British Airways plane crash caused by 'unknown' ice buildup

Fault that caused BA plane to crash-land at Heathrow two years ago was not covered by safety requirements, report says
Report into Boeing crash-land at Heathrow
A British Airways Boeing 777 plane flying in from China crash-landed at Heathrow airport two years ago. A report says the crash was caused by ice buildup. Photograph: Andrew Parsons/PA

The fault that caused a British Airways plane to crash-land at Heathrow airport two years ago, narrowly missing the perimeter road and nearby buildings, was not covered by aviation safety ­requirements at the time, an official report revealed today.

The Boeing 777 lost power because of a restricted fuel flow to both engines, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said.

It concluded that the crash-landing, which happened on 17 January 2008, was probably caused by a buildup of ice in the fuel system on the plane, which was carrying 136 passengers. No one was seriously injured.

The ice is thought to have been formed from water that occurred naturally in the fuel when fuel temperatures were at a "sticky range", meaning ice crystals were most likely to adhere to their surroundings, the report said.

Safety regulations "did not take account of this phenomenon as the risk was unrecognised at that time", it added.

Research in the 1950s identified the problem of ice formation in fuel systems from dissolved or trapped water but did not identify the possibility of accumulated ice restricting fuel flow.

The AAIB concluded that the fuel oil heat exchanger on the plane was susceptible to restriction when there was a high concentration of soft ice and a fuel temperature of below -10C.

Having lost power, the BA flight, which was arriving from Beijing, came down within the airfield boundary at Heathrow, 330 metres short of the runway. It slid 372 metres before coming to a halt.

The left main landing gear collapsed and the right main landing gear separated from the plane. Everyone was safely evacuated, but 34 passengers and 12 cabin crew suffered minor injuries, mainly to the back and neck. One passenger broke a leg.

The report said the cabin crew, led by the captain, Peter Burkill, had become aware of a possible engine thrust problem only 43 seconds before touching down.

As the plane lost speed, the crew – hailed as heroes after the crash – tried to increase engine thrust, but there was no response from the engines. A mayday call was put out three seconds before touchdown.

There was not enough time for the flight crew to brief the cabin crew or issue a command for passengers to brace themselves, the report said.

In an interview with the BBC, Burkill, who took voluntary redundancy from BA last year, said he had believed he was going to die when the plane hit the ground.

"We were now in an aircraft on the ground that was sliding uncontrollably and, at that point, I thought I was going to die … I said goodbye to my wife," he said.

Burkill revealed that he had initially feared the plane would fail to reach the airport.

"I could see the impact point was going to be around about the Hatton Cross area, which includes catering buildings, a tube station and a petrol station," he added. He handed the controls to his co-pilot, John Coward, during the approach.

"When I realised we were coming in far too steeply with the loss of power and we were heading towards the buildings, I had to reduce the drag and, as we were going to crash on ground, I needed the [landing] gear," he said.

"The gear was going to take most of the brunt of the crash, so I daren't raise that up."

Burkill said he thought about the experience all the time, adding: "It will probably never leave me."

On 28 November 2008, a Delta Airlines Boeing 777 suffered a similar ice problem while flying over the US.

The incident prompted an investigation by the US National Transportation Safety Board, at which the AAIB had an accredited representative.

Nine safety recommendations were made following earlier AAIB reports into the BA incident, and a further nine were made today, including some addressing plane "crashworthiness" – the ability of an aircraft to withstand an accident.

Boeing and the aero engine company Rolls-Royce have taken steps to prevent the ice phenomenon from happening again.

A BA spokesman welcomed the report and said that, although there were no specific safety recommendations for the airline, it had worked with the relevant authorities and manufacturers "to ensure that the highest safety levels are maintained".