![BA38 map close](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/BA38_map_close.PNG)
British Airways Flight 38 was a scheduled international passenger flight from
Beijing Capital International Airport
Beijing Capital International Airport is one of two international airports serving Beijing, the other one being Beijing Daxing International Airport (PKX). It is located northeast of Beijing's city center, in an exclave of Chaoyang District ...
in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, China, to
London Heathrow Airport
Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the Airports of London, London airport sys ...
in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, United Kingdom, an trip. On 17 January 2008, the Boeing 777-200ER aircraft operating the flight crashed just short of the runway while landing at Heathrow.
No fatalities occurred; of the 152 people on board, 47 sustained injuries, one serious. It was the first time in the aircraft type's history that a Boeing 777
The Boeing 777, commonly referred to as the Triple Seven, is an American long-range wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It is the world's largest twinjet.
The 777 was designed to bridge the gap bet ...
was declared a hull loss
A hull loss is an aviation accident that catastrophically damages the aircraft beyond economical repair, resulting in a total loss. The term also applies to situations in which the aircraft is missing, the search for their wreckage is terminated ...
and subsequently written off.[
][
]
The accident was investigated by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) investigates civil aircraft accidents and serious incidents within the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and crown dependencies. It is also the Space Accident Investigation Authority (SAIA) ...
(AAIB) and a final report was issued in 2010. Ice crystals
Ice crystals are solid ice exhibiting atomic ordering on various length scales and include hexagonal columns, hexagonal plates, dendritic crystals, and diamond dust.
Formation
The hugely symmetric shapes are due to depositional growth, na ...
in the jet fuel
Jet fuel or aviation turbine fuel (ATF, also abbreviated avtur) is a type of aviation fuel designed for use in aircraft powered by gas-turbine engines. It is colorless to straw-colored in appearance. The most commonly used fuels for commercial a ...
were blamed as the cause of the accident, clogging the fuel-oil heat exchanger
A heat exchanger is a system used to transfer heat between a source and a working fluid. Heat exchangers are used in both cooling and heating processes. The fluids may be separated by a solid wall to prevent mixing or they may be in direct contac ...
(FOHE) of each engine
An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy.
Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...
. This restricted fuel flow to the engines when thrust was demanded during the final approach to Heathrow. The AAIB then identified the rare problem as specific to Rolls-Royce engine FOHEs and Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to:
* Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct
Automobiles
* Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
developed a modification to its FOHE; the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) mandated all affected aircraft to be fitted with the modification before 1 January 2011.
Aircraft
The aircraft involved in the accident was a 150-tonne
The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United State ...
Boeing 777-236ER, registration (manufacturer's serial number 30314, line number 342), powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent 895-17 engines. The aircraft first flew on 18 May 2001 and was delivered to British Airways on 31 May 2001. It had a seating capacity for 233 passengers. On board were 16 crew members and 136 passengers. The crew consisted of Captain Peter Burkill (43), Senior First Officer John Coward (41), First Officer Conor Magenis (35), and 13 cabin crew members. The captain had 12,700 total flight hours, with 8,450 in Boeing 777 aircraft. The senior first officer had 9,000 total flight hours, with 7,000 in Boeing 777 aircraft. The first officer had 5,000 total flight hours, with 1,120 in Boeing 777 aircraft.
Accident
Flight 38 departed from Beijing at 02:09 Greenwich Mean Time
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is the Local mean time, mean solar time at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London, counted from midnight. At different times in the past, it has been calculated in different ways, i ...
(GMT). It flew over Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
, Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
, and Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
, at an altitude between flight level 348 and 400—approximately , and in temperatures between and . Aware of the cold conditions outside, the crew monitored the temperature of the fuel, with the intention of descending to a lower and warmer level if any danger of the fuel freezing arose.
This did not prove necessary, as the fuel temperature never dropped below , still well above its freezing point.
Although the fuel itself did not freeze, small quantities of water in the fuel did.
Ice adhered to the inside of the fuel lines, probably where they ran through the pylons attaching the engines to the wings.
This accumulation of ice had no effect on the flight until the final stages of the approach into Heathrow, when increased fuel flow and higher temperatures suddenly released it back into the fuel. This formed a slush of soft ice which flowed forward until it reached the fuel-oil heat exchangers (FOHEs) where it froze once again, causing a restriction in the flow of fuel to the engines.
