A plane landing at Sydney - no lights.

[flying dog]

Tuesday 06:08-ish.

 

Commercial jet going in to land 16 R.

 

Only nav and landing lights.

 

No cabin, tail, or any other lights.

 

Grated cargo planes don't need cabin lights, but no tail lights, and from what i could see it was GREY.

 

So basically: NO PAINT, or a very dull one at best.

 

Anyone?

 

 

[Guest Nobody]

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/FDX77/history/20140203/0924ZZ/PHNL/YSSY

 

This seems to be the only freight arrival about that time.

 

From time to time something military does drop into Sydney.

 

 

[flying dog]

Yeah, but I am surprised that there was/were NO identification lights at all.

 

Other than landing lights and nav lights. To me that screams "Hey! Look at me!"

 

 

[aj_richo]

Oh no... a Grey Ops conspiracy??

 

 

[Ultralights]

i have seen a US navy F14 Tomcat at YSSY long ago... 6;08 is after first light. what type of aircraft was it?

 

 

[facthunter]

Maybe a type the lights don't come on automatically. ie where you have to switch them on... It's not normal to operate with none. Nev

 

 

[flying dog]

737 I think.

 

Big, 2 engine, turn ups on the wing tips.

 

330? 320? 767?

 

I only just noticed it because I think there was cloud and I was more looking at the road than the sky.

 

 

[facthunter]

In fog on approach you may find it better to turn the rotating red off as it can be distracting. Nev

 

 

[flying dog]

Nev,

 

This is a 737 - or what ever.

 

I have SEEN these planes landing time, and time and time. In all sorts of weather.

 

99.99999999999% of them have:

 

Landing lights: on.

 

Navigation lights: on

 

Beacon: on

 

Cabin lights: on

 

Identification lights on the vertical stabiliser: on

 

They are basically a "flying Christmas tree".

 

This one had the nav and landing lights ONLY.

 

 

[flying dog]

Hmmm.......

 

MD11.

 

I didn't notice the third engine.

 

That usually sticks out like.... Well, you know what.

 

And considering I noticed no cabin lights and so scanned for the airline insignia and so looked at the vertical stab', I didn't see the third engine.

 

 

[motzartmerv]

The skippa didn't turn the lights on?

 

 

[eightyknots]

Perhaps a US Stealth Airbus?

 

 

[dodo]

You see aircraft doing this at Temora sometimes, very quiet, minimum lights, grey painted C130. Flys out of Wagga, I think.

 

dodo

 

 

[PapaFox]

I was thinking it might have been a RAAF KC30A MRTT

 

 

[pylon500]

Had something fly around two nights ago here at Taree, NO lights at all.

 

Lots of wooshing and turbine engine noise, but hard to tell if a Blackhawk (or two), or a C130J?

 

Clear cloudless night with lots of stars, but couldn't pick it up as a silhouette or anything.

 

Sounded like picking up the NDB from the West, broke off left to the North, then large R/H orbit back over the township and depart back to the West..

 

Waited outside for a second one (military often do things in groups), but nothing else.

 

I'm used to the sound of the old C130E's and H's, but I don't see/hear the J's much up here.

 

 

[Guest ozzie]

we get some of that sneaky stuff in the Hunter Valley occasionally.

 

 

[Yenn]

The tail light is part of the Nav lights and should be on with the red and green lights to be legal. Possibly a failed light?

 

 

[Ultralights]

seeing as it was after first light, then its legal to have no lights at all, and if he was flying in cloud or fog, the capt might have turned them off to preserve night vision.

 

 

[Guest Andys@coffs]

Maybe the RAAF AWAC's (Wedgetail) its based on a grey 737 and it may have been operating on the MIL aviation UHF band rather than VHF one we all use. 737 will have VHF, not all RAAF aircraft used to, but RAAF don't always use it, in fact around RAAF Bases they wont. When I worked F111's there were many that didn't have VHF antenna's because they were fragile at Mach speed. Cover plate substituted and VHF transceiver circuit breaker pulled and collared.

 

Andy

 

 

[nathan_c]

Maybe the RAAF AWAC's (Wedgetail) its based on a grey 737 and it may have been operating on the MIL aviation UHF band rather than VHF one we all use. 737 will have VHF, not all RAAF aircraft used to, but RAAF don't always use it, in fact around RAAF Bases they wont. When I worked F111's there were many that didn't have VHF antenna's because they were fragile at Mach speed. Cover plate substituted and VHF transceiver circuit breaker pulled and collared.Andy

Highly highly unlikely, ATC doesnt have the ability to recieve the MIL UHF (Well I can't and I'm 90% sure the tower can't either but I am not a tower controller) and if it was landing at Sydney just after curfew lifted then I'd doubt that it wouldn't be in contact with ATC assuming nil radio failures. Thats in todays world anyway, not disputing that planes like F111's used to operate like that because I have no knowledge there but it wouldn't surprise me.

 

I dont know what aircraft this actually was however, nor the rules on lighting because which lights they have turned on mean zilch to me and my dot for them on the screen.

 

 

[Big Kev]

I had the scanner on 124.5 yesterday arvo, a controller was asking what their ICAO designation was, pretty sure they came back with EC30. Of course, may have been a different aircraft.......

 

Cheers

 

Kevin