Heathrow Incident.

[Airbus Commander 563]

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/uk/heathrow-runways-closed-after-emergency-landing-1.1405331

 

BA A319, birdstrike on takeoff, lost Engine One, shut it down, then Engine Two went on fire... 

 

All safe, and major disruption to London airspace with aircraft diverting left right and center. 27L is closed, 27R only operating runway....

 

Regards,

Ró.

[Spook 96]

ya' beat me

[TurboTomato 90]

Birdstrike for sure?

[Airbus Commander 563]

Not for sure no, there's a theory that the cowl latches on the engines weren't secured properly, but we'll have to wait for a statement to see...

 

Regards,

Ró.

[Sam 68]

Both engines?? 

[Airbus Commander 563]

Yup, one shut down and the other on fire is what I've heard...

 

Regards,

Ró.

[cva1077 68]

 

 

Yup, one shut down and the other on fire is what I've heard...

 

A very, very unusual situation. As a RW pilot, could you tell us what sort of training you get for these situations?

[Airbus Commander 563]

A very, very unusual situation. As a RW pilot, could you tell us what sort of training you get for these situations?

 

Depends on the airline in question, it's not in the minimum training required so many airlines wouldn't train for it as it's not worth it to them, or they might not have enough simulators or other reasons. The chances are slim that it'd happen, so you can't blame them.

 

We do train for it where I work along with a million other things that are almost never going to happen, but our training department is known for it's extreme approach to training, some of the training we do is borderline insane...  :rolleyes:  It shows though, we haven't had an accident in 46 years, and only ever had 2 accidents as a result of pilot error, over 60 years ago. As to whether or not BA train for a scenario similar to this I couldn't tell you...

 

Regards,

Ró.

[ckyliu 1,749]

Details and photos at Avherald:

http://avherald.com/h?article=462beb5e&opt=0

Sounds like the engine cowlings weren't properly latched, and when they came off in flight they took fuel/hydraulic lines with them

 

Also happening right now:
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2013/05/2013524133045345171.html

The RAF are escorting what I believe to be a 777

[nzeddy 13]

Video of the landing! 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0alcBUQPTk4

[Spam3d 54]

Both cowls gone...Someone in maintenance has clearly made an error here.

[pegger74 18]

Well it is impossible for anyone here to know exactly what was the cause of the situation. But at the risk of adding further speculation to the topic,  I thought there were visual devices that got placed on engine cowls and other similar parts when opened for maintenance, that stayed on until the object was closed and locked?

 

And would the checking of items that open and close on the aircraft not be inspected in a walk around by the crew?

[Spam3d 54]

The latches can be notoriously difficult to seat and latch, but they should still be checked to see if they are flush with the cowling. And yes it is all speculation but its not exactly a stab in the dark, its totally possible that the cowling has severed a fluid line.

[Airbus Commander 563]

The latches on the engine cowls looks like it's been confirmed as the root of the issue.

 

We're just after getting a circular mail from the CP reminding us of the importance of carrying out thorough preflight inspections and walk-arounds, and that checking the latches on the cowls is a vital part of this and that we should always remember to take the time to learn from others mistakes (without specifically mentioning BA's incident) etc...   :mellow:

 

A similar message has gone out to our engineers and ramp teams on their forums from their respective heads of their departments, along with an email of it too I'd assume....  :mellow:

 

Reports have come in from passengers that the engine cowls started flapping in the wind as the aircraft built up speed in the takeoff roll, and no evidence of a birdstrike has been found on the aircraft in question... I would  not like to be in the shoes of the pilot who did the walkaround this morning, or any of the training Captains at BA if this turns out to be the root of the problem...  :unsure:

 

Regards,

Ró.

[ichundu 10]

according to avherald the aircraft returned after 26 minutes to the airport. i wonder what could be the reason for not returning earlier. i know there are checklists and procedures to be followed, but isn't this a situation where you want to land as soon as possible? i mean with cowling doors missing in both engines, and one engine trailing smoke, isn't this a bit too much precious time spent in the air? i'm not trying to blame the crew as i have limited knowledge of what it takes to go through an emergency, also there is little information available yet, too many variables might be involved. just got curious about this little detail.

 

i think this is the flight track: http://flightaware.com/live/flight/BAW762/history/20130524/0655Z/EGLL/ENGM