The first symptoms of the fuel-flow restriction were noticed by the flight crew at an altitude of and from touchdown, when the engines repeatedly failed to respond to a demand for increased thrust from the autothrottle
An autothrottle (automatic throttle, also known as autothrust, A/T) is a system that allows a pilot to control the power setting of an aircraft's engines by specifying a desired flight characteristic, rather than manually controlling the fuel f ...
. In attempting to maintain the instrument landing system
In aviation, the instrument landing system (ILS) is a precision radio navigation system that provides short-range guidance to aircraft to allow them to approach a runway at night or in bad weather. In its original form, it allows an aircraft to ...
glide slope, the autopilot
An autopilot is a system used to control the path of an aircraft, marine craft or spacecraft without requiring constant manual control by a human operator. Autopilots do not replace human operators. Instead, the autopilot assists the operator' ...
sacrificed speed, which reduced to at .[ The autopilot disconnected at , as the co-pilot took manual control.][ Meanwhile, the captain reduced the flap setting from 30 to 25° to decrease the drag on the aircraft and stretch the glide.][
]
At 12:42, the 777 passed just above traffic on the A30 and the airport's Southern Perimeter road and landed on the grass about short of runway
According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...
27L.[ The captain declared an emergency to air traffic control a few seconds before landing. The decision to raise the flaps allowed the plane to miss the ILS beacon within the airport perimeter, thus avoiding more substantial damage.][
During the impact and short slide over the ground, the nose gear collapsed, the right main gear separated from the aircraft, penetrating the central fuel tank and cabin space, and the left main gear was pushed up through the wing. The aircraft came to rest on the threshold markings at the start of the runway. A significant amount of fuel leaked, but no fire started.][ One passenger received serious injuries (]concussion
A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness (LOC); memory loss; headaches; difficulty with thinking, concentration, ...
and a broken leg), and four crew members and eight passengers received minor injuries.[
]
Aftermath
The London Ambulance Service
The London Ambulance Service NHS Trust (LAS) is an NHS trust responsible for operating ambulances and answering and responding to urgent and emergency medical situations within the London region of England. The service responds to 999 phone cal ...
stated that three fast response cars, nine ambulances, and several officers were sent to the scene to assess the casualties. Those injured were taken to the nearby Hillingdon Hospital
Hillingdon Hospital is an NHS hospital in Pield Heath Road, Hillingdon, Greater London. It is one of two hospitals run by the Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the other being Mount Vernon Hospital.
History
The hospitals has its origi ...
.
Willie Walsh, the British Airways chief executive, released a statement praising the actions of the "flight and cabin crew hodid a magnificent job and safely evacuated all of the 136 passengers ... The captain of the aircraft is one of our most experienced and has been flying with us for nearly 20 years. Our crews are trained to deal with these situations." He also praised the fire, ambulance, and police services.
All flights in and out of Heathrow were halted for a short time after the accident. When operations resumed, many long-haul outbound flights were either delayed or cancelled, and all short-haul flights were cancelled for the rest of the day. Some inbound flights were delayed, and 24 flights were diverted to Gatwick
Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after H ...
, Luton
Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...
, or Stansted
London Stansted Airport is a tertiary international airport serving London, England, United Kingdom. It is located near Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, England, northeast of Central London.
London Stansted serves over 160 destinations acro ...
. In an attempt to minimise further travel disruptions, Heathrow Airport received dispensation from the Department for Transport to operate some night flights.[
] Even so, the following day (18 January), 113 short-haul flights were cancelled because crews and aircraft were out of position.[
]
On the afternoon of 20 January 2008, two cranes lifted the aircraft onto wheeled platforms and removed it from its resting place.[
] It was towed towards Heathrow's BA maintenance hangars base for storage and further inspections by the AAIB. After assessment of the damage and repair costs, the aircraft was declared to be damaged beyond economic repair (despite still being largely intact) and written off, becoming the first Boeing 777 hull loss in history.[
] It was broken up and scrapped in the spring of 2009. The dismantling and disposal was handled by Air Salvage International.
During a press conference the day after the accident, Captain Peter Burkill said that he would not be publicly commenting on the cause of the incident while the AAIB investigation was in progress. He revealed that Senior First Officer John Coward was flying the aircraft, and that First Officer Conor Magenis was also present on the flight deck at the time of the accident. Coward was more forthcoming in a later interview, stating: "As the final approach started I became aware that there was no power ... suddenly there was nothing from any of the engines, and the plane started to glide."
