British Airways Flight 9
Encyclopedia
British Airways Flight 9, sometimes referred to by its callsign Speedbird 9 or Jakarta incident, was a scheduled British Airways
flight from London Heathrow
to Auckland
, with stops in Bombay, Madras, Kuala Lumpur
, Perth
, and Melbourne
.
On 24 June 1982, the route was flown by the City of Edinburgh, a 747-236B
. The aircraft flew into a cloud of volcanic ash
thrown up by the eruption of Mount Galunggung
(approximately 180 kilometres (111.8 mi) south-east of Jakarta
, Indonesia
), resulting in the failure of all four engines. The reason for the failure was not immediately apparent to the crew or ground control. The aircraft was diverted to Jakarta in the hope that enough engines could be restarted to allow it to land there. The aircraft was able to glide far enough to exit the ash cloud, and all engines were restarted (although one failed again soon after), allowing the aircraft to land safely at the Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in Jakarta.
The crew members of the incident segment had boarded the aircraft in Kuala Lumpur, while many of the passengers had been aboard since the flight began in London.
(20:40 Jakarta time) above the Indian Ocean
, south of Java
, the flight crew (consisting of Senior First Officer Roger Greaves and Senior Engineer Officer
Barry Townley-Freeman while Captain Eric Moody was in the lavatory) first noted an effect on the windscreen similar to St Elmo's fire. The phenomenon persisted after Moody returned from the lavatory. Despite the weather radar
showing clear skies, the crew switched on engine anti-ice and the passenger seat belt signs as a precaution.
As the flight progressed, smoke began to gather throughout the passenger cabin of the aircraft and it was at first assumed to be cigarette smoke. However, it soon began to grow thicker and had an ominous odour of sulphur. Passengers who had a view out of the aircraft windows noted that the engines were unusually bright with the light shining forward through the fan blades and producing a stroboscopic effect.
At approximately 13:42 UTC (20:42 Jakarta time), engine number four began surging
and soon flamed out
. The flight crew immediately performed the engine shutdown drill, quickly cutting off fuel supply and arming the fire extinguishers. Less than a minute later, at 13:43 UTC (20:43 Jakarta time), engine two surged and flamed out. Within seconds, and almost simultaneously, engines one and three flamed out prompting the flight engineer to exclaim, "I don't believe it—all four engines have failed!"
Without engine thrust, a 747-200 has a glide ratio of approximately 15:1, meaning it can glide forward 15 kilometres for every kilometre it drops. The flight crew quickly determined that the aircraft was capable of gliding for 23 minutes and covering 91 nautical miles (168.5 km) from its flight level of 37000 feet (11,277.6 m). At 13:44 UTC (20:44 Jakarta time), Greaves declared an emergency to the local air traffic control
authority, stating that all four engines had failed. However, Jakarta Area Control misunderstood the message, interpreting the call as meaning that only engine number
four had shut down. It was only after a nearby Garuda Indonesia
flight relayed the message to Air Traffic Control that it was understood. Despite the crew "squawking" the emergency transponder
setting of 7700, the aeroplane could not be located by Air Traffic Control on their radar screens.
Many passengers wrote notes to relatives. One such passenger was Charles Capewell who wrote "Ma. In trouble. Plane going down. Will do best for boys. We love you. Sorry. Pa XXX" scrawled on the cover of his ticket wallet.
Due to the high Indonesian mountains on the south coast of the island of Java
, an altitude of at least 11500 feet (3,505.2 m) was required to cross the coast safely. The crew decided that if the aircraft was unable to maintain altitude by the time they reached 12000 feet (3,657.6 m) they would turn back out to sea and attempt to ditch
into the Indian Ocean. The crew began the engine restart drills, despite being well above the recommended maximum engine in-flight start envelope altitude of 28000 feet (8,534.4 m). The attempts failed.
Despite the lack of time, Moody made an announcement to the passengers that has been described as "a masterpiece of understatement
":
As pressure within the cabin fell, oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling—an automatic emergency measure to make up for the lack of air. On the flight deck however, Greaves's mask was broken; the delivery tube had detached from the rest of the mask. Moody swiftly decided to descend at 1,800 m per minute to an altitude where there was enough pressure in the outside atmosphere to breathe almost normally.
