Power Loss Led to Heathrow Crash

Both turbofans failed to respond to demands for more power moments before the first-ever crash of a Boeing 777-236 (G-YMMM) on Jan 17 at London Heathrow. The British Airways jetliner enroute from Beijing crash landed just shy of Runway 27L. There was one serious injury among the 136 passengers and 16 crewmembers onboard. The 777 entered service in 1995 and about 687 remain in use. The accident aircraft built in 2001 was powered by twin Rolls-Royce Trent 895-17 engines. The British Air Accidents Investigation Branch’s (AAIB) initial statement on the BA38 accident said: “Initially the approach progressed normally, with the Autopilot and Autothrottle engaged. The aircraft then descended rapidly and struck the ground, some 1,000 ft short of the paved runway surface, just inside the airfield boundary fence. The aircraft stopped on the very beginning of the paved surface of Runway 27L. During the short ground roll the right main landing gear separated from the wing and the left main landing gear was pushed up through the wing root. A significant amount of fuel leaked from the aircraft but there was no fire. Initial indications from the interviews and Flight Data Recorder analyses show the flight and approach to have progressed normally until the aircraft was established on late finals. 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. The investigation is now focused on more detailed analysis of the Flight Recorder information, collecting further recorded information from various system modules and examining the range of aircraft systems that could influence engine operation.”