Burkill and Coward were grounded for a month following the crash while they were assessed for post-traumatic stress disorder
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on ...
. Five months after the accident, Burkill flew again, taking charge of a flight to Montreal, Canada. He remained "haunted" by the incident, and took voluntary redundancy from British Airways in August 2009. Burkill subsequently established a blog and wrote a book, ''Thirty Seconds to Impact'', that denounced BA's treatment of the situation following the crash. In November 2010, Burkill rejoined British Airways, stating, "I am delighted that the discussions with British Airways, have come to a mutually, happy conclusion. In my opinion, British Airways is the pinnacle of any pilot's career, and it is my honour and privilege to be returning to an airline that I joined as a young man."
All 16 crew were awarded the BA Safety Medal for their performance during the accident. The medal is British Airways' highest honour.[
] On 11 December 2008 the crew received the President's Award from the Royal Aeronautical Society
The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a British multi-disciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community. Founded in 1866, it is the oldest aeronautical society in the world. Members, Fellows ...
.[
]
British Airways continues to use the flight 38 designation on its Beijing to Heathrow route, operating out of Beijing Daxing International Airport
Beijing Daxing International Airport , is one of two international airports serving Beijing, the other one being Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK). It is located on the border of Beijing and Langfang, Hebei Province. It has been ...
, usually with a Boeing 787 Dreamliner
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is an American wide-body jet airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
After dropping its unconventional Sonic Cruiser project, Boeing announced the conventional 7E7 on January 29, 2003, ...
.
Initial speculations
Mechanical engine failure was not regarded as a likely cause given the very low probability of a simultaneous dual engine failure
A turbine engine failure occurs when a turbine engine unexpectedly stops producing power due to a malfunction other than fuel exhaustion. It often applies for aircraft, but other turbine engines can fail, like ground-based turbines used in power ...
. An electronic or software glitch in the computerised engine-control systems was suggested as possible causes of the simultaneous loss of power on both engines. Both engine and computer problems were ruled out by the findings of the February Special Bulletin.[
Some speculation indicated that radio interference from the ]Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
's motorcade
A motorcade, or autocade, is a procession of vehicles.
Etymology
The term ''motorcade'' was coined by Lyle Abbot (in 1912 or 1913 when he was automobile editor of the ''Arizona Republican''), and is formed after ''cavalcade'', playing off of ...
, which was leaving Heathrow after dropping the Prime Minister off for a flight to China, was responsible for the accident. This interference was also eliminated as a cause.
Initial analysis from David Learmount, a ''Flight International
''Flight International'' is a monthly magazine focused on aerospace. Published in the United Kingdom and founded in 1909 as "A Journal devoted to the Interests, Practice, and Progress of Aerial Locomotion and Transport", it is the world's oldes ...
'' editor, was that "The aircraft had either a total or severe power loss and this occurred very late in the final approach because the pilot did not have time to tell air traffic control or passengers." Learmount went on to say that to land in just , the aircraft must have been near stalling when it touched down.[
] The captain also reported the aircraft's stall warning system had sounded.
The METAR
METAR is a format for reporting weather information. A METAR weather report is predominantly used by aircraft pilots, and by meteorologists, who use aggregated METAR information to assist in weather forecasting.
Raw METAR is the most common form ...
in force at the time indicated that the wind was forecast to gust according to ICAO
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international a ...
criteria for wind reporting,[
EGLL 171220Z 21014KT 180V240 9999 SCT008 BKN010 09/08 Q0997 TEMPO 21018G28KT 4000 RADZ BKN008 – translation here, ''issued by BAA Heathrow']
Wunderground.com
but it was not gusting at the time and wind shear had not been reported. The possibility of a bird strike
A bird strike—sometimes called birdstrike, bird ingestion (for an engine), bird hit, or bird aircraft strike hazard (BASH)—is a collision between an airborne animal (usually a bird or bat) and a moving vehicle, usually an aircraft. The term ...
was raised, but there were no sightings or radar reports of birds. Speculation had focused on electronics and fuel supply issues.[
] A few weeks after the accident, as suspicion started to fall on the possibility of ice in the fuel, United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois. undertook a review of their procedures for testing and draining the fuel used in their aircraft, while American Airlines
American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...
considered switching to a different type of jet fuel for polar flights.[
]
Investigation
The Department for Transport
The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...
's AAIB investigated the accident, with the US National Transportation Safety Board
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incid ...
, Boeing
The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...
