747 lowish over Wimbledon

[Dunbar]

At about 0930 this morning, heard loud engine sounds, just caught a glimpse of a 747 northbound, looked less then 2000'. Quite odd, we're about 10nm from LHR..just a repositioning go around or a less than perfect CDA?
Just curious

[SpringHeeledJack]

I can confirm the same, saw it too. The loud sound of the engines approaching made me wonder if there was about to be a ......., but the 747 flew over, banked, lowered it's undercarriage and seemed to be joining 27L without further incident. I thought that it was a ferry from LGW to LHR to be honest, but nevertheless it gave me a fright, we're not used to them that low in these gentle parts.


SHJ

[Pompey]

Saw him outbound out of Heathrow at about 1500 feet not climbing, obviously returned to Heathrow. According to flightradar24 it was BAW117 to New York

[Airclues]

Climbed to 1500ft then descended to 1300ft (1200ft agl) then back up to 1800ft while turning downwind.

Casper - live aircraft tracking (http://casper.frontier.nl/egkk) Reset date to 2/10 and time to 09.20. BA117 gets airborne from 27R at 09.20:38. Hold arrow over aircraft to see altitude.

[atakacs]

any identifiable livery ?

[Dunbar]

I think the clue is in BAW...

It's good to know you all keep a close eye on what happens at LHR...I'll be careful where I drop my gear in future;)

[AN2 Driver]

I'll be careful where I drop my gear in future

As long as it stays attached to the airplane :E

[RegDep]

Incident: British Airways B744 at London on Oct 2nd 2010, door open indication (http://www.avherald.com/h?article=431aa0db&opt=0)

[AIMINGHIGH123]

Wouldn`t it be overweight on landing if planning to do such a long flight?

[strikemaster82]

It's one of BA's shorter flights for the 747! Possibly a bit 'overweight' if they didn't dump fuel, but procedures exist to land 'overweight' anyway.

Stopping is not an issue, it's just that engineering checks have to be carried out if an overweight landing is made.

[Avitor]

Should have sent for Larry Grayson.

[anengineer]

BBC News - BA flight to New York in London emergency landing (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-11458850)

Just waiting for the Daily Mail's version - undoubtedly will be in a similar vein to their recent outrageous shock-horror-end-of-the-world 'reporting' on the Delta 4951 gear-up landing.

"Disaster averted over London !!! - Passengers screamed in terror as the hero pilot wrestled with the controls and tried to regain control of the small flashing light. Hundreds of lives saved... house prices rise again etc..." :yuk:

[G-MILF]

What a shame it is a Saturday as that means there were no (busy) schools for the pilot to avoid.

[Akro]

But maybe a field of cricket players or a hospital?

[Capetonian]

Yes, but it did skim over the top of shopping centres packed with thousands of Saturday morning shoppers who were screaming in horror as the stricken jet plunged ever closer to the ground. They could clearly see the panic stricken faces of the thousands of passengers who were helplessly trapped in their seats as the pilot wrested with the joystick to bring the massive Airbus Jumbo Jet under control.

[hollingworthp]

Close the airports near cities - simples ;-)

[Lord Spandex Masher]

Emergency landing?

[airmail 1]

saw the b747 when i was ploding the streets in southfields what a great site banking to the left wished i had a camera now.....

[GusHoneybun]

I heard (from an aviation professional who lives on the approach) that one of the doors was actually open

Yup, it was one of the hosties nipping out for a quick ciggie.

[SpringHeeledJack]

It's good to know you all keep a close eye on what happens at LHR...I'll be careful where I drop my gear in future

:) In this unusual instance they lowered the undercarriage exactly as they did a steep left bank, that is during. I might have led a sheltered life, but i haven't witnessed that before outside of airshows. I'm glad that they landed safely, especially as overweight, but am curious as to why they were vectored across so many people at such a low altitude and not diverted to LGW (less urban) ? They flew almost directly over one's abode and it was loud.



SHJ

[connoisseur]

I heard (from an aviation professional who lives on the approach) that one of the doors was actually open

BBC reporting BA saying cause was 'faulty light'.

[wiggy]

"faulty light"?...for a door warning? on a 744? :mad:

[Capetonian]

Residents watch as BA flight to New York forced into London emergency landing (From Your Local Guardian) (http://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/news/local/streathamnews/8428356.Jumbo_jet_over_south_London_forced_in_to_emergency_l anding/)

A jumbo jet forced into an emergency landing was spied flying "alarmingly low" over the skies of south London this morning.

Residents have described how they were woken by the "deafening noise" of the British Airways jet holding 296 passengers heading back in to Heathrow just after 9.30am.

She said: "I heard a plane coming but suddenly it was much louder than usual. I rushed out and saw it and it was alarmingly low in the sky.

"You could see it was a British Airways flight. That's how close it was."

Rowena To, from Wimbledon Park, said: "We heard this deafening noise. We ran to the window . Everyone was watching from the other houses and other people had gone into the street.

"The level that it was flying, everyone was really worried about what might be happening."

[rogerk]

Jumbo jet makes emergency landing minutes after Heathrow take off - Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/8038659/Jumbo-jet-makes-emergency-landing-minutes-after-Heathrow-take-off.html)

[G-BPED]

Already running here http://www.pprune.org/spectators-balcony-spotters-corner/429359-747-lowish-over-wimbledon.html

Regards,

G-BPED

[rogerk]

Thanks G-BPED - News takes time to reach us here in the backwoods of Europe :ok::ok:

[rogerk]

Not a "Hostie having a quick ciggie" but an Ex Ryanair passenger who hadn't got change for the toilet popping out for a pee :D:D

... and the Daily Mail are not reporting it as they have a better "shock horror" story - "Polish workers are drafted in to build Navy's new carriers: Migrants paid barely half the British rate" :ugh::ugh:

[biddedout]

Well, I hope they had a bl**dy good reason for opening the door.

The ANO states that "A person shall not be in or on any part of an aircraft in flight which is not a part designed for the accomodation of persons and in particular a person shall not be on the wings......"

Needing a fag or popping out for a pee is no excuse.

[Diamond Bob]

A spokesman for Heathrow operator BAA said the problem had been traced to a faulty light.

Jumbo jet makes emergency landing minutes after Heathrow take off - Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/8038659/Jumbo-jet-makes-emergency-landing-minutes-after-Heathrow-take-off.html)

[bingofuel]

From the Telegraph

as flight BA117 turned in the air

Clearly he should have stopped and done a three point turn on the ground!!!

[Daysleeper]

Residents have described how they were woken by the "deafening noise" of the British Airways jet holding 296 passengers heading back in to Heathrow just after 9.30am.

I know it's saturday but get up earlier you lazy gits!

[HKPAX]

and according to the BBC there was smoke under the wing! Vapourous reporting...

[Dunbar]

Hehe...I should add that as an 'aviation professional' it wasn't deafening nor terrifyingly low, just a bit unusual to see it over 'one's abode'.

As for faulty lights...yep, sometimes the sensors show the door open and it isn't but you can't climb and pressurise to check it...safety first and all that.

Gear in the turn? If they were establishing on the LOC at 1500' they probably wanted to drop the gear and get stable before the glide...slightly unusual but not an airshow manoeuvre by any means...steep angle of bank? No, probably not but 30 degrees will look steep if the a/c is at 1500'.

Yawn, all a bit of a non story really. I was just a bit curious is all

[TiiberiusKirk]

Curious that there was a (unconfirmed) report of a ground observer actually "seeing an open door" - seemingly well before any mention of a door warning indicator as the cause of the return?

Perhaps the 'observer' may have been listening to R/T rather than 'seeing'.

OTH, an acutally open door is a damn sight less good publicity than a 'prudent decision to return and investigate a (faulty) warning'.

[Firestorm]

Don't quite a lot of aeroplanes get 'lowish' over West London? In the jargon it's known at 'final approach', and comes just before 'landing'.

[flynerd]

From Telegraph reporting.. A spokesman for Heathrow operator BAA said the problem had been traced to a faulty light. When will writers learn to write sensible stuff? The light was NOT faulty, it worked. Perhaps the SENSOR was faulty.

[dixi188]

Which door?

Perhaps it was a gear door!

Although, even with a cabin door open, I don't see why this would be an emergency.

Just a fault requiring a return.

[Feux Verts]

.... this wasn't Capt. Burkill's first day back was it? ;)

[WHBM]

At the gate:

"Good morning sir, Breathless Bertie here from the Daily Mail here. Did you see anything ?".

"Um ..... no. Just a nuisance to be back here with the aircraft gone tech".

"Ah, that's, what, 'tek' ...... ? Oh never mind. How would you describe the sensation at the time. Would you use either 'plunged' or 'plummeted' ?"

"Neither actually."

"Oh, we have to use one or the other in aircraft stories, it says so in the Style Book. Did you see the pilot Grimly Wrestling with the Controls ?"

"No, Bit difficult to see the guys up front in a 747 anyway".

"Ah. Well, did it FEEL like they were Grimly Wrestling ...."

"No, no such nonsense."

"What about narrowly missing a school then. Did you see any schools out of the window ?"

"Nope".

"Convent maybe ?"

"NO".

"Um .... Charlotte Churchs's house perhaps...... ?"

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

Thank God it didn't happen during Wimbledon week - big Jumbo circling over there would have messed up a few shots..

[HermanTheGerman]

German "Bild" Zeitung (equivalent "Sun") saying:

London- Wegen eines wackelnden Griffs an einer Kabinentür ist ein Passagierflugzeug kurz nach dem Start am Samstag auf dem Flughafen Heathrow notgelandet. Die Boeing 747 mit 296 Reisenden an Bord war auf dem Weg nach New York und kehrte vorsichtshalber nach London zurück, wie die betroffene Fluggesellschaft British Airways mitteilte. Die Kabinentür sei zu keinem Zeitpunkt geöffnet gewesen, betonte BA. Die Maschine konnte sicher landen, die Passagiere wurden in ein anderes Flugzeug gesetzt.

The translation is: there was a door handle loose. :)

[wizo]

So why has this been moved to spectators balcony ?

[gas path]

Perhaps because it's a bit of a non-event?
And yes! I have read the ASR.

[Drunken]

BA 747 outbound for NY in emergency landing at Heathrow - see:

BBC News - BA flight to New York in emergency landing at Heathrow (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-11458850)

[beamender99]

Don't quite a lot of aeroplanes get 'lowish' over West London? In the jargon it's known at 'final approach', and comes just before 'landing'.It is not a final approach flying over Esher away from Heathrow.
It was so unusually low that SWMBO ( non airline person) phoned me to report that there was something amiss with an aircraft that had just passed over home.

[Dunbar]

Firestorm

Of course they fly over W London on approach but this was over Wimbledon (WSW) at 1500'. That almost never happens, since even a tight approach to 7.5 miles base turn will have the a/c around 1000' higher.

Suffice to say I'm an LHR based pilot and it was odd enough for me to start the thread...Having said that, hardly an emergency.

[coldair]

I can't believe this :ugh:
Todays News of the World 'newspaper' .

Horror on board flight BA117

Jet's emergency landing after door lock fails

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00170/ba_516_170235a.jpg</IMG> SO LOW: Stricken jet and the door over London yesterday






By Dominic Herbert & Stephen Moyes, 03/10/2010
THIS packed Heathrow jumbo jet was at the centre of a terrifying mid-air scare yesterday after a door failed to shut properly on take-off.


Passengers and cabin crew battled to hang on to the handle of the the rear door at 1,500 feet above London.

The pilot aborted the flight and swung the plane round for an emergency landing, flying low over hundreds of homes.

