10 years after British pilots
averted a major catastrophe when their aircraft lost all engine power on its
approach to Heathrow, pilots are highlighting the importance of thorough crash
investigation. The British
Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA) says that had the Air Accidents
Investigation Branch not been given the time and support to carry out a
painstaking investigation, we would never have known the cause of the crash or
learnt the lessons that have made flights safer in its wake.
On 17th January 2008 the pilots
of the British Airways flight 38, known as Speedbird 38, lost power from both
engines in the final stages of the approach to London Heathrow Airport. The
engines refused to respond to thrust lever inputs and at this point the
commercial airliner effectively became a 160-tonne glider. In what was described
as a feat of spectacular flying, the crew eased the ailing aircraft over the
Heathrow boundary and crash landed just short of the runway. The aircraft was
damaged beyond repair, but miraculously there were no fatalities and only one
person with serious injuries.
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Speedbird 38, a Boeing
777-236ER, was on a scheduled flight from Beijing Capital
International Airport when it crash landed just short of the runway
at its destination, Heathrow Airport, London, on 17 January 2008.
There were no fatalities | Library photo. |
At the time there was much
speculation about the cause and who was to blame. The media were full of
questions and the public wanted answers. ‘Experts’ came forward pointing to
everything from the plane running out of fuel to interference from electronic
jammers used by the Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s passing motorcade. But
essentially none of this speculation was from the people who would eventually
get to the bottom of what had happened: the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB).
BALPA flight safety
specialist Steve Landells
said: “The pilots of Speedbird 38 did a great job in preventing major loss of
life. But it was vital that investigators got to the bottom of what caused the
crash so that measures could be put in place to prevent something similar
happening again, possibly with a much more tragic outcome.
“At the time there was huge
pressure to speculate on the cause of the crash and apportion blame. But none of
the speculation picked up the real cause.
“It took two years of painstaking
investigation, in which the AAIB rigorously tested theory after theory, to find
the real cause: ice crystals in the fuel system. If investigators had been
rushed, we wouldn’t have discovered the truth and would not have been able to
put in place measures that are still safeguarding flights to this day.
“10 years on from the crash of
Speedbird 38, BALPA continues to work to support the open safety culture it has
taken decades to create. Our priority is making every single flight safe for
passengers and crew. BALPA continues to resist pressure from the media,
politicians and families to jump to conclusions in the wake of accidents.
“BALPA’s focus is on protecting
the trusted international agreements between specialist accident investigators
and pilots that ensure the important work of the AAIB in preventing future
accidents is not short circuited.” |