, and Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to:
* Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct
Automobiles
* Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
also participating. The investigation took two years to complete, and the AAIB published its final report on 9 February 2010. Three preliminary reports and 18 safety recommendations were issued during the course of the investigation.[
]
The flight data recorder
A flight recorder is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents. The device may often be referred to as a "black box", an outdated name which has b ...
(FDR) and the cockpit voice recorder
A flight recorder is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents. The device may often be referred to as a "black box", an outdated name which has b ...
(CVR), along with the quick access recorder (QAR), were recovered from the aircraft within hours of the accident, and they were transported to the AAIB's Farnborough headquarters, some 30 miles from Heathrow. The information downloaded from these devices confirmed what the crew had already told the investigators, that the engines had not responded when the throttles were advanced during final approach.[
]
Fuel system
In its Special Bulletin of 18 February 2008, the AAIB noted evidence that cavitation
Cavitation is a phenomenon in which the static pressure of a liquid reduces to below the liquid's vapour pressure, leading to the formation of small vapor-filled cavities in the liquid. When subjected to higher pressure, these cavities, cal ...
had taken place in both high-pressure fuel pumps, which could be indicative of a restriction in the fuel supply or excessive aeration of the fuel, although the manufacturer assessed both pumps as still being able to deliver full fuel flow. The report noted the aircraft had flown through air that was unusually cold (but not exceptionally so), and concluded that the temperature had not been low enough to freeze the fuel. Tests were continuing in an attempt to replicate the damage seen in the fuel pumps and to match this to the data recorded on the flight. A comprehensive examination and analysis was to be conducted on the entire aircraft and engine fuel system, including modelling fuel flows, taking account of environmental and aerodynamic effects.
The AAIB issued a further bulletin on 12 May 2008, which confirmed that the investigation continued to focus on fuel delivery. It stated, "The reduction in thrust on both engines was the result of a reduced fuel flow and all engine parameters after the thrust reduction were consistent with this." The report confirmed that the fuel was of good quality and had a freezing point below the coldest temperatures encountered, appearing to rule out fuel freezing as a cause. As in the aforementioned February bulletin, the report noted cavitation damage to the high-pressure fuel pumps of both engines, indicative of abnormally low pressure at the pump inlets. After ruling out fuel freezing or contamination, the investigation then focused on what caused the low pressure at the pump inlets. "Restrictions in the fuel system between the aircraft fuel tanks and each of the engine HP pumps, resulting in reduced fuel flows, is suspected." The fuel delivery system was being investigated at Boeing, and the engines at manufacturer Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to:
* Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct
Automobiles
* Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
in Derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...
.
The AAIB issued an interim report on 4 September. Offering a tentative conclusion, it stated:[
]
The report summarised the extensive testing performed in an effort to replicate the problem suffered by G-YMMM. This included creating a mock-up of G-YMMM's fuel delivery system, to which water was added to study its freezing properties. After a battery of tests, the AAIB had not yet succeeded in reproducing the suspected icing behaviour and was undertaking further investigation. Nevertheless, the AAIB believed its testing showed that fuel flow was restricted on G-YMMM and that frozen water in the jet fuel could have caused the restriction, ruling out alternative hypotheses such as a failure of the aircraft's FADEC
A full authority digital engine (or electronics) control (FADEC) is a system consisting of a digital computer, called an "electronic engine controller" (EEC) or "engine control unit" (ECU), and its related accessories that control all aspects of ai ...
(computerised engine control system). The hypothesis favoured in the report was that ice had accreted somewhere downstream of the boost pumps in the wing fuel tanks and upstream of the engine-mounted fuel pumps. Either enough ice had accumulated to cause a blockage at a single point, or ice throughout the fuel lines had become dislodged as fuel flow increased during the landing approach, and the dislodged ice had then formed a blockage somewhere downstream.
Because temperatures in flight had not dropped below the 777's designed operating parameters, the AAIB recommended Boeing and Rolls-Royce take interim measures on Trent 800
The Rolls-Royce Trent 800 is a high-bypass turbofan produced by Rolls-Royce plc, one of the engine options for the early Boeing 777 variants.
Launched in September 1991, it first ran in September 1993, was granted EASA certification on 27 Jan ...
-powered 777s to reduce the risk of ice restricting fuel delivery. Boeing did so by revising the 777 operating procedures so as to reduce the opportunities for such blockages to occur, and by changing the procedure to be followed in the event of power loss to take into account the possibility that ice accumulation was the cause.
