten some kind of medal/reward for being able to land that holy shit

[kuken3000]

These pilots should get a Award and a lot of money

[SuperTsuchinoko]

In Soviet Russia, aircraft controls itself.

[JohannesDT]

In Soviet Russia, plane flies with you!

[666fien]

this guy can fly my plane anytime! simply unbelievable how he keeps it in the air! Lucky the frame didn´t collapse! Anyhow: RESPECT!

[jgem12345]

OH NOOO!!! A UFO!!!

[Niels4444]

Looks like a Dutch roll...

[ChrisA7X89]

I don't think it was some mechanical (or whatever) issue. Looks like it has been done on purpose. Maybe to test the airframe or the maneuverbility? I can remember one of the Aermacchi's from Frecce Tricolori doing the same thing just a few feet above the runway when they do their display.

[666fien]

@ChrisA7X89

R u kidding, comparing this aircraft to a single engine jet fighter built for manoevrability? seems to me like compairing a B17-agility to that of a spitfire. Excellent pilot no matter what!

[marufa1976]

@ChrisA7X89 You're talking about the "volo folle" (crazy flight) of Frecce Tricolori solo ... but Tu-154 is not small and light as the MB-339. This is not a standard manoeuvre. So the question is: mechanical issue and good pilot or drunk pilot and strong plane?

[ChrisA7X89]

@marufa1976 The question would be which mechanical issue is able to make an airplane move like this and making exactly the same movements over and over again?

[marufa1976]

@ChrisA7X89 Wodka in the oxy masks?

[Nixmich]

@ChrisA7X89 and @Porscheke7 if some steering systems fail, you have to replace them with other means of steering like varying the engine thrust. for example if you want to go down: reduce thrust -> nose goes down but plane speeds up while going down, then increase thrust -> nose is lifted again and plane slows down. so you get a wavelike motion

[irvinekinny]

@marufa1976 This was a test flight after 10 yrs of storage. The pilots reported the controls failure and periodical "reversing". On the video at "v=QOfIj17WJBw" the operator says "Just guess right, just guess right.. He guessed!!!" meaning the pilots had to "guess" the behaviour of controls at that landing point to compensate the plane's "rushes"

[schwimmer1234]

in soviet russia plane fly pilot.

;)

[echeesekid]

@schwimmer1234 shut the fuck up

[schwimmer1234]

@echeesekid in soviet russia internet troll you.

;)

[bpoostrander]

only in russia

[Tyrranic]

In Russia, vodka fly plane.

[Quinty2001able]

Neven of my life i'm gonna bording in this plane...!

Antonov have also this problem, so i'm trust only the Dutch of Asian planes.

[gibgibgibon]

it is a control flight..

plane was out of service for few years. they testing it

[commandro]

please remain seated and do not remove your oxygen masks until the emergency slides are deployed and all the shit is drained over the slides. outside is a pleasant 20 degrees celsius and the air is fresh!

thank you for flying roulette air

[Blackthought]

@commandro

hahahaaa

[jetpowered1]

Hyd problem? Rudder actuator, servo, yaw damp issue? Can't they shut off hyd in flight?

[MalokiPL]

Waaaaaaaat ???

[sergio6625]

Russian pilots can land a wheelbarrow if they want...

[commandro]

@sergio6625 wheelbarrows dont have autopilots that seem to be hacked by bin laden

[sergio6625]

@commandro - ahah :) I think that generation of autopilot could have been hacked only with a good old screwdriver...

[commandro]

@sergio6625 if it cant be hacked by a rock, than it would be too complicated for terrorists to hack otherwise ;)

[StratMatt777]

Wow that is unbelievable! Was it a yaw damper failure or what? Good thing it was empty or they might have stalled/spun. Thank God those were such fantastic pilots!

[cvant]

@StratMatt777 Tu-154 does not have a yaw damper/does not need a yaw damper

[piloty5]

it looks like the pilot was havin some fun with the rudders, lol

[nslsmith]

Holy Smokes. I can't believe it Didn't crash!!!

[Helicopterpilot16]

wow, looks like the scene in top gun where cougar had an iffy landing