On Friday, we saw a Delta Boeing 717 aircraft with 77 passengers on board slid off a taxiway at Pittsburgh & it’s tail cone detached during the evacuation Operation, how does that work ? What is a tail cone Jettisoning ?
✔Though it’s uncommon, we have seen such instances in the past with aircrafts like MD-88 on 5th march 2015, where tail cone was jettisoned.
✔Some of the aircrafts like MD-83 & B717 have a tailcone emergency exit in the tailcone at the aft end of the passenger cabin.
✔If the emergency exits are armed & the handle located in the door of the aft passenger entrance is actuated, the tailcone detaches & the slide deploys automatically.
✔The tailcone exit may be actuated from two more locations,
👉 A handle on the inside of the tailcone (non-pressurized area).
👉 Another handle on the outside of the aircraft.
✔On actuation, the tailcone releases & falls. It then turns 90° & moves to the left side of the aircraft to keep the tailcone from interfering with the deployment of the slide.
✔Jettison & slide deploy uses a set of clasps & cables which are attached to a bar on the door & to the clamping bolts on the tailcone.
✔Proper transmittal of Release command depends on the correct set of sub-components.
Author – Tanmay Palei
Sr. Aircraft Structure Engineer