The report went on to recommend that the aviation regulators (FAA and EASA) should consider whether other aircraft types and other engines might be affected by the same problem, and to consider changing the certification process to ensure that future aircraft designs would not be susceptible to the newly recognised danger from ice formation in the fuel.
The report acknowledged that a redesign of the fuel system would not be practical in the near term, and suggested two ways to lower the risk of recurrence. One was to use a fuel additive ( FSII) that prevents water ice from forming down to . Western air forces have used FSII for decades, and although it is not widely used in commercial aviation, it is nonetheless approved for the 777.
Rejected theories
The Special Bulletin of 18 February, stated "no evidence of a mechanical defect or ingestion of birds or ice" was found, "no evidence of fuel contamination or unusual levels of water content" was seen within the fuel, and the recorded data indicated "no anomalies in the major aircraft systems". Some small foreign bodies, however, were detected in the fuel tanks, although these were later concluded to have had no bearing on the accident.
The Special Bulletin of 12 May 2008 specifically ruled out certain other possible causes, stating: "There is no evidence of a wake vortex encounter, a bird strike, or core engine icing. There is no evidence of any anomalous behaviour of any of the aircraft or engine systems that suggests electromagnetic interference." [
]
Probable cause
The AAIB issued a full report on 9 February 2010. It concluded:
Other findings
The AAIB also studied the crashworthiness
Crashworthiness is the ability of a structure to protect its occupants during an impact. This is commonly tested when investigating the safety of aircraft and vehicles. Depending on the nature of the impact and the vehicle involved, different crit ...
of the aircraft during the accident sequence. It observed that the main attachment point for the main landing gear
Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Martin ...
was the rear spar of the aircraft's wing; because this spar also formed the rear wall of the main fuel tanks, the crash landing caused the tanks to rupture. Boeing was recommended to redesign the landing gear attachment to reduce the likelihood of fuel loss in similar circumstances.
The report went on to note that the fire extinguisher handles had been manually deployed by the crew before the fuel shut-off switches. The fire extinguisher handles also have the effect of cutting off power to the fuel switches, meaning that the fuel may continue to flow – a potentially dangerous situation. The report restated a previous Boeing Service Bulletin giving procedural advice that fuel switches should be operated before fire handles. It went on: "This was not causal to the accident, but could have had serious consequences in the event of a fire during the evacuation."
Indeed, the need to issue ''Safety Recommendation 2008–2009'', affecting all 777 airframes, which had yet to incorporate the Boeing Service Bulletin (SB 777-28-0025) – as was the case with G-YMMM – was given as the main reason for issuing the first special bulletin, well before the accident investigation itself was complete.[
()]
Similar incidents
On 26 November 2008, Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...
Flight 18 from Shanghai to Atlanta, a Trent 895-powered Boeing 777, experienced an "uncommanded rollback" of one engine while in cruise at . The crew followed manual recovery procedures and the flight continued without incident. The US NTSB assigned one of the investigators who worked on the BA Flight 38 investigation to this incident, and looked specifically for any similarity between the two incidents.[
] The NTSB Safety Recommendation report concluded that ice clogging the FOHE was the likely cause. The evidence was stronger in this case since data from the flight data recorder allowed the investigators to locate where the fuel flow was restricted.
In early 2009, Boeing sent an update to aircraft operators, linking the British Airways and Delta Air Lines "uncommanded rollback" incidents, and identifying the problem as specific to the Rolls-Royce engine FOHEs. Originally, other aircraft were thought to be unaffected by the problem. However, in May 2009, another similar incident happened with an Airbus A330 powered by a Trent series 700 engine.[
]
The enquiries led Boeing to reduce the recommended time that the fuel on 777 aircraft equipped with Rolls-Royce Trent 800-series engines be allowed to remain at temperatures below from three to two hours.[
]
On 11 March 2009, the NTSB issued urgent safety recommendation SB-09-11 calling for the redesign of the FOHEs used on Rolls-Royce Trent 800 Series engines. A build-up of ice from water naturally occurring in the fuel had caused a restriction of the flow of fuel to the engines of G-YMMM. Rolls-Royce had already started on redesigning the component, with an in-service date of March 2010 at the latest. All affected engines were to be fitted with the redesigned component within six months of its certification.[
] In May 2010 the Airworthiness Directive was extended to cover the Trent 500
The Rolls-Royce Trent 500 is a high-bypass turbofan produced by Rolls-Royce to power the larger A340-500/600 variants.
