Re: Heathrow Crash
 

I work there, T5 nerve centre (security, management etc), trying to run me little train set at the time when 70+ people rush in and start acting like they are buying / selling stocks and shares lol.

I might have even seen benny hill chasing some girls go thru!

most annoying. and tbh, you lot out there probably knew more through the news than we did.

Re: Heathrow Crash
 

I would love to hear the cockpit voice recorder when the motors conked heh heh.

Re: Heathrow Crash
 

Says that he also lost instruments, electrical failure is more likely IMO if not a fuel problem.

Re: Heathrow Crash
 

Fuel planning and monitoring is a large part of our job.

As an example a plan for a flight Leeds to Malaga;

Fuel to destination 7302 Kgs
Contingency 5% 365 Kgs
Diversion 1407 Kgs Alternate Seville
Final Reserve 1250 Kgs
Taxi and APU 250 Kgs

Minimum fuel 10574 Kgs

We should land with the diversion and Final reserve fuel if we arrive at Malaga and the contingency fuel if all has gone according to plan; if we divert we should land with the 1250 Kgs Final Reserve, if we think we will have less than that we should declare a "PAN" this advises ATC you have a problem but do not yet require immediate assistance. If we know that we will land with less than FRF we have to declare an emergency and our approach will be expedited.

The 1250 Kgs is enough to keep my aircraft (737-300) in the air at max landing weight at a height of 1500 feet above the airport for 30 mins; the numbers for the 777 will be higher but the procedure is the same.

Heathrow having 2 seperate runways can be flown to without an alternate if certain conditions are met regarding forecast weather, but the pilot would still require to ensure he had sufficent fuel to cope with delays and to comply with the requirment to tell ATC if he was going to be under the minimum laid down in his operations manual.

As the aircraft is available and substantially intact the AAIB (Air Accident Investigation Branch) will be able to examine it with ease and issue a preliminary report fairly swiftly; untill then anything we say is guess work.

All crews are subject to 2 profficency checks a year, carried out in a very sophisticated simulator for these large aircraft and very exacting standards have to be met to pass; a very large part of my job is conducting these tests
and the training that accompanies them, fuel leaks and improper transfers of fuel are covered, engine failures at take off are a mandatory item every check engine failures on approach come round regularly as failures in all systems and required areas of knowledge are checked over a 3 year period.

I'm just glad that evry one got out without massive injuries to lots of them.

Re: Heathrow Crash
 

I think that one of them flipped the kill switch by accident. :p



Come on........we've all done it at least once !!!

Re: Heathrow Crash
 

Nah they definately need to pull the back plastics off and chuck that immobiliser in the bin :-P

Re: Heathrow Crash
 

I wonder whether the plane will fly again for BA? or will it be fixed sold off to another airline in a 'less developed' country.

Re: Heathrow Crash
 

The answer now is public.

The pilot wasn't flying it, his pillion passenger was. Shocking. ;)

Re: Heathrow Crash
 

Now that's what I like, an answer based on fact and knowlege, not supposition and guesswork masquerading as knowlege and fact. ;)

Especially good post about the fuel loads and reserves etc.

Re: Heathrow Crash
 

:lol: