BA038 (B777) Thread

[PETTIFOGGER]

phil gollin
I'm amazed.
I find the report extremely annoying.

I'm not and I don't. I believe the AAIB's report to be well researched, well written and comprehensive in scope. I believe that they have reached the right conclusions and have provided sufficient analysis to justify those conclusions. For those of us with more than a passing interest in fluid dynamics, more detail would have been gratefully read. But one has to draw the line somewhere, and I think that they have got the balance of the report just right. It is a QED report in my view.

Concerning the flap retraction, some would do well to read Capt P Burkhill's thorough explanation of his feel for the 777. Non believers can do the numbers or get someone to do them for you. Or just believe the AAIB. A difference of 51 metres is significant, and life saving in this situation. He obviously had no time to do the numbers; he knew from experience and instinct. A good man.

Anyone baying for the CVR, forget it. The crew probably swore, said good-bye to their loved ones, before they knew they were going to make it. What do you expect?

About the fuel restriction, I can understand that some might be surprised by this and may have a preference for other theories; others may accept it, but doubt the AAIB’s reasoning. This too is entirely understandable and normal. Water occurs naturally in fuel (from the atmosphere), on the ground and at 30,000ft. There is nothing new about that. But fluids can be tricky, especially water, and get trickier with changes in temperature and when ‘piped’. Anyone with an intimate knowledge of Fluid Dynamics knows that. That is why the AAIB were able to focus on this, and why myself and others suspected the fuel delivery architecture some time ago. AAIB, Boeing and Rolls Royce all accepted that a modification of the FOHE was needed, and I understand the all Trent 777 have now been fitted with modified FOHEs. So that's it.