It was selected in June 1997, first ran in May 1999, first flew in June 2000, and achieved certification on 15 December 20 ...
and 700 series engines, as well.
Lawsuit
In November 2009, 10 passengers were announced to be suing Boeing over the incident in the Circuit Court of Cook County
The Circuit Court of Cook County is the largest of the 24 judicial circuits in Illinois as well as one of the largest unified court systems in the United States — second only in size to the Superior Court of Los Angeles County since that court ...
in Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
, United States.[
] Each of the ten plaintiffs reportedly could receive up to US$1,000,000 (about £600,000 at the time) compensation. The lawsuit alleged that the design of the aircraft was "defective and unreasonably dangerous", that Boeing "breached their duty of care", and also breached their "warranties of merchantability and fitness".[
] Claims were settled out of court in 2012.[
]
In popular culture
The Discovery Channel Canada
Discovery Channel (often referred to as simply Discovery) is a Canadian specialty television channel owned by CTV Speciality Television Inc. (a joint venture between Bell Media/ESPN Inc. (80%) and Warner Bros. Discovery (which owns the remaining ...
/ National Geographic
''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...
TV series ''Mayday
Mayday is an emergency procedure word used internationally as a distress signal in voice-procedure radio communications.
It is used to signal a life-threatening emergency primarily by aviators and mariners, but in some countries local organiza ...
'' featured the incident in a season-10 episode titled "The Heathrow Enigma".
See also
* Aviation safety
Aviation safety is the study and practice of managing risks in aviation. This includes preventing aviation accidents and incidents through research, educating air travel personnel, passengers and the general public, as well as the design of airc ...
* Cathay Pacific Flight 780
Cathay Pacific Flight 780 was a flight from Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, Indonesia to Hong Kong International Airport on 13 April 2010. On board were 309 passengers and a crew of 13. As Flight 780 neared Hong Kong, the crew were un ...
, an Airbus A330
The Airbus A330 is a wide-body aircraft developed and produced by Airbus.
Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner in the mid-1970s. Then the company began development on the A330 twinjet in parallel with the A340 ...
that lost engine control shortly before landing at Hong Kong International Airport
Hong Kong International Airport is Hong Kong's main airport, built on reclaimed land on the island of Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong. The airport is also referred to as Chek Lap Kok International Airport or ''Chek Lap Kok Airport'', to distinguish ...
in 2010
* British Airways Flight 9
British Airways Flight 009, sometimes referred to by its callsign Speedbird 9 or as the Jakarta incident, was a scheduled British Airways flight from London Heathrow to Auckland, with stops in Bombay, Kuala Lumpur, Perth, and Melbourne.
On 24 ...
, a Boeing 747 that lost all engine control.
* List of accidents and incidents involving commercial aircraft
This list of accidents and incidents involving commercial aircraft includes notable events that have a corresponding Wikipedia article. Entries in this list involve passenger or cargo aircraft that are operating commercially and meet this list ...
* Runway safety area
A runway safety area (RSA) or runway end safety area (RESA) is defined as "the surface surrounding the runway prepared or suitable for reducing the risk of damage to airplanes in the event of an undershoot, overshoot, or excursion from the runway. ...
*Scandinavian Airlines Flight 751
Scandinavian Airlines System Flight 751 was a regularly scheduled Scandinavian Airlines passenger flight from Stockholm, Sweden, to Warsaw, Poland, via Copenhagen, Denmark. On 27 December 1991, a McDonnell Douglas MD-81 operating the flight, r ...
Notes
References
External links
*Air Accidents Investigation Branch
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) investigates civil aircraft accidents and serious incidents within the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and crown dependencies. It is also the Space Accident Investigation Authority (SAIA) ...
br>Report on the accident to Boeing 777-236ER, G-YMMM, at London Heathrow Airport on 17 January 2008
Final Report
Archive
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*Audio interviews with Capt Peter Burkill on avweb.com
an
August 2010 edition
of Flaps Podcast: Interview with Captain Burkill, where he recounted his experience and its aftermath
{{International Airlines Group
2008 in London
Airliner accidents and incidents caused by fuel starvation
Aviation accidents and incidents in 2008
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Accidents and incidents involving the Boeing 777
38 Flight 0038 British Airways Flight 38
January 2008 events in the United Kingdom
History of the London Borough of Hillingdon
Airliner accidents and incidents in the United Kingdom
Aviation accidents and incidents in England