At 13500 feet (4,114.8 m), they were approaching the altitude at which they would have to turn over the ocean and attempt a risky ditching. Although there were guidelines for the procedure, no one had ever tried it in a Boeing 747, nor has anyone since. As they performed the engine-restart procedure, engine number four started, and at 13:56 UTC (20:56 Jakarta time), Moody used its power to reduce the rate of descent. Shortly thereafter, engine three restarted, allowing him to climb slowly. Shortly after that, engines one and two successfully restarted as well. The crew subsequently requested and expedited an increase in altitude to 11500 feet (3,505.2 m) in order to clear the high mountains of Indonesia.
As the aircraft approached its target altitude, the St Elmo's fire effect on the windscreen returned. Moody throttled back; however, engine number two surged again and had to be shut down. The crew immediately descended and held 12000 feet (3,657.6 m).
As Flight 9 approached Jakarta, the crew found it difficult to see anything through the windscreen, and had to make the approach almost entirely on instruments, despite reports of good visibility. The crew decided to fly the ILS, Instrument Landing System
, however, the glideslope was inoperative, so they flew the localizer as the first officer monitored the airport's DME (Distance Measuring Equipment
). He then called out how high they should be at each DME step along the final approach to the runway, creating a virtual glide slope for them to follow. It was, in Moody's words, "a bit like negotiating one's way up a badger
's arse." Although the runway lights could be made out through a small strip of the windscreen, the landing lights on the aircraft seemed to be inoperable. After landing, the flight crew found it impossible to taxi, due to glare from apron floodlights which made the already sandblasted windscreen opaque.
from the eruption of Mount Galunggung
. Because the ash cloud was dry, it did not show up on the weather radar, which is designed to detect the moisture in clouds. The cloud sandblasted the windscreen and landing light covers and clogged the engines. As the ash entered the engines, it melted in the combustion chambers and adhered to the inside of the power-plant. As the engine cooled from not running and as the aircraft descended out of the ash cloud, the molten ash solidified and enough broke off to allow air to flow smoothly through the engine allowing a successful restart. The engines had enough electrical power to restart because one generator and the onboard batteries were still operating; electrical power is required for ignition of the engines.
Engines one, two and three were replaced at Jakarta, as well as the windscreen, and the fuel tanks were cleared of the ash that had entered them through the pressurisation ducts, contaminating the fuel and requiring that it be disposed of. After being ferried back to London, engine number four was replaced and major work was undertaken to return the aircraft to service. G-BDXH also entered the Guinness Book of Records
as the longest glide in a non-purpose-built aircraft, until the record was broken by the Air Transat Flight 236
incident.
Although the airspace around Mount Galunggung was closed temporarily after the incident, it was re-opened days later. It was only after a Singapore Airlines
747 was forced to shut down three of its engines while flying through the same area nineteen days later (13 July), that Indonesian authorities closed the airspace permanently and re-routed airways to avoid the area, and a watch was set up to monitor clouds of ash. Flight 9 was not the first encounter with this eruption; a Garuda
DC-9 had encountered ash on 5 April 1982.
The crew received various awards, including the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air and medals from the British Air Line Pilots Association
. Following the incident, the crew and passengers formed the Galunggung Gliding Club as a means to keep in contact.
One of the passengers, Betty Tootell, wrote a book about the incident, All Four Engines Have Failed. She managed to trace some 200 of the 247 passengers on the flight, and went on to marry a fellow survivor, James Ferguson, who had been seated in the row in front of her. She notes: "The 28th December 2006 marks the start of our 14th year of honeymoon, and on the 24th June 2007 many passengers and crew will no doubt gather to celebrate the 25th anniversary of our mid-air adventure."
British Airways continues to operate the Flight 9 route from London Heathrow
to Bangkok
and Sydney
. City of Edinburgh, later renamed City of Elgin, continued to fly for British Airways after the incident, before being sold to European Aviation Air Charter
. The aircraft was taken out of service in February 2004 and the 30-year old aircraft was scrapped in 2009. In September 2009 the environmental group 10:10
bought the fuselage of City Of Edinburgh to be made into tags. The tags, bearing the campaign's logo, are worn as necklaces or bracelets and are used to raise awareness of 10:10's work, the organisation aims to primarily persuade individuals, organizations and businesses to reduce their carbon emissions by 10% in 2010.
The incident featured in an episode of the Mayday documentary TV series Air Crash Investigation
titled "Falling From the Sky". This episode was repeated a number of times when the Eyjafjallajökull
volcano caused a large-scale shutdown of European airspace.
