Boeing 777 - Flying Death Trap?

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/transport/article5902070.ece


From Times Online


March 13, 2009
Boeing 777 safety measures 'insufficient' to prevent risk of disaster



Ben Webster, Transport Correspondent

Interim safety measures put in place on 220 airliners with an engine flaw are
“insufficient” to prevent the risk of a fatal crash, according to the US air
safety body.
The National Transportation Safety Board said that passengers could not be
sure that the procedures, adopted by airlines flying Boeing 777s with
Rolls-Royce engines, would work.
The board’s report will increase the pressure on British Airways to ground 15
of its 777s, the airline’s most profitable aircraft, until the flawed
component can be replaced with a redesigned part.
The board said: “Current operational mitigations, which require power
reductions, may not prevent additional occurrences at critical flight
altitudes.

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“Therefore, until the current fuel/oil heat exchangers are replaced by heat
exchangers more tolerant to ice accretion, additional failures to achieve
commanded thrust could occur and could result in a serious accident and,
possibly, injuries and deaths.”
BA, Singapore Airlines, American Airlines and Delta Airlines had all been
hoping to continue using the interim safety measures for another 18 months
until the modified heat exchanger was ready to be fitted.
Rolls-Royce is under extreme pressure to have the part ready earlier. The
language in the board’s report is so stark that the airlines, Boeing and
Rolls-Royce would be highly exposed to litigation and damages running
potentially to billions of pounds if there were a fatal crash before the new
part was fitted.
The last time British Airways had to ground an entire fleet of aircraft was in
2000, when it stopped flying all Concordes after the fatal crash in Paris.
The US National Transportation Safety Board initially
highlighted the danger in a report yesterday. The British Air Accidents
Investigation Branch also issued a report yesterday on the problem but
avoided mentioning the continuing risk to passengers.
In January last year, the 152 people on board a BA 777 had a narrow escape
when the aircraft lost power in both engines during final approach and
crashed on to grass just inside Heathrow’s perimeter fence.
The aircraft’s landing gear was ripped off but only one passenger was
seriously hurt, thanks to the skills of John Coward, the co-pilot, and
Captain Peter Burkill.
Another 777 with Rolls-Royce engines, operated by Delta Airlines, lost engine
power in almost exactly the same way last November after ice blocked the
fuel supply.
The pilots managed to take emergency action to correct the failure, known as
engine rollback. This incident occurred despite Boeing introducing new
safety procedures last September that it claimed had solved the problem.
The US safety board said: “With two of these rollback events occurring within
a year, we believe that there is a high probability of something similar
happening again.” It said that “the only acceptable solution to this safety
vulnerability” was to redesign the flawed component in the engine.
Rolls-Royce is hoping to accelerate the modification programme to begin
installation before next winter, when the risk of ice forming in the fuel
system is much greater. It declined, however, to set any deadline for
removing the flawed components.
“We are working closely with the relevant airworthiness authorities to certify
and deliver this modification as soon as possible,” it said in a statement.
British Airways said that it would not be withdrawing any 777s from service.
“Absolutely not. That’s not something that’s been suggested in any of the
reports,” a spokesman said, adding: “We wouldn’t operate any aircraft if it
was unsafe to do so.”
In a separate report on the BA crash, the British Air Accidents Investigation
Branch said that more research was needed into why ice accumulated in the
fuel supply.
It said that mixing an anti-icing additive into aviation fuel was one possible
solution but this “has many drawbacks”, including the need for more regular
maintenance.
The problem of ice blockages has grown in recent years with the popularity of
ultra-long-haul flights over the poles, meaning that many more aircraft are
flying at a high altitude in extremely cold air for several hours.

