Boeing Issues 777 Safety Alert After Plane Safety Incidents
The Boeing Company has issued a warning alert to all its operators and airlines, cautioning of a potential problem with ice build up in an engine that has been linked to a British Airways plane crash at Heathrow airport last year.
The company sent out the alert last week, informing operators of its 777 aircraft of the possibility that ice could accumulate in the engine, blocking fuel flow. These aircraft have been equipped with Rolls Royce-manufactured Trent engines. The first incident that brought this particular problem to attention was the crash of a British Airways flight at Heathrow in June, last year. The crash did not result in any fatalities, although there were several injuries.
The investigating team concluded that the jet, which was flying back from China, accumulated ice in the engine and the ice build up blocked fuel flow. Soon after that accident, a Delta Airlines jetliner flying from Shanghai to Atlanta at high altitudes, suddenly lost its engine thrust. The pilot was able to maneuver the plane and descend several feet before the engine recovered. That plane also included a Trent engine manufactured by Roll Royce.
According to aviation magazine Flight International, Boeing engineers traced the problem to a heat exchanger, which is insufficient to prevent icing inside the engine and can ultimately block or stop fuel flow to the engine. The Boeing alert includes precautions that pilots and crew should take to deal with the problem. Soon after the British airways crash, when investigators linked the cause to a fuel line icing problem, Boeing issued certain recommendations to operators; these were adopted by the Federal Aviation Administration. This bulletin includes a revised set of recommendations following the Delta loss of thrust incident; it recommends that pilots reduce altitude after remaining at 14 degrees Fahrenheit or below for 2 hours. According to the alert, the company does not believe the same kind of problem exists on 777s or aircraft powered by other engines.
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