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January 18, 2008
Guardian angels on overtime!
Yesterdays crash at Heathrow is nothing short of miraculous. No doubt the manufacturer's design will have played it's part, it is rare for these aircraft to remain as intact as this when they hit the ground at a hundred and sixty miles an hour. Given that their glide angle once the power is lost is only marginally better than your average housebrick (It's all about wing shape and load distribution) the pilots pulled off an amazing landing and walked away from it. A landing you can walk away from is a good landing as I have said before on this blog.
A hundred and fifty two people walking out of that aircraft has to be one of the most amazing escapes anyone could possibly witness, let alone be a part of. I have only one question at present for the passengers, did they actrually have time to adopt the recommended "crash position" with head down over their laps? If so, the aircrew deserve even more praise for having the forethought to tell them to do so. But, I wonder how those as tall as I am managed. BA notoriously has a short space between seats and when I have attempted to adopt that position I invariably end up with my head rammed against the seat back ahead - perfect to sustain a broken neck.
Once the aircraft was on the ground the response was exactly as it should be - the emergency teams were there almost as soon as it stopped. The BAA Fire Fighters deserve every penny they get and the praise of the rest of us - their response was impecable. To all those bean counters who constantly want to "save" money by cutting back fire service provisions I have this to say - "Do you pay your insurance premiums?" If you do, then this is exactly what the fire services are - insurance. You put the money in and they make sure they are trained, ready and available when you need them. And they don't quibble about your need either.
The investigation is now underway, and the immediate piece of news is that both engines failed during the approach. The big question must be - why? During the approach they are throttled back, then gradually given more power as it lands, before the braking systems are applied (essentially shields that redirect part of the jetstream as a "reverse" thrust until the normal braking system can cope. From the sound of it, this aircraft's engines "flamed out" as the pilots attempted to "throttle up" in the final approach. From there on, this was essentially a glider, without the best glide characteristics needed to stay airborne very long at that altitude.
We witnessed something close to a miracle yesterday - a lot of Guardian Angels worked overtime on this one. Let's be thankful.
Posted by The Gray Monk at January 18, 2008 09:56 AM
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Comments
Being in the Aircraft Fire response "crash and smash" team in the Navy I was amazed how well the plane held up.
Posted by: skipjack at January 18, 2008 08:56 PM
So was I. I have attended only one smash - and it was a collect the pieces job. Considering this aircraft lost power - they say the engines refused to "spool up" on demand when she was only 600 feet up, I reckon they were lucky to have enough time to get everyone down into the crash position and manage to only snap off the under carriage.
Posted by: The Gray Monk at January 18, 2008 10:41 PM