Slashdot Mirror
Failed Avionics a Possible Cause of BA038 Crash
Muhammar writes "As you may have heard by now, both engines of the Boeing 777 aircraft flight BA038 suddenly cut off without warning at very low altitude and low speed during autopilot-assisted landing at Heathrow. A prompt reaction of the pilots prevented the stall and saved all lives aboard. The crash landing short of the runway tore off the landing gear on impact, and the fuselage plowed a long, deep gouge in the grass. With the investigation ongoing, the available information points to an electronic control problem as the most likely cause of the sudden engine power loss."
If a cell phone can do this much damage, why the hell am I allowed to bring one (several even) on a plane?! These days, a swiss army knife will maybe get you as far as row 6 before people dogpile you, and they are confiscated. But a plane has easily 50 cell phones on it at any given time. If the only thing between me and engine failure are passengers dutifully following crew member instructions, then we are all screwed. So I am going to respectfully suggest that you are mistaken, because the alternative seems ludicrous.
Trans-Atlantic flights are often 90 minutes of flying time from a suitable runway. Trans-Pacific flights can be 3 hours or more of flying time from a suitable runway. Needless to say, airlines cannot glide with no power for hours. Air Canada Flight 143 (see http://www.wadenelson.com/gimli.html) was estimated to have a glide ratio of 11:1 with both engines windmilling. So from 40,000 ft, the maximum glide distance would have been about 100km. Sink rate was estimated at 2000 ft/sec meaning with all engines out, you will be visiting some destination at sea level within about 20 minutes.