Fears of a full-scale disaster increased when flames were seen belching from the New York-bound aircraft's engines as it made its approach.

It had a full load of fuel on board - the pilot had no chance to jettison it over the sea for safety.

A source on board the low-flying aircraft - caught on camera above by a horrified eye-witness - said: "It was absolutely terrifying. The scene was like something out of a movie.


http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00170/ba2_280_170242a.jpg BACK FROM DANGER: The jumbo after landing at Heathrow yesterday



"The crew and some passengers leapt out of their seats to secure the door."

The drama began just a few minutes after take-off at 9.20am when flight BA117 bound for JFK with 296 passengers on board was at 1,500 feet above south west London.

A light in the cockpit suddenly alerted the pilot there was a problem with Door 5 at the rear left hand side of the plane. He warned cabin crew who discovered that the large handle that secures it was loose and moving around.

Alarmed passengers dashed to help the crew try to secure the door handle on to a latch.

Meanwhile the pilot made the decision to abandon the flight and head back as quicky as possible to Heathrow at low altitude because of the threat to cabin pressure caused by the unsealed door.

Passenger Hannah Evershed said: "I fly a lot for work and I knew we were flying too low. I was nervous. I was with my fiance and he saw smoke under the wing."


http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/img/icons/pullquote_open.gif It must have been a terrifying ordeal for the passengers http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/img/icons/pullquote_close.gif




On the ground below photographer Peter Luckhurst spotted the jumbo in distress as he watched his son play football near Surbiton, Surrey. "I thought it was way too low," he said. "It was no more than 800 feet and at times it could have been as low as 500. I could tell it was in trouble."

The plane was only airborne for 11 minutes so the pilot had no time to unload his fuel tank before landing. Emergency services scrambled to the runway as the jet touched down with flames shooting out of two of the engines.

But they extinguished themselves as it slowed down. Last night an investigation was launched into why the door handle was loose.

A source said: "Somebody is going to be in big trouble for this. But the pilot did an excellent job safely landing the plane with a full load.

"It must have been a terrifying ordeal for the passengers. They weren't to know the door wouldn't fly open during the flight."

A BA spokeswoman said last night the could not have opened because of the air pressure.

She said: "The handle on the door was not secured on the latch and it was reported moving. Some passengers did help members of the cabin crew to help secure the handle. At no stage was the door open.

"The pilot made the decision to fly back to Heathrow as a precaution. We have arranged for replacement flights for passengers to take them to their destination.

"The flames that were seen were caused by a combination of the heavy landing load and the maximum reverse thrust. An investigation has been launched and the plane will undergo a full assessment."

A spokesman for Heathrow said: "The emergency services attended the scene and were stood down once the passengers were in the terminal."

Risk of being sucked from jet

AN aviation expert last night warned that passengers could have been "sucked out" if the door had flown open at cruising height.

But Julian Bray added: "The pilot did the right thing in following safety procedure. The worst case scenario is a depressurisation and the door opening up. This is rare but it can happen and the pilot can not take any chances.

"But landing a plane with a full fuel load always carries the risk of fire, that is why pilots often offload fuel over the sea."

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

Complete and utter garbage, as to be expected.....

[juniour jetset]

Let's hear some rumours people??

BA flight to New York in emergency landing at Heathrow

BBC News - BA flight to New York in emergency landing at Heathrow (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-11458850)
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/49340000/jpg/_49340553_001557373-1.jpg The aircraft landed safely at Heathrow
A British Airways jumbo jet with 296 people on board had to make an emergency landing shortly after taking off from Heathrow airport.
The Boeing 747, destined for New York, was over London at 0920 BST when it was noticed a handle on a cabin door was moving.
Wimbledon residents reported a low-flying aircraft as the jet turned and headed back to Heathrow.
The flight, BA117, landed safely at the west London airport.
In total the plane was airborne for 11 minutes.
Passengers were being put on another flight thought to be departing at 1500 BST.
Hannah Evershed was on board. She said: "It wasn't fun. