Hi Capt Lim,
Thank you for your excellent website.
I fly two or three times a month and I always feel safest on a Boeing 777 because of the information on your site and have often reassured others during turbulence if we were on a 777.
However, I was recently on a flight from Los Angeles to London on a United Boeing 777. Maybe an hour after the takeoff, I noticed an unusual slowdown in our speed and we seemed to be well off course from the normal flight path.
After about 3 hours, the captain announced that one of the generators had failed and we were going to land in Chicago to switch planes. We eventually landed about 40 minutes later.
Of course, I was very nervous about this, not knowing any more information about it than that. I was reassured because the cabin crews seemed to be quite relaxed and were going about the business of clearing away the trash etc, but still, it was worrying. I was also sitting directly over the wing that I don*t like. Unfortunately, that was the only business class seat available at the time, so this added to my nervousness as there was a long stream of vapor coming from the small flap at the end of the wing. It really looked a lot like smoke - though I was assured, it wasn*t (usually vapor isn*t that visible in that area of the wing, but it was very cold, so it*s possible).
Once we had reboarded the new plane (and had it de-iced as it was snowing in Chicago - just to add to the nerves!) I asked one of the flight crew who said he had never known a generator failure to happen but that we had been perfectly safe and it was only because of FAA regulations that we could not continue over water to the UK (in the end, we took quite an unusual route directly over the Atlantic from Chicago!)
My questions are, what is the risk to safety caused by such a generator failure? And, would it be normal to restrict the speed of the aircraft in such a case? Would it be necessary to shut down one of the engines if a generator had failed?
It was one of the more frightening flights of my life because the captain didn*t really reassure the passengers that there was nothing to affect the safety of the aircraft or its ability to land, etc. The engine noise was so low I did wonder if one of the engines had actually shut down. In the end, it did turn out okay but it was quite frightening. This prompted me to contact you as I have learned a lot about flying from your site and it really helped me to lose some of my fear.
I understand if you don*t have time to answer this - but I would be really interested. I*ve flown close to a million miles in the last few years but am still quite a nervous flyer and was getting less so until this happened. Now I*m worried about it all again!
Best regards,
Andrew Lee
UK
Hi Andrew,
On a Boeing 777, a generator failure is considered a minor event. It does not affect the safety of the plane at all. Remember, there are at least five generators on the aircraft ? please read this FAQ ? ?What would happen if there is total electrical failure in flight? ? See here.
The reason why the captain had to land at Chicago to change plane was to comply with the FAA regulations on ETOPS (extended twin engine operations) see here. Normally, a Boeing 777 has an ETOPS of more than 3 hours, meaning that, should an engine fail, the plane can continue to fly on one engine for more than 3 hours to the nearest suitable airport or even to the destination without any problem.
It is not necessary to shut down an engine when a generator fails on the Boeing 777 unless it leads to an engine problem ? (bear in mind that the generator is connected to the engine accessory gearbox). Even so, if the generator gets overheated, it can be disconnected completely from the engine by the pilot in the air.
You mentioned that the plane had to slow down because of the generator failure. In reality, there is no requirement to do so. If it were so, the reduction of speed was probably due to other factors like ensuring a safer flight because of turbulence or ATC restriction.
Well, I wouldn*t be worried at all over a generator failure problem!
Have a safe and pleasant journey in your next flight!
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