Ask Captain Lim ~ All about Aviation - What went wrong with first crash of the Boeing 777!

Yes, after the crash of the British Airways Boeing 777 at the London Heathrow airport around 12.42 pm yesterday (Jan 17^th2008), I have received many other emails enquiring about this accident.

Fortunately, there were no fatalities on this air crash except for 17 passengers who suffered injuries.

Television pictures on CNN showed the Boeing 777 at the edge of the runway with the grass behind it furrowed for several hundred meters where the airplane had scrapped along. The emergency escape chutes were deployed and fire trucks sprayed the plane with foam. One wing and much of the landing gear appeared damaged.

Well, since the Boeing 777 first flight after about 12 years ago, British Airways has the honor of being the first airline to suffer the first crash of this very safe airplane! What went wrong?

The British Airways CEO said, "It would be inappropriate for me to speculate as to the likely cause of this incident... We are very proud of the way our crew safely evacuated all 136 passengers on board with only three minor injuries.''

"BA's safety record is exemplary and the rapid evacuation of the passengers without loss of life is a tribute to their safety commitment,'' he said.

Investigators have reportedly already arrived at the scene to begin investigations into the incident.

Amongst the early speculation for the cause of the accident was "poor weather, windshear or possibly bird strikes". I will however update and comment on this when more news are available.

Well, for the moment, nothing is conclusive until the investigation is completed.

For more of the accident, please see the latest video clip above and also here.

Users' Comments

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1. 23-03-2008

What happens in DXB GRU engine failure?

Hello Captain Lim,
Thank you for enriching my knowledge on flying. But with the 777 accident what happens to routes like DXB - GRU. The latter half seems to be over the sea. How would the pilot cope with an engine failure especially when it flies mostly near the equator?
Thanks

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Anirban

2. 08-02-2008

The first crash of the Boeing 777...

Hi Rad,

You can read some of the updates in my posting in "Wouldn't it be wise to retract the landing gears prior to the crash landing?".

I do not understand what you meant by "the rudder spare engine" and I can't remember about mentioning that anywhere.

You can also read more about the accident here.

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Captain Lim

3. 07-02-2008

Dear Captain Lim,
I am surprised there are no comments and your thoughts on recent BA 777 crash. After all, you are a 777 pilot and I'm sure you have your thoughts esp since you were proclaiming it to be the safest plane. I heard some speculation that in 777s there is no mechanical linkage from the cockpit to the engines which would mean, if software fails, the engines cannot be controlled? Could that ever happen? In that case I would prefer flying on a mechanical operated aircraft, no? What do you think and what about the rudder spare engine you mentioned 777 has?

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Rad

4. 03-02-2008

Concerned about BA Boeing 777 flight...

Dear Captain Lim,

I have been flying on British Airways aircraft for years and have always trusted their safety record. However, I am a bit concerned about flying on a 777 next month to Nairobi, Kenya. Maybe I am also on edge about the political problems in Kenya as well, but I am even more nervous now about flying on a Boeing 777. Should I be? What if there are problems with other 777's as well?

I do hope they find out soon what caused the crash landing at Heathrow. I would very much appreciate hearing from you.

Warm regards.

Denise

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Denise

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