British Airways Flight 38

Occurrence
Date	January 17, 2008
Summary	Landed short of runway
Site	London Heathrow Airport, United Kingdom
Aircraft type	Boeing 777-236ER
Operator	British Airways
Registration	G-YMMM
Flight origin	Beijing Capital Airport, People's Republic of China
Destination	London Heathrow Airport, United Kingdom
Passengers	136
Crew	16
Fatalities	0
Injuries	13[1]
Survivors	152 (all)

British Airways Flight 38 (call sign Speedbird 38) was a scheduled flight from Beijing Capital International Airport which crash landed just short of the runway at its destination, Heathrow Airport, London, on 17 January, 2008 after an 8100 kilometre (4400 nm) flight.

Accident

The Boeing 777-236ER aircraft G-YMMM (manufacturer's serial number 30314, line number 342) repeatedly failed to respond to a demand for increased thrust from both autothrottle and from manual intervention at 600 feet (180 m) and 2 miles (3.2 km) from touchdown. It landed on the grass approximately 1,000 feet (300 m) short of runway 27L, proceeded across the grass losing its undercarriage in the process and came to rest on the threshold markings at the start of the runway. A significant amount of fuel leaked, but there was no fire. Passengers reported that the plane "just dropped" soon after the landing gear engaged. The plane passed approximately 6 metres (20 ft) above passing cars on the A30 road (Southern Perimeter), including the car of the Prime minister, Gordon Brown.^[2] Four crew members and eight passengers received minor injuries, and one passenger received a serious injury: concussion and a broken leg.^[1][3][4]

Captain Peter Burkill said at a press conference that he would not be publicly commenting on the cause of the incident whilst the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) investigation was in progress. He revealed that Senior First Officer John Coward was flying the aircraft at the time, and that another First Officer was also present. He was later named as Conor Magenis.^[5]

John 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." ^[6]

The 150-tonne aircraft sustained significant damage. ^{[7][8][9][10][11]}

Investigation

The AAIB is investigating the accident,^[3][12] the results of which will be published when complete. A statement has been issued by the AAIB. The investigator in charge is Robin Tydeman.^[13] Rolls-Royce, the engine manufacturer, will also assist in the investigation, as is the established practice for major investigations.^[14] As is usual in incidents involving U.S.-manufactured aircraft, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has offered its assistance in the investigation, as has the manufacturer, Boeing. An aircraft enthusiast took photographs of the aircraft on its approach from approximately 100 feet (30 m), and released them to the air accident investigators.^[15]. On the afternoon of January 20, 2008, the aircraft was carefully removed from its resting place with two cranes lifting it onto wheeled platforms.^[16]

Initial report

The AAIB released an initial report^[1] on 18 January which stated:

Initial indications from the interviews and Flight Recorder analyses show the flight and approach to have progressed normally until the aircraft was established on late finals for Runway 27L. At approximately 600 ft and 2 miles from touch down, the Autothrottle demanded an increase in thrust from the two engines but the engines did not respond. Following further demands for increased thrust from the Autothrottle, and subsequently the flight crew moving the throttle levers, the engines similarly failed to respond. The aircraft speed reduced and the aircraft descended onto the grass short of the paved runway surface.

An update ^[7] was issued on 24 January:

As previously reported, whilst the aircraft was stabilised on an ILS approach with the autopilot engaged, the autothrust system commanded an increase in thrust from both engines. The engines both initially responded but after about 3 seconds the thrust of the right engine reduced. Some eight seconds later the thrust reduced on the left engine to a similar level. The engines did not shut down and both engines continued to produce thrust at an engine speed above flight idle, but less than the commanded thrust.

Recorded data indicates that an adequate fuel quantity was on board the aircraft and that the autothrottle and engine control commands were performing as expected prior to, and after, the reduction in thrust.

All possible scenarios that could explain the thrust reduction and continued lack of response of the engines to throttle lever inputs are being examined, in close cooperation with Boeing, Rolls Royce and British Airways. This work includes a detailed analysis and examination of the complete fuel flow path from the aircraft tanks to the engine fuel nozzles.

Speculation

It should be noted that until an official investigation is completed, theorizing about the cause of the accident is highly speculative, possibly counterfactual. Even experts quoted in the media do not have access to the complete set of available facts as the investigators do. Speculation may rest on assumptions later proven false. With that in mind, initial theories about the cause have focused on a few areas. Interestingly, although both engines failed to produce power, mechanical engine failure is not regarded as a likely cause, given the very low probability of a simultaneous dual engine failure.

