787 flight two landing video, radio banter

Here's the video of 787 ZA002's landing Tuesday and some recordings between ground control and the cockpit that refer to an overheated brake and a brace on the nose gear that did not seem to be the correct position. This was the 787's second test flight and the first for the second airplane known as ZA002.

You'll see in the landing gears doors remain open on landing when they are usually retracted into the fuselage. Listen to the air to ground radio transmissions describing the overheated or "dragging brake" and the brace issue which were recorded by photographer and aviation enthusiast Matt Cawby.

The flight which was supposed to be an hour but exceeded two hours. Boeing officially made no mention of the problems and said the plane went 230 miles, hit speeds of 200 knots and reached an altitude of 13,000. With the exception of open gear doors, the landing appears normal.

The chase plane (presumably the one seen flying alongside ZA002 in the landing) inspected ZA002's front nose gear several times in the air. They were cycled several times, but the brace issue apparently wasn't resolved until Boeing Captain and test pilot Randy Neville conducted a maneuver called a "2 G pull" apparently to jar the strut into the correct position.

Seattle Times reporter Dominic Gates wrote a detailed account of the problem and I mentioned the overheated wheel while the plane was still in the air based on the radio banter. Gates also wrote an interesting story this week on plane's weight problems which Boeing officials downplayed.

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This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com