British Airways Boeing 777 Crash in Heatrow - Investigation Update
The UK Aircraft Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) published today an update about the crash-landing of the Boeing 777 flying from Beijing to Heathrow as BA038 on 17th of January.
This new update confirms that all systems operated as expected, but both engine’s high pressure pumps experiences a low fuel pressure condition. Quoting the report:
“The high pressure (HP) fuel pumps from both engines have unusual and fresh cavitation damage to the outlet ports consistent with operation at low inlet pressure. The evidence to date indicates that both engines had low fuel pressure at the inlet to the HP pump. 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 investigation goes on with a two-fold approach: engine testing by Boeing and Rolls Royce, trying to reproduce the extreme cold conditions encoutered during the flight, and development of a better undesrtanding of fuel’s dynamics while it flows from tanks to engines.
I wrote earlier that the causes of this accident are mysterious, and that investigation will require a long time. Even if the focus of investigation seems to get closer, this case where a perfectly functional aircraft flowing under normal conditions but failling to land properly is by far not closed.
Only time will tell…
Links:
New update from the AAIB
Initial post about the accident
First post on initial report
Post on initial report update
Post on the second report update
5 Comments, Comment or Ping
BA038
maybe you have seen this? http://ba038.terapad.com/
Jul 10th, 2008
PlasticPilot
@BA038: It took me quite a while to decide whether I wanted to validate your comment or not. I finally decided to let it go online, as an example of the kind of unofficial information one can find on the net.
You support a certain theory, but your site says nothing about who you are, where your information comes from, what for authority you have in that domain, and so on.
As I already said many times, the investigation teams will deliver a report with their version of facts. Before that, I won’t give credit to any information, particularly from unknown persons mentionning unknown sources.
Jul 10th, 2008
Cathal Hoare
I dont know who the person who posted the first element of this thread is - I just browsed onto this site after googling for an update on the 777 incident. Plastic pilot - if you wish to know the source of that information just follow his/her link to the AAIB and then go to latest news where the following pdf http://www.aaib.gov.uk/cms_resources/S3-2008%20G-YMMM.pdf is available. Given that its key thrust was cut and paste into the post above it is no doubt the source of the information.
It would not have taken much to verify this report, and rather than taking the usual site admin high handed attitude, try do a little spade work before throwing out valuable information.
Jul 11th, 2008
PlasticPilot
@Cathal Hoare: I did read all the bulletins published by the AAIB when they got publised, but I found no mention of passengers reporting “banging” engines, as example. Once again, I think that it’s the job of investigation teams to established what happened. The info on that web site could be correct… or not. I don’t see any reasons why the AAIB should not publish the causes, if they are so obvious.
So let’s wait for the official report, before saying things like ”
The problem is something that is frequently discussed in simulator training, and something that an experienced captain would know how to deal with.”
One of the opening sentences also makes me suspicious: “The authors of this little website must remain anonymous, but at least our consciences will be cleared.” I never felt that saying something anonymously clears any consciences.
Jul 11th, 2008
Reply to “British Airways Boeing 777 Crash in Heatrow - Investigation Update”