Heathrow Crash

[TimTucker]

Originally Posted by BluePete

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.

Here here.

Originally Posted by Essex of Essex

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

Originally Posted by BluePete

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.

Yep, good post.

Don't know if anyone remembers the 747 cargo plane that crashed after take off at Stansted, maybe 10 years ago and came down in a farmers field. I was in the air when that crash happened on a flight to Stansted. We were diverted to Luton (from the calculation above I assume they choose the nearest airport for diversion and only put enough fuel to get to that destination), so off we headed for Luton, but there was too much traffic in the air above Luton to be safe so we were turned around and sent to Cambridge (literally). Cambridge had too much traffic waiting for gates on the ground, so they closed it. Turn around, back to Luton, and advised by the pilot that he would definately be landing there, we would be skipping the queue and going directly for approach on the runway 'cos we hadn't got the fuel to do anything else.

It doesn't actually take a lot to go wrong in terms of a sequence of events before your critically low on fuel.

My friend who was waiting at Stansted to collect me wasn't impressed to be told I was going to Luton, only to be told to go to Cambridge when he arrived at Luton, only to be told in Cambridge that we had landed in Luton minutes after he had left. He lived in Hemel Hempstead, so Luton was 15 mins from his house where he started off.

The inital AAIB analysis is available on the internet, engines didnot respond to automatic or manual movement of thrust levers, now they have to work out why.


"Examination of the aircraft systems and engines is ongoing.
Initial indications from the interviews and Flight Recorder analyses show the flight and approach to have progressed normally until the aircraft was established on late finals for Runway 27L. 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."