Captain Eric Moody gave an interview to the July 2010 edition of Flaps Podcast
, where he recounted his experience.
, a B747-400 from Amsterdam
to Anchorage, Alaska
, flew into the plume of the erupting Mount Redoubt
, causing all four engines to fail due to compressor stall
. Once the flight cleared the ash cloud, the crew was able to restart each engine and then make a safe landing at Anchorage.
British Airways
British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
flight from London Heathrow
London Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe...
to Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, with stops in Bombay, Madras, Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
, Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, and Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
.
On 24 June 1982, the route was flown by the City of Edinburgh, a 747-236B
Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced...
. The aircraft flew into a cloud of volcanic ash
Volcanic ash
Volcanic ash consists of small tephra, which are bits of pulverized rock and glass created by volcanic eruptions, less than in diameter. There are three mechanisms of volcanic ash formation: gas release under decompression causing magmatic eruptions; thermal contraction from chilling on contact...
thrown up by the eruption of Mount Galunggung
Galunggung
Mount Galunggung is an active stratovolcano in West Java, Indonesia, around 80 km southeast of the West Java provincial capital, Bandung...
(approximately 180 kilometres (111.8 mi) south-east of Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
), resulting in the failure of all four engines. The reason for the failure was not immediately apparent to the crew or ground control. The aircraft was diverted to Jakarta in the hope that enough engines could be restarted to allow it to land there. The aircraft was able to glide far enough to exit the ash cloud, and all engines were restarted (although one failed again soon after), allowing the aircraft to land safely at the Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in Jakarta.
The crew members of the incident segment had boarded the aircraft in Kuala Lumpur, while many of the passengers had been aboard since the flight began in London.
Incident
Shortly after 13:40 UTCCoordinated Universal Time
Coordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose...
(20:40 Jakarta time) above the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
, south of Java
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
, the flight crew (consisting of Senior First Officer Roger Greaves and Senior Engineer Officer
Flight engineer
Flight engineers work in three types of aircraft: fixed-wing , rotary wing , and space flight .As airplanes became even larger requiring more engines and complex systems to operate, the workload on the two pilots became excessive during certain critical parts of the flight regime, notably takeoffs...
Barry Townley-Freeman while Captain Eric Moody was in the lavatory) first noted an effect on the windscreen similar to St Elmo's fire. The phenomenon persisted after Moody returned from the lavatory. Despite the weather radar
Weather radar
Weather radar, also called weather surveillance radar and Doppler weather radar, is a type of radar used to locate precipitation, calculate its motion, estimate its type . Modern weather radars are mostly pulse-Doppler radars, capable of detecting the motion of rain droplets in addition to the...
showing clear skies, the crew switched on engine anti-ice and the passenger seat belt signs as a precaution.
As the flight progressed, smoke began to gather throughout the passenger cabin of the aircraft and it was at first assumed to be cigarette smoke. However, it soon began to grow thicker and had an ominous odour of sulphur. Passengers who had a view out of the aircraft windows noted that the engines were unusually bright with the light shining forward through the fan blades and producing a stroboscopic effect.
At approximately 13:42 UTC (20:42 Jakarta time), engine number four began surging
Compressor stall
A compressor stall is a situation of abnormal airflow resulting from a stall of the aerofoils within the compressor of a jet engine. Stall is found in dynamic compressors, particularly axial compressors, as used in jet engines and turbochargers for reciprocating engines.Compressor stalls result in...
and soon flamed out
Flameout
A flameout refers to the failure of a jet engine caused by the extinction of the flame in the combustion chamber. It can be caused by a number of factors, including fuel exhaustion; compressor stall; insufficient oxygen supply; foreign object damage ; severe inclement weather; and mechanical...
. The flight crew immediately performed the engine shutdown drill, quickly cutting off fuel supply and arming the fire extinguishers. Less than a minute later, at 13:43 UTC (20:43 Jakarta time), engine two surged and flamed out. Within seconds, and almost simultaneously, engines one and three flamed out prompting the flight engineer to exclaim, "I don't believe it—all four engines have failed!"
