Jet Blue situation

[dan9125]

A Jet Blue Embraer ERJ-190 had trouble with something while en route to KBUF today. Can anyone comment on what might have happened.

 Dan

[cessna157]

Well, according to the sound file, slats failed in the up position, flaps deployed normally.  Just a normal emergency with flap failure, etc.....

[dan9125]

 Abnormal position on a slat indicator....wasn't sure what that was exactly.

Thanks for the info
 Dan

[Hollis]

Just for clarification. Wing slats are on the leading edge of the wing, and when opened re-direct more air over the top of the wing to increase lift at higher angles of attack. Flaps are on the trailing edge and are extended to both increase lift as well as drag.
If either one fails, then the stall speed is higher, hence the need to approach at a higher speed and make what we used to call a 'hot' landing.

[athaker]

is the drag created by flaps a desired characteristic during lower speed flight or a side-effect of getting that extra lift?

[Jason]

is the drag created by flaps a desired characteristic during lower speed flight or a side-effect of getting that extra lift?

To answer your question, the increase in the drag coefficient when flaps are deployed is simply a by-product of lift.  Anytime you create lift with an airfoil, you create drag.  Flaps create both lift and drag, but are typically known as high-lift devices because they increase the camber of the wing and therefore increase the maximum lift coefficient, thus, allowing flight at slower speeds with flaps extended.

[aviator_06]

Well said Jason.

[rbrong]

They also teach us in flight training that flaps allow for a steeper descent while maintaining a slower airspeed (due to the increased lift and drag).  Without their use, landings require you to be much lower during your approach to land if you're not going to carry a bunch of excess airspeed.  Also, you might have to extend the landing approach much further from the landing strip to maintain proper landing speed.  It's basically vector math in action.