Report: Ice buildup caused Heathrow crash landing

[ClearedHot]

Searched to the old thread about the crash, but got an error when I selected it, a result of the recent forum maintenance?

Report: Ice buildup caused Heathrow crash landing

LONDON – A British accident report has confirmed that a buildup of ice in the fuel lines of a Boeing 777 jet caused its crash landing at London's Heathrow Airport two years ago.

U.S. and European regulators moved to impose modifications to the engines of some jets after the British Airways plane fell 330 meters (1,080 feet) short of the airport's runway on Jan. 17, 2008. More than a dozen people were injured.

Investigators had suspected that water usually present in aircraft fuel froze up, choking off the engines. That was confirmed in Tuesday's report.

British Airways Pilot Avoided Worse Heathrow Crash, Report Says

British Airways Pilot Avoided Worse Heathrow Crash, Report Says

February 09, 2010, 06:56 AM EST

By Sabine Pirone

Feb. 9 (Bloomberg) -- A British Airways Plc jet that crash- landed at London’s Heathrow airport with 152 people on board in 2008 avoided a more serious accident after the pilot executed a last-minute maneuver to clear antennas fringing the runway.

BA Captain Peter Burkill altered the flap settings to reduce drag when the Boeing Co. 777 was only 240 feet above the ground, the U.K. Air Accidents Investigation Branch said in a report today. That delayed the impact for 50 meters (164 feet) and the plane came down on a grass apron with no fatalities.

The Boeing cracked a wing and had its wheels ripped off in the crash on Jan. 17, 2008, after frozen fuel lines stopped its engines from providing sufficient thrust as it neared Heathrow. Had the pilot not adjusted the flaps the 777 would have plowed into a cluster of antennas that communicate with the instrument landing systems of aircraft before touchdown, the AAIB said.

“The reduction in flap setting did allow the aircraft to clear the ILS aerial array,” the report said. “The effects of contact with the ILA antenna are unknown but such contact would probably have led to more substantial structural damage.”

The 777-200ER plane crash-landed after flying from Beijing through temperatures of minus 73 degrees Celsius that thickened its fuel and reducing the flow, the AAIB concluded.

Earlier reports from the investigator instructed 777 pilots to rev their engines before landing to clear any ice, while Boeing told crews to change altitude periodically when flying through very cold air. Rolls-Royce Group Plc, which made the engines, was compelled to redesign fuel-oil heat exchangers for Trent 800 engines in use on 777s worldwide.

Unique Circumstances

The AAIB said today that the aircraft was unique among 35,000 Rolls-powered flights in experiencing a combination of the lowest fuel flow during cruising and the highest fuel flow on approach for landing with kerosene still at low temperatures.

Among new safety recommendations, the AAIB said that Boeing should apply the modified design of landing gear from its more recent 777-200LR model to future planes.

The Chicago-based company should also revise the design of fluorescent ceiling lights on its 777s after tubes shattered on landing, the report said. The European Aviation Safety Agency and U.S. Federal Aviation Administration should test the safety of cabin fittings under stress, and the EASA should also mandate a revision to seat-back video screens after nine came loose.

[Steve Davies]

I also searched for the old thread this morning, but without luck.

Linky to PDF copies of reports: here