Without engine thrust, a 747-200 has a glide ratio of approximately 15:1, meaning it can glide forward 15 kilometres for every kilometre it drops. The flight crew quickly determined that the aircraft was capable of gliding for 23 minutes and covering 91 nautical miles (168.5 km) from its flight level of 37000 feet (11,277.6 m). At 13:44 UTC (20:44 Jakarta time), Greaves declared an emergency to the local air traffic control
Air traffic control
Air traffic control is a service provided by ground-based controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and in the air. The primary purpose of ATC systems worldwide is to separate aircraft to prevent collisions, to organize and expedite the flow of traffic, and to provide information and other...
authority, stating that all four engines had failed. However, Jakarta Area Control misunderstood the message, interpreting the call as meaning that only engine number
Aircraft engine position number
Aircraft engine position number is a method to identify the location of engines on multi-engined aircraft. Aircraft engines are numbered from left to right from the view of the pilot looking forward.-Twin-engined aircraft:* #1 - port - on the left...
four had shut down. It was only after a nearby Garuda Indonesia
Garuda Indonesia
PT Garuda Indonesia Tbk , publicly known as Garuda Indonesia, is the flag carrier of Indonesia. It is named after the mystical giant bird Garuda of Hinduism and Buddhist mythology. It is headquartered at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, near Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia...
flight relayed the message to Air Traffic Control that it was understood. Despite the crew "squawking" the emergency transponder
Transponder (aviation)
A transponder is an electronic device that produces a response when it receives a radio-frequency interrogation...
setting of 7700, the aeroplane could not be located by Air Traffic Control on their radar screens.
Many passengers wrote notes to relatives. One such passenger was Charles Capewell who wrote "Ma. In trouble. Plane going down. Will do best for boys. We love you. Sorry. Pa XXX" scrawled on the cover of his ticket wallet.
Due to the high Indonesian mountains on the south coast of the island of Java
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
, an altitude of at least 11500 feet (3,505.2 m) was required to cross the coast safely. The crew decided that if the aircraft was unable to maintain altitude by the time they reached 12000 feet (3,657.6 m) they would turn back out to sea and attempt to ditch
Water landing
A water landing is, in the broadest sense, any landing on a body of water. All waterfowl, those seabirds capable of flight, and some human-built vehicles are capable of landing in water as a matter of course....
into the Indian Ocean. The crew began the engine restart drills, despite being well above the recommended maximum engine in-flight start envelope altitude of 28000 feet (8,534.4 m). The attempts failed.
Despite the lack of time, Moody made an announcement to the passengers that has been described as "a masterpiece of understatement
Understatement
Understatement is a form of speech which contains an expression of less strength than what would be expected. This is not to be confused with euphemism, where a polite phrase is used in place of a harsher or more offensive expression....
":
As pressure within the cabin fell, oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling—an automatic emergency measure to make up for the lack of air. On the flight deck however, Greaves's mask was broken; the delivery tube had detached from the rest of the mask. Moody swiftly decided to descend at 1,800 m per minute to an altitude where there was enough pressure in the outside atmosphere to breathe almost normally.
At 13500 feet (4,114.8 m), they were approaching the altitude at which they would have to turn over the ocean and attempt a risky ditching. Although there were guidelines for the procedure, no one had ever tried it in a Boeing 747, nor has anyone since. As they performed the engine-restart procedure, engine number four started, and at 13:56 UTC (20:56 Jakarta time), Moody used its power to reduce the rate of descent. Shortly thereafter, engine three restarted, allowing him to climb slowly. Shortly after that, engines one and two successfully restarted as well. The crew subsequently requested and expedited an increase in altitude to 11500 feet (3,505.2 m) in order to clear the high mountains of Indonesia.
As the aircraft approached its target altitude, the St Elmo's fire effect on the windscreen returned. Moody throttled back; however, engine number two surged again and had to be shut down. The crew immediately descended and held 12000 feet (3,657.6 m).
As Flight 9 approached Jakarta, the crew found it difficult to see anything through the windscreen, and had to make the approach almost entirely on instruments, despite reports of good visibility. The crew decided to fly the ILS, Instrument Landing System
Instrument Landing System
An instrument landing system is a ground-based instrument approach system that provides precision guidance to an aircraft approaching and landing on a runway, using a combination of radio signals and, in many cases, high-intensity lighting arrays to enable a safe landing during instrument...
, however, the glideslope was inoperative, so they flew the localizer as the first officer monitored the airport's DME (Distance Measuring Equipment
Distance Measuring Equipment
Distance measuring equipment is a transponder-based radio navigation technology that measures distance by timing the propagation delay of VHF or UHF radio signals....
