19 JAN 2008 _______________________________________ *Two engines 'did not respond' *BA Jet Engines Failed Two Miles Out *Plane suffered 'electrical failure' *Air India expects 787 compensation *Crash airport returning to normal *************************************** Two engines 'did not respond' Initial report says engine of Heathrow crash jet "did not respond" LONDON, England (CNN) -- Two engines on the British Airways plane that crash-landed at Heathrow Airport "did not respond" to a demand for increased thrust about two miles from touchdown, an initial report by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch said Friday. John Coward was at the controls during the emergency. The report describes the Boeing 777 hitting problems 600 feet off the ground and descending rapidly, just making it onto Heathrow land. The report says: "Initial indications from [crew] 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 600ft and two 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." Read the full report (pdf) The AAIB says that it will carry out further analysis of the flight data recorders and that examination of the aircraft systems and engines is ongoing. The report came out as the jet's captain praised John Coward, his senior flight officer, who was at the controls at the time of the incident. As the Boeing 777 approached Heathrow's south runway, it appears to have lost power, forcing the emergency landing. Captain Peter Burkill made a public statement Friday praising his crew, especially Coward, who did a "most remarkable job." Watch what Captain Burkill said about his crew and passengers > "Flying is about teamwork, and we had an outstanding team on board yesterday," Burkill said. "As captain of the aircraft, I am proud to say that every member of my team played their part expertly. "I want to thank the passengers, too, for their calmness and good sense in extremely unfamiliar circumstances. I wish those who suffered injury a speedy and complete recovery." BAA Heathrow, owner and operator of the airport, said earlier that 53 flights -- mainly short-haul -- had been canceled. It said it was working to restore "near-normal" operations. The flight, BA38, was arriving in London from Beijing, China, when it reportedly lost power. The jet was still on the tarmac Friday. Retired 747 captain Mike Giles, who has also flown the Boeing 777, said it was extremely rare for an aircraft to lose two engines within seconds of each other. If the engines failed, he said, "It's got to have something to do with switching the fuel off, but that's my considered opinion." Giles also dismissed the possibility that birds caused the crash. "There is no way in this world that birds would stop two engines within seconds of each other," he said. "If it comes out as a 'bird strike' on both engines, I would be absolutely amazed. I would be astounded." The plane may have hit a flock of birds, he said, but even then, "the chances of it stopping the engine dead, and a flock of birds stopping both engines at the same time, I think are a million to one. "The situation must have occurred very late with the landing sequence because they didn't have time to tell passengers to get in the brace position, and they didn't have time to call the tower." The accident happened at the east end of Heathrow's southern runway, one of only two at the airport. See the chain of events that airport officials will be investigating. > Planes were still being allowed to use the southern runway Friday for takeoffs to the west -- away from the accident site -- and planes were using the northern runway for landings. An investigator who has been briefed on the incident told CNN that the plane's captain "is claiming there wasn't power when he needed it." The BBC said an unidentified Heathrow worker told the broadcaster that he had spoken to the pilot. The pilot said, according to the worker, that the plane's electronics had failed and that he was forced to glide it to the ground. Read passenger accounts of the landing The jetliner touched down several hundred yards short of the airport's south runway, close to a perimeter road. Afterward, its emergency chutes deployed, and it was sprayed with white fire-fighting foam, which covered the engines. The undercarriage, left wing and left engine of the aircraft were severely damaged, as if it had skidded across the ground. At least one of the plane's wheels had been torn off. The most visible damage was to the left wing, which was covered in mangled metal where it meets the fuselage. British Airways said all 136 passengers and 16 crew members were safely evacuated, while The Associated Press reported Friday that 19 people were injured. The Boeing 777 is the mainstay of many airlines' long-haul fleets and has never been involved in a fatal accident since coming into service in 1995. It can seat up to 400 people, depending on the configuration. However, the aircraft involved in Thursday's incident appeared to have had a fortunate escape, having approached Heathrow over heavily-populated west London suburbs before its crash-landing. There are 680 of the planes around the world, with 357 ordered and yet to be delivered. "You're talking here about essentially one of the most modern airplanes in the world," said Kieran Daly, editor of Air Transport Intelligence, a Web site that provides information on the aviation industry. "This is an aircraft which is still being built in substantial numbers by Boeing -- and no doubt will be for a long time to come -- which is being flown by one of the most sophisticated and safest airlines in the world. And it's landing at one of the best-equipped, safest and most sophisticated airports in the world." http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/01/18/heathrow.incident/index.html *************** BA Jet Engines Failed Two Miles Out Both engines on the British Airways jet which crash-landed at Heathrow failed to respond to both automatic and manual demands for more thrust two miles short of the airport, investigators have said. Everyone got out in 90 secondsThe announcement came after the captain of the Boeing 777, Peter Burkill, praised his co-pilot, cabin staff, their passengers and rescue teams for playing crucial parts in averting a tragedy. The Air Accidents Investigation Branch, in its preliminary report on Thursday's near-disaster, said "the Autothrottle demanded an increase in thrust from the two engines but the engines did not respond." The report adds that despite further demands for increased thrust from the autothrottle - and the flight