The Wondering Brit

You don’t have to read too much of this blog to know that while I love traveling – not so much a fan of the flying part. However, there is one aircraft type I do trust and actually enjoy flying on – the Boeing 777. When we take a moment to compare the flight, systems, build quality and record of this aircraft you learn one or two fundamentally important facts; 1) this aircraft was designed and built by trying to crash and destroy it at every opportunity. 2) they don’t crash – unlike Airbus’s!!!

So, while I was shocked, it compared little to how shocked the entire aviation community were when one fell out of the sky while landing at Heathrow Airport in London.

Firstly, the aircraft fell nearly 125 feet and the cabin remained fully intact, then with the exception of one broken leg – everyone got up and walked out.

It didn’t take long for investigators to rule out the 777′s fly-by-wire computer systems – indeed, everything started to look like some sort of fuel issue.

Now lets put this into perspective, the entire industry has been waiting for the results of the investigation, an investigation that is being carried out in places all around the world.

So What happend?

BA038 had been descending gradually into Heathrow, the autopilot and the automatic throttle system controlling the aircraft.

As the handling pilot, first officer John Coward would have been preparing to take manual control below 1,000 feet.

The trouble started two miles out at 600 feet, as the plane was slowing down in its landing configuration.

At this point the engines would have required more power to keep the plane from sinking below the glideslope – an invisible three degree path down to the runway, generated by radio waves.

When the automatic throttle demanded more power, the engines initially responded. Then first the right engine, followed eight seconds later by the left, powered down – to a level below the thrust needed.

Warnings would have flashed up on engine monitoring screens in the centre of the control panel, showing the power was below that required.

A lower screen would have shown more detailed information about the flow of fuel around the aircraft. Other displays would show the likely speed and height the plane would achieve over the next minute.

Faced with the knowledge that a disaster was in the making, the crew had around 40 seconds to save their aircraft. It’s understood the captain Peter Burkill quickly reduced the amount of wing flaps deployed.

This was as important as the skilful manipulation of the control column by John Coward, in saving the aircraft. It cuts drag, speeds the plane up a little, and when a pilot has speed, he can maintain altitude.

But it would only delay the inevitable – the plane would have been losing both speed and height, a potentially catastrophic situation.

The 150 tonne Boeing just cleared the busy A30, the airport perimeter fence, and a radio mast before crashing to the ground in a stall – where the plane can simply fly no longer.

There would have been further warnings in the cockpit, including the stick-shaker, where the controls vibrate to alert the pilots.

ICE in the fuel??!!!

Yep, thats right, according to THIS report by the AAIB over on the BBC website, this is indeed what they believe caused the problem.

Frankly, I’d wait and see what everyone else reports in too.