BA 777 on fire at LAS

[PaulST]

The media are reporting that Boeing knew about a problem with the GE engines.
Boeing was warned the British Airways plane that caught fire in Vegas was unsafe | Daily Mail Online

 

[jb747]

The media are reporting that Boeing knew about a problem with the GE engines.
Boeing was warned the British Airways plane that caught fire in Vegas was unsafe | Daily Mail Online

Sadly the media occasionally, sometimes, often, always, gets things wrong.

This is also a quote from the media, but directly from a GE spokesman...(and I suppose can also be taken with the appropriate amount of salt).

But the engine that failed on the runway in Las Vegas had different parts and a different compressor spool configuration than those cited in the directive, said General Electric Aviation spokesman Rick Kennedy"It does not apply to this engine," Kennedy said.

 

[NFF]

It would be better to have an exit for every few rows.

 

[por930]

It would be better to have an exit for every few rows.

Every exit requires heavy bracing,as well as the required emergency slide or ramp. These will cause a large increase in weight. Also, increased spacing between rows for exiting the aircraft will reduce the overall seating capacity. The weight increase, more emergency equipment and reduced seating will mean a big cost increase per mile. I am not sure who decides on what a "reasonable" exit time for all pax in an emergency.

 

[Quickstatus]

Every exit requires heavy bracing,as well as the required emergency slide or ramp. These will cause a large increase in weight. Also, increased spacing between rows for exiting the aircraft will reduce the overall seating capacity. The weight increase, more emergency equipment and reduced seating will mean a big cost increase per mile. I am not sure who decides on what a "reasonable" exit time for all pax in an emergency.

And potentially a cabin crew member for every exit.

 

[jb747]

Perhaps just 300 zero/zero ejection seats. Solve a lot of issues....

 

[moa999]

Pity you need to get rid of the overhead luggage compartments Makes enforcing luggage easier

 

[JohnK]

A good idea to leave your carry on bag on the plane; but I think I would be taking my wallet, phone and passport, trying to get those things replaced when away from home would be a pain.

One easy solution is to keep these items on your person at all times. I know some people find that a burden but in my mind it is a necessary burden. Shoes and fully clothed is also a must.

I do not trust anyone. When a person has been knocked down by a car and someone steals their wallet/purse while they are unconscious is about as low an act as you will find. Similarly those that pillage crash sites are not much better.

 

[RooFlyer]

The BA 777 is being repaired and will apparently return to service.

Note the registration G-VIIO !

 

[Bundy Bear]

The BA 777 is being repaired and will apparently return to service.

Note the registration G-VIIO !

I guess people may have commented in the past; that will buff right out is probably close to the truth.

 

[Himeno]

The BA 777 is being repaired and will apparently return to service.

Note the registration G-VIIO !

Why shouldn't it? A number of aircraft with just as much damage, if not more, including some QF aircraft, have been repaired and returned to service before. It was only assumed it would be written off because that's what BA has done in the past with similar damage (and in some cases have written off aircraft with less damage).

 

[jb747]

Why shouldn't it? A number of aircraft with just as much damage, if not more, including some QF aircraft, have been repaired and returned to service before. It was only assumed it would be written off because that's what BA has done in the past with similar damage (and in some cases have written off aircraft with less damage).

It's really a case of repair costs versus the value of the aircraft. In the case of a 777-200, I'd be very surprised if it's worth much at all, so any repair surprises me. None of the QF aircraft had any fire damage, and both OJH and OQA were very new, and so their values were dramatically higher than the (insurance) cost of repair.

I think I need to see this from an airline (BA) source......

 

[RooFlyer]

Why shouldn't it? A number of aircraft with just as much damage, if not more, including some QF aircraft, have been repaired and returned to service before. It was only assumed it would be written off because that's what BA has done in the past with similar damage (and in some cases have written off aircraft with less damage).

Obviously the heat damage is the issue here - weakening of any metal components affected. Very widespread ( at least by the images) and seemingly to major structural components. Sure they can replace all the heated elements but golly ....

 

[PaulST]

The BA 777 is being repaired and will apparently return to service.

Note the registration G-VIIO !

View attachment 60258

I wonder if they're trying to avoid a "hull loss"? Not good for PR I guess.

 

[docjames]

The amazing bit in that story is that it only costs $375/day to park a 777 at LAS.

Carparks at most Australian airports almost cost that per day.....

 

[Himeno]

The amazing bit in that story is that it only costs $375/day to park a 777 at LAS.

Carparks at most Australian airports almost cost that per day.....

LAS makes much more money from pax playing the airport pokies.

 

[ozzguy]

Looks like this incident is getting further news with impending class action against Boeing. Unable to link but here's the story - courtesy The Guardian press.

Passengers who were on a British Airways plane that caught fire while taking off from Las Vegas in September are suing the makers of the plane and its engines in Chicago, their lawyers said on Friday.
The engine of the Boeing 777 burst into flames, forcing all 170 passengers and crew to escape via emergency slides, after a part of a spool in the high-pressure compressor failed, according to findings from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
Now 65 passengers from the US, Britain, Northern Ireland, Ireland and Germany are seeking damages from Boeing and engine maker GE for pain, suffering and emotional stress as well as financial losses, law firm Stewarts Law said in a statement.
James Healy-Pratt, head of aviation and travel law at Stewarts Law, told Reuters the lawsuit did not specify any amount but that if there ended up being 100 claimants, then $100m “would not be unthinkable”. He said previously US courts had been known to award in excess of $500,000 per passenger.
“Our clients are not critical of BA and feel that the pilots and cabin crew performed heroically in guiding the aircraft to an emergency stop, and then evacuating all occupants away from the burning aircraft in difficult circumstances,” Healy-Pratt said in a statement.
But Stewarts Law and the US-based the Wisner Law Firm say that at the time of the accident the Boeing aircraft, equipped with GE engines, was “defective and unreasonably dangerous in a number of important respects“.
A spokeswoman for Boeing in Germany said the company did not comment on legal litigation matters. A spokesman for GE in the US said GE could not comment on the lawsuit because it had not seen it yet.
“We are continuing to work with the NTSB to determine the root cause of the failure,” the spokesman added.

 

[kelvedon]

I wonder if they're trying to avoid a "hull loss"? Not good for PR I guess.

Wasn't this rumoured to be the reason why Qantas didn't write off VH OJH ?

 

[PaulST]

Wasn't this rumoured to be the reason why Qantas didn't write off VH OJH ?

That's what made me think that this was a possible explanation for the 'repair'. Having said that, I believe QF still have the record of no hull losses whilst BA have already lost aircraft.

 

[kelvedon]

That's what made me think that this was a possible explanation for the 'repair'. Having said that, I believe QF still have the record of no hull losses whilst BA have already lost aircraft.

All the more reason for an uneconomic repair?