One prominent theory is a failure of the software or electronics that controls the engines. A story in The Guardian newspaper on Saturday 19 January quotes an unnamed source as stating that the Engine Pressure Ratio gauge had failed, and that an automated alarm that should have alerted the pilots to the drop in engine power failed to go off.^[17] A failure in the electronic system of the 777 aircraft has been put forward as a probable culprit of the accident. According to a recent news report,^[18] an electronic glitch in the computerised engine-control systems may have disrupted the connection between automated and manual controls and the two jet engines.

A second area of speculation centers on the fuel supply. If the cause is fuel starvation, fuel was available but could not reach the engines. Water or debris in the fuel tanks could have cut off the engines from their supply, resulting in power loss. It is unclear, however, whether a fuel supply issue would have produced simultaneous engine failures or more likely would have produced symptoms in one engine before the other.^[18] However, according to the 24 January update, the engines lost power eight seconds apart-- the right engine approximately three seconds after more power was requested, and eight seconds later the left engine lost power. Both engines were still producing above-idle but significantly diminished thrust, according to the report.^[7]

Some sources indicate that the crew declared an emergency to the control tower before landing.^[19] David Learmount of Flight International speculated that to land in just 350-400 metres, the aircraft must have been near stalling when it touched down. Dr Thurai Rahulan and Dr Guy Gratton, both academics, speculated that the weather conditions made wind shear a possible cause.^{[3][20][21][22]} The METAR in force at the time indicated that the wind was forecast to gust according to ICAO criteria for wind reporting, but was not gusting at the time and wind shear had not been reported.^[23] The possibility of a bird strike was raised, but there were no sightings or radar reports of birds.^[18] Consequently, speculation had focused on electronics and fuel supply issues.

Initial response

Statements were issued by several organisations affiliated with the airport and airline. Immediately after the crash British Airways released this statement:

"A British Airways Boeing 777 aircraft has been involved in an incident today at Heathrow airport. The aircraft was operating as flight BA38 from Beijing."^[24]

The London Ambulance Service stated that three fast response cars, eight ambulances and several officers were sent to the scene to assess the casualties. Those injured were taken to the nearby Hillingdon hospital.^[25]

Soon after the crash, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced that they were aware of the incident and that the "incident will be investigated by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch of the Department for Transport and the CAA is offering assistance to all organisations involved." Initial comment from David Learmount, a Flight International analyst, 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."^[26]

Willie Walsh, the British Airways Chief Executive released a statement praising the actions of the "flight and cabin crew [who] did 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 crew are trained to deal with these situations."^[14] He also praised the fire, ambulance and police services.

BAA Limited:

Incident at Heathrow

We can confirm that flight BA38, a Boeing 777 arriving from Beijing, carried out an emergency landing at Heathrow Airport today at 12:42. Heathrow’s emergency services attended the scene and passengers were immediately evacuated and taken to a reception centre at the airport. The Air Accidents Investigation Branch is attending the scene.

Heathrow Airport’s southern runway was closed immediately after the incident but has now re-opened for take-offs only. The northern runway is operating for arriving aircraft.

Passengers flying from Heathrow today should contact their airline regarding the status of their flight. Some arriving aircraft are being diverted to other airports, this is being done on a flight by flight basis.

— BAA Limited, BAA Heathrow Homepage

Disruption

As a consequence of the emergency services deployment to the accident all flights were halted for a short time. When operations re-commenced 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, Luton or Stansted.^[3] Heathrow Airport received dispensation from the Department of Transport to operate some night flights.^[14] On the following day (18 January) a total of 113 short haul flights were cancelled due to crews and aircraft being out of position.^[4][27]

See also

• List of notable accidents and incidents on commercial aircraft
• Runway safety area
• Ground effect in aircraft

References

External links

• Spalton, David (22 January 2008). "Photographs of landing, slide and passenger evacuation". BA flight crashes at Heathrow. SkyscraperPage.com. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
• BBC Photos
• Eyewitness reports
• Aviation Safety Network
• The Independent.co.uk
• British Airways
• The Seattle Times

51°27′54″N 0°25′54″W / 51.46500°N 0.43167°W / 51.46500; -0.43167