Airliners to keep flying despite safety warning

High probability of more engine failures, says watchdog


Ben Webster, Transport Correspondent




UK
and US take very different perspectives | Jet
a success with airlines cutting costs | Rolls-Royce
engines: two incidents in a year | How
ice crystals blocked the flow of fuelDozens of passenger jets using Heathrow have a potentially fatal engine flaw,
creating a “high probability” of another failure like the one that caused
last year’s British Airways crash, according to the American air safety
watchdog.
Rolls-Royce, which makes the engines, is working on a safety modification but
the Boeing 777s will remain in service with the flaw for another 18 months.
Until the change is made, more than 220 Boeing 777s with Rolls-Royce engines,
including 15 operated by BA, will continue to be vulnerable to ice in the
fuel supply causing a loss of power in the engines.

Related Links

• 
  UK and US take very different perspectives
  
  

• 
  Jet a success with airlines cutting costs
  
  

• 
  Rolls-Royce engines: two incidents in a year
  
  

The US National Transportation Safety Board highlighted the danger in a report
yesterday. The British Air Accidents Investigation Branch also issued a
report yesterday on the problem but avoided mentioning the continuing risk
to passengers.
The 152 people on board a BA 777 had a narrow escape in January last year when
the aircraft lost power in both engines during final approach and crashed on
to grass just inside Heathrow’s perimeter fence. The aircraft’s landing gear
was ripped off but only one passenger was seriously hurt thanks to the
skills of co-pilot John Coward and Captain Peter Burkill.
Another 777 with Rolls-Royce engines, operated by Delta Airlines, lost engine
power in almost exactly the same way last November after ice blocked the
fuel supply. The pilots managed to take emergency action to correct the
failure, known as engine rollback. This incident occurred despite Boeing
introducing new safety procedures last September that it claimed had solved
the problem.
The US safety board said yesterday: “With two of these rollback events
occurring within a year, we believe that there is a high probability of
something similar happening again.” It said that “the only acceptable
solution to this safety vulnerability” was to redesign the flawed component
in the engine.
Rolls-Royce admitted that the component, the fuel/oil heat exchanger, was
flawed but said that the replacement part had to be tested and certified and
would not be ready for installation for up to 12 more months.
Other airlines operating 777s with Rolls-Royce engines include Singapore
Airlines and American Airlines.
The board recommended that airlines should be compelled to fit the new part
within six months of it being available for installation, meaning that 777s
could continue flying with the flaw until August next year.
Rolls-Royce is hoping to accelerate the modification programme to begin
installation before next winter, when the risk of ice forming in the fuel
system is much greater. It declined, however, to set any deadline for
removing the flawed components. “We are working closely with the relevant
airworthiness authorities to certify and deliver this modification as soon
as possible,” it said in a statement.
British Airways said that it would not be withdrawing any 777s from service.
“Absolutely not. That’s not something that’s been suggested in any of the
reports,” a spokesman said, adding: “We wouldn’t operate any aircraft if it
was unsafe to do so.”
The spokesman said that BA, in common with all operators of 777s with
Rolls-Royce engines, had taken a number of actions to reduce the risk of ice
building up in the fuel supply, including ordering pilots to accelerate at
certain points on long flights through cold air to increase fuel supply.
The board said that the precautions, while reducing the risk of engine power
loss, could be a dangerous distraction for pilots. “They add complexity to
flight crew operations. Because the recovery procedure requires a descent,
the aircraft may be exposed to other risks,” it said.
In a separate report on the BA crash, the British Air Accidents Investigation
Branch said that more research was needed into why ice accumulated in the
fuel supply.It said that mixing an anti-icing additive into aviation fuel
was one possible solution but this “has many drawbacks”, including the need
for more regular maintenance.
The problem of ice blockages has grown in recent years with the popularity of
ultra-long-haul flights over the poles, meaning that many more aircraft are
flying at a high altitude in extremely cold air for several hours.

years ago when the DC10 were crashing I always told my agent when booking flights "NO DC10'S !!!!! "

There is no good reason the 777s aren't grounded until this is fixed. I have a friend who flys MD-80s for a major airline and he refused a hop on a 777 a few months back because of this problem.

I still remember the DC10 that crashed in the cornfields of Iowa. the center engine blew up and cut all the hydraulic lines. that was some flying. one for the books. matter a fact that scenario wasn't even in the books