British Airways 777 lands short of runway

[milehighclub]

No Casualties, 4 people with minor injuries, all slides deployed for passenger and crew evacuation.

Aircraft was 777 arriving from Beijing

Plane landed short of south runway

NOT TERROR RELATED

Heathrow was closed but is now open again less one runway, some flights have been diverted but is causing minimal disruption.

Cause not known. I'm sure more details will come in due course.

BBC NEWS | UK | England | London | Airliner crash lands at Heathrow

 

[Evan]

lost all power when landing and having to glide in, that would explain why he was short !

Looks like its a trash can job for that airframe.... doubtful it would be worth putting back in the air.

E

 

[Commuter]

There appears to be serious disruption to BA short haul flights with many of BA short hauls cancelled post-accident.

Long haul flights appear to be delayed somewhat (approx 2 hours for a lot of them) but appear to be still operating.

 

[Mal]

Pretty scary really. Loss of power, glider into the airport type of situation. The pilot did an excellent job.

Did someone in the F cabin spill some water or flood the galley?

Qantas knows some really good repairers, so perhaps the plane is recoverable

 

[NM]

This picture from the BBC News site shows how close they came to missing the airport and just how quickly the aircraft came to a stop.

 

[NM]

Reports in the various news media indicate a "loss of power" and that the aircraft dropped suddenly. These reported actions could be symptoms of many root causes. Its probably best to keep to the "facts" as they have been "reported" rather than speculate even further regarding the cause. I am sure the report will make interesting reading and it would appear that there are some very lucky people in London today.

 

[Platy]

Maybe adding those few extra metres to Sydney's EW runway aren't so stupid after all...

 

[NM]

Maybe adding those few extra metres to Sydney's EW runway aren't so stupid after all...

I am sure there are plenty of places in the world where "landing" that far short of the black stuff would end up with some wet passengers (or worse).

 

[serfty]

There's some more images here:

• BBC NEWS | In Pictures | In Pictures: Heathrow crash-landing

 

[NM]

It sure must have hit the ground hard. The right side main gear was ripped off and is lying on the grass, while the left side main gear seems to have been pushed back up through the inner wing area. Says something for the structural integrity of the 777 airframe.

I wonder if Boeing will be encouraging/assisting BA with repairing the aircraft in order to keep the 777's history of no hull losses? Perhaps they could seek assistance from another airline that has some experience with repairing a severely aircraft and thus avoiding breaking a long standing hull loss virginity .

 

[NYCguy]

I wonder if Boeing will be encouraging/assisting BA with repairing the aircraft in order to keep the 777's history of no hull losses? Perhaps they could seek assistance from another airline that has some experience with repairing a severely aircraft and thus avoiding breaking a long standing hull loss virginity .

Not one of their OneWorld partners, by any chance?

 

[straitman]

Not one of their OneWorld partners, by any chance?

What makes you think that :?:

 

[NM]

There is a very interesting interview with David Gleave (aka spotwelder at FT) who is a professional aviation safety investigator.

David Gleave discussion

Very well balanced and covers the facts without too much speculation.

 

[oz_mark]

What makes you think that :?:

Maybe it was Mal's comment that Qantas knew some good repairers.

 

[NM]

Maybe it was Mal's comment that Qantas knew some good repairers.

Ahh, its only surface damage ... nothing a good roll of gaff tape and some staples can't fix.

One has to wonder if 777's have a fibreglass moisture tray below the F galley to protect the avionics from damage if coffee dregs clog the drains

 

[straitman]

Maybe it was Mal's comment that Qantas knew some good repairers.

Gosh. That totally escaped me :!: :mrgreen:

 

[Ikara]

I was just reading a news article on the crash and I'm afraid my warped sense of humour could see the funny side in these three lines....

"I didn't speak to the pilot, but I saw him, and he looked very pale."

Skidmarks


Television pictures showed skidmarks carving up the grass ahead of the runway used by........

It's almost like there should be a question mark after skidmarks. I'm sure if I was onboard there would have been.

JB

 

[serfty]

Interesting interview here:

• David Gleave discussion

 

[Mal]

Interesting interview here:

• David Gleave discussion

You mean the one NM posted above?

Actually, I liked the interview. He's not a media regular based on his nervousness, but knows his stuff and wasn't going to be led down the "could it be?" path.

It was good to hear bits and pieces about what was going on, although most of it I already know from various forums and way too much watching of shows that tell you how they investigate airline accidents!

 

[serfty]

If it was what NM posted, I apologise. For me, on my work desktop, it came up as a pictureless radio interview; I believed it was a different link. (no, I did not check the specific URL )