crew moving the throttle levers - the engines did not respond. Capt Burkill, 43, paid his tribute from a written statement at a news conference after being greeted by sustained applause from colleagues. "Flying is about teamwork and we had an outstanding team on board. As captain of the aircraft I am glad to say that every member of my team played their part expertly," he said. He added: "No one more so than my senior first officer, John Coward, the handling pilot on the final approach. He did the most remarkable job. "I want to pay tribute to the cabin crew under the cabin service director (Sharon Eaton-Mercer) who carried out the evacuation of the passengers with speed, efficiency and care. Huge praise from pilot Peter Burkill"It was typical of her selflessness that she took time to check that we on the flight deck were all right before going down the chute herself. "I want to thank the passengers for their calmness and good sense in an extremely unfamiliar circumstance. "I also want to mention the fire crews and ambulance service and police for the huge part they played in dealing with this incident." Capt Burkill finished by referring briefly to the event itself: "An investigation is being carried out by the Air Accident Investigation Branch, so it is not possible for me to make any public comment on the circumstances of what happened." http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30100-1301371,00.html *************** Plane suffered 'electrical failure' A British Airways plane carrying 76 passengers suffered a major electrical failure just after taking off, an official accident report said. In what accident investigators described as "a serious incident", the Airbus A319 lost a number of important systems having just left Heathrow for Budapest. The crew reported an audible "clunk" and the flight deck suddenly became very dark as the aircraft was approaching 20,000ft, said the report from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB). Both pilots' primary flight displays and navigation displays went blank, the VHF radio and intercom were inoperative, most of the cockpit lighting went off, and cabin lights went out momentarily, the report said. The 53-year-old captain maintained control, flying by reference to the visible night horizon and the standby instruments which were "difficult to see in the poor light" of an October evening. The 29-year-old co-pilot had difficulty locating some of the switch locations on the overhead panel because of the poor light and communications between the two pilots were made difficult because of the loss of the flight interphone. Most of the affected systems were restored after about 90 seconds and there were no injuries to the passengers or the six crew. After discussions between the crew and BA's maintenance control, the plane continued to Budapest. The incident took place on October 22 2005. The AAIB said: "It was not possible to determine the cause of the incident due to a lack of available evidence." But nine safety recommendations were made in addition to four made in a special AAIB bulletin in 2006. The report also said the technical log only reflected "minor defects" and the faxed copy of the air safety report was not received by BA's flight operations safety department or the department responsible for entering the incident data on to the electronic safety management database. This meant the significance of the incident was not fully understood until the original copy of the ASR arrived at Heathrow by post. http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5idHA6Ugs_Oxzm0NsqWIU9yg0-6Bw **************** Air India expects 787 compensation Air India Ltd., the state-run carrier, may be compensated by The Boeing Co. for a delay in delivering its 787 Dreamliner aircraft, Chairman V. Thulasidas said Friday. Air India is in talks with Boeing regarding the compensation, Thulasidas told reporters in New Delhi. The delay will hurt the airline's growth plans, he said. "We have to look for alternatives," Thulasidas said. "Air India floated a tender in November for leasing out planes. We have received some proposals." Air India, based in Mumbai, is buying 68 Boeing aircraft in its biggest expansion plan. It has ordered 27 of the 787 Dreamliners and 23 of the 777 aircraft to expand its overseas routes. India completed the merger of Air India and domestic carrier Indian Airlines Ltd. last year to create one of the top 30 airlines in the world by fleet. The carrier also chose 18 of Boeing's 737-800 aircraft for a low-fare subsidiary to fly to nations in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Boeing said Wednesday that it postponed the first delivery of its 787 Dreamliner until early 2009, the second setback for the company's most successful new jetliner by sales. The Dreamliner program, which was delayed Oct. 10 by six months, has been hurt by parts shortages and assembly delays. The delay could hinder plans to deliver 109 Dreamliners by the end of 2009 and cost the plane maker millions of dollars in penalty payments to customers. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/348011_boeingindia19.html *************** Crash airport returning to normal Operations at Heathrow Airport are returning to normal after the dramatic crash-landing of flight BA038, the British Airports Authority said. The crew of the Boeing 777 had just seconds to get the aircraft down safely after the engines failed on Thursday afternoon. Senior first officer John Coward, under the command of Captain Peter Burkill, averted disaster by landing the craft just within Heathrow's fence following the malfunction. Investigators remained with the aircraft on the southern runway on Saturday, where they worked through the night to determine the cause of the fault. Heathrow Airport was thrown into chaos after the near-fatal incident, with 221 flights immediately cancelled on Thursday. But a BAA spokeswoman said on Saturday services were set to return to normal. She said: "All operations are returning today, with all terminals returning to normal. "There are no temporary marquees up, all passengers can resume normal procedures for checking in. "British Airways has 21 cancellations in place - including arrivals and departures. These are all short-haul flights cancelled due to the knock-on effect as a result of the incident." British Airways said it had fully restored its long-haul schedule and had 95% of its short-haul flights running as normal. http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5hnGukCgO65Rj6x_cAdOayJCnCRSg ***************