). He then called out how high they should be at each DME step along the final approach to the runway, creating a virtual glide slope for them to follow. It was, in Moody's words, "a bit like negotiating one's way up a badger
Badger
Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the weasel family, Mustelidae. There are nine species of badger, in three subfamilies : Melinae , Mellivorinae , and Taxideinae...
's arse." Although the runway lights could be made out through a small strip of the windscreen, the landing lights on the aircraft seemed to be inoperable. After landing, the flight crew found it impossible to taxi, due to glare from apron floodlights which made the already sandblasted windscreen opaque.
Aftermath
It was found that City of Edinburghs problems had been caused by flying through a cloud of volcanic ashVolcanic ash
Volcanic ash consists of small tephra, which are bits of pulverized rock and glass created by volcanic eruptions, less than in diameter. There are three mechanisms of volcanic ash formation: gas release under decompression causing magmatic eruptions; thermal contraction from chilling on contact...
from the eruption of Mount Galunggung
Galunggung
Mount Galunggung is an active stratovolcano in West Java, Indonesia, around 80 km southeast of the West Java provincial capital, Bandung...
. Because the ash cloud was dry, it did not show up on the weather radar, which is designed to detect the moisture in clouds. The cloud sandblasted the windscreen and landing light covers and clogged the engines. As the ash entered the engines, it melted in the combustion chambers and adhered to the inside of the power-plant. As the engine cooled from not running and as the aircraft descended out of the ash cloud, the molten ash solidified and enough broke off to allow air to flow smoothly through the engine allowing a successful restart. The engines had enough electrical power to restart because one generator and the onboard batteries were still operating; electrical power is required for ignition of the engines.
Engines one, two and three were replaced at Jakarta, as well as the windscreen, and the fuel tanks were cleared of the ash that had entered them through the pressurisation ducts, contaminating the fuel and requiring that it be disposed of. After being ferried back to London, engine number four was replaced and major work was undertaken to return the aircraft to service. G-BDXH also entered the Guinness Book of Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
as the longest glide in a non-purpose-built aircraft, until the record was broken by the Air Transat Flight 236
Air Transat Flight 236
Air Transat Flight 236 was an Air Transat route between Toronto, Canada and Lisbon, Portugal flown by Captain Robert Piché and First Officer Dirk De Jager. On August 24, 2001, the flight ran out of fuel over the Atlantic Ocean with 306 people aboard...
incident.
Although the airspace around Mount Galunggung was closed temporarily after the incident, it was re-opened days later. It was only after a Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines Limited is the flag carrier airline of Singapore. Singapore Airlines operates a hub at Changi Airport and has a strong presence in the Southeast Asia, East Asia, South Asia, and "Kangaroo Route" markets...
747 was forced to shut down three of its engines while flying through the same area nineteen days later (13 July), that Indonesian authorities closed the airspace permanently and re-routed airways to avoid the area, and a watch was set up to monitor clouds of ash. Flight 9 was not the first encounter with this eruption; a Garuda
Garuda Indonesia
PT Garuda Indonesia Tbk , publicly known as Garuda Indonesia, is the flag carrier of Indonesia. It is named after the mystical giant bird Garuda of Hinduism and Buddhist mythology. It is headquartered at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, near Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia...
DC-9 had encountered ash on 5 April 1982.
The crew received various awards, including the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air and medals from the British Air Line Pilots Association
British Air Line Pilots Association
The British Air Line Pilots' Association represents well over 75% of all the fixed wing pilots and helicopter aircrew based in the UK - as well as many working overseas. The Association has a membership of over 10,000 professional flight crew, working in companies large and small...
. Following the incident, the crew and passengers formed the Galunggung Gliding Club as a means to keep in contact.
One of the passengers, Betty Tootell, wrote a book about the incident, All Four Engines Have Failed. She managed to trace some 200 of the 247 passengers on the flight, and went on to marry a fellow survivor, James Ferguson, who had been seated in the row in front of her. She notes: "The 28th December 2006 marks the start of our 14th year of honeymoon, and on the 24th June 2007 many passengers and crew will no doubt gather to celebrate the 25th anniversary of our mid-air adventure."
British Airways continues to operate the Flight 9 route from London Heathrow
London Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe...
to Bangkok
Suvarnabhumi Airport
Suvarnabhumi Airport , also known as Bangkok International Airport, is an international airport serving Bangkok, Thailand. It was officially opened for limited domestic flight service on 15 September 2006, and opened for most domestic and all international commercial flights on 28 September...
and Sydney
Sydney Airport
Sydney Airport may refer to:* Sydney Airport, also known as Kingsford Smith International Airport, in Sydney, Australia* Sydney/J.A. Douglas McCurdy Airport, in Nova Scotia, Canada...
. City of Edinburgh, later renamed City of Elgin, continued to fly for British Airways after the incident, before being sold to European Aviation Air Charter
European Aviation Air Charter
European Aviation Air Charter was an airline based in Bournemouth, United Kingdom. It operated ad hoc charter services, VIP flights, and inclusive-tour and sub-charter flights, as well as ACMI wet leases for other airlines. Its main base was Bournemouth Airport...
. The aircraft was taken out of service in February 2004 and the 30-year old aircraft was scrapped in 2009. In September 2009 the environmental group 10:10
10:10
Drono Acharya composed the film's songs and Ritam Sen, Sandip Chakrabarty, Padmanabha Dasgupta, Rana Basu Thakur and Rangeet wrote the lyrics.-External links:* IMDB Title* * *...
bought the fuselage of City Of Edinburgh to be made into tags. The tags, bearing the campaign's logo, are worn as necklaces or bracelets and are used to raise awareness of 10:10's work, the organisation aims to primarily persuade individuals, organizations and businesses to reduce their carbon emissions by 10% in 2010.
The incident featured in an episode of the Mayday documentary TV series Air Crash Investigation
Mayday (TV series)
Mayday, also known as Air Crash Investigation in the United Kingdom, Australia and Asia and Air Emergency and Air Disasters in the United States, is a Canadian documentary television programme produced by Cineflix investigating air crashes, near-crashes and other disasters...
titled "Falling From the Sky". This episode was repeated a number of times when the Eyjafjallajökull
2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull
The 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull were volcanic events at Eyjafjöll in Iceland which, although relatively small for volcanic eruptions, caused enormous disruption to air travel across western and northern Europe over an initial period of six days in April 2010. Additional localised disruption...
volcano caused a large-scale shutdown of European airspace.
Captain Eric Moody gave an interview to the July 2010 edition of Flaps Podcast
Flaps Podcast
Flaps Podcast is a British aviation podcast. Produced by BBC radio producer Mark Newman and presenter Elliott Webb, it discusses topics of interest to private and general aviation pilots....
, where he recounted his experience.
Similar incident
A nearly identical incident occurred on 15 December 1989 when KLM Flight 867KLM Flight 867
On 15 December 1989, KLM Flight 867 en route to Narita International Airport, Tokyo from Amsterdam was descending into Anchorage International Airport, Alaska when all four engines failed...
, a B747-400 from Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
to Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
, flew into the plume of the erupting Mount Redoubt
Mount Redoubt (Alaska)
Mount Redoubt, or Redoubt Volcano, is an active stratovolcano in the largely volcanic Aleutian Range of the U.S. state of Alaska. Located in the Chigmit Mountains , the mountain is just west of Cook Inlet, in the Kenai Peninsula Borough about 180 km southwest of Anchorage...
, causing all four engines to fail due to compressor stall
Compressor stall
A compressor stall is a situation of abnormal airflow resulting from a stall of the aerofoils within the compressor of a jet engine. Stall is found in dynamic compressors, particularly axial compressors, as used in jet engines and turbochargers for reciprocating engines.Compressor stalls result in...
. Once the flight cleared the ash cloud, the crew was able to restart each engine and then make a safe landing at Anchorage.
See also
- Pacific Ring of FirePacific Ring of FireThe Pacific Ring of Fire is an area where large numbers of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur in the basin of the Pacific Ocean. In a horseshoe shape, it is associated with a nearly continuous series of oceanic trenches, volcanic arcs, and volcanic belts and/or plate movements...
- Air travel disruption after the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruptionAir travel disruption after the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruptionIn response to concerns that volcanic ash ejected during the 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland would damage aircraft engines, the controlled airspace of many European countries was closed to instrument flight rules traffic, resulting in the largest air-traffic shut-down since World War II...
- Volcanic ash & air safety
- List of airline flights that required gliding
External links
- FlithtPodcast.com: Audio Interview with Captain Eric Moody
- July 2010 edition of Flaps PodcastFlaps PodcastFlaps Podcast is a British aviation podcast. Produced by BBC radio producer Mark Newman and presenter Elliott Webb, it discusses topics of interest to private and general aviation pilots....