British Airways Flight 38

"BA38" redirects here. For the region of the human brain, see Brodmann area 38.

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
Survivors	152

British Airways Flight 38 (callsign Speedbird 38) was a scheduled flight between Beijing Capital International Airport and London Heathrow Airport (a distance of about 4400 nautical miles) that crash landed short of the runway at 12:42 (GMT) on 17 January, 2008 on approach to Heathrow.

Accident

The Boeing 777-236ER aircraft registered G-YMMM (manufacturers serial number 30314, line number 342) failed to respond to a demand for increased thrust shortly before landing. It landed on the grass 350–400 metres 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. 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, before landing on the grass short of the runway. There was no fire. Eight ambulances were sent to the scene. Four crew members and eight passengers received minor injuries, with some being admitted to hospital for treatment of minor injuries including whiplash; they were discharged by the night of 17 January. One passenger received 'major' injuries, and was kept in hospital overnight, suffering from concussion.

The 138-tonne aircraft sustained significant damage. If it is declared that repairing the airframe is uneconomic (a "hull loss" or write off), then it would be the first hull loss incident involving a Boeing 777. This was British Airways' third incident involving a 777.

Captain Peter Burkill said at a press conference that he would not be publicly commenting on the cause of the incident while the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) undertakes its investigation. He revealed that Senior First Officer John Coward was flying the aircraft at the time, and named the third flight crew member as First Officer Conor Magenis. The initial AAIB report, released later, stated that the aircraft failed to respond to a request for power at approximately 600 feet (180 m) high and 2 nautical miles (3.7 km) away from touchdown, and then descended too rapidly and struck the ground, some 1,000 feet short of the paved runway surface. It had crashed near Hold Point NB1, which carries on to Taxiway N from Rwy 27L. The jet's auxiliary power unit, which is very rarely used in flight, was still running when the plane was on the ground, indicating that main power had been lost on the approach.

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."

Boeing 777-236ER (G-YMMD), taking off from London Heathrow Airport, a similar model to the crashed aircraft.

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.

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."

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. 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

A map showing the location of the plane (Blue dot) after landing and sliding through the field on the runway safety area route marked in red.

Some sources indicate that the crew declared an emergency to the control tower before landing. 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. 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 windshear had not been reported; the initial AAIB report indicated that a problem with the aircraft's engines was the likely cause, "the Autothrottle demanded an increase in thrust from the two engines but the engines did not respond".

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. 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, an electronic glitch in the computerized engine-control systems may have disrupted the connection between automated and manual controls and the two jet engines.

Disruption

January 17

Many outward flights were delayed. Prime Minister Gordon Brown was on his way to Heathrow for a flight to China and India at the time. His departure was delayed because of the accident. Also on the same flight as the Prime Minister were Sir Richard Branson and Dame Kelly Holmes.

Passengers on the aircraft were told that because of the runway incident there was no fire cover for the rest of the airport, meaning all the take-offs and landings were halted. All short haul flights were cancelled for the rest of the day. Some long haul departures were cancelled, with delays of up to 1½ hours for other flights. Four flights from Manchester were cancelled. Twenty-four flights were diverted to Gatwick, Luton or Stansted. As of 19:29 on 17 January 2008, 221 flights had been cancelled. Heathrow Airport received dispensation from the Department of Transport to operate some night flights.

Mark Tamburro, a passenger on the flight, praised the crew of the aircraft but criticised BA for the way it treated the victims in the immediate aftermath of the crash. Criticisms include a lack of refreshments, too much emphasis on security and on keeping passengers from the media, as well as a lack of assistance from BA in getting home and the delay before they were able to go home.

January 18

All British Airways long haul flights were expected to operate as normal. A total of 113 short haul flights were cancelled due to crews and aircraft being out of position.

Investigation

The AAIB are investigating the accident, the results of which will be published when complete. A statement has been issued by the AAIB. The investigator in charge is Robin Tydeman. Rolls-Royce, the engine manufacturer, will also assist in the investigation, as is the established practice for major investigations. 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. By 15:00 on January 18, two cranes were in position on either side of the aircraft in preparation for the lifting of the wreckage to allow AAIB personnel to continue their investigation. The aircraft was removed from its resting place on the afternoon of January 20, 2008. A passer-by, David Spalton, managed to take photographs of the aircraft on its approach from approximately 100 feet (30 m), and released them to the air accident investigators.

Initial report

The AAIB released an initial report on January 18 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."

See also

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

External links

• BBC Photos
• Eyewitness reports
• Aviation Safety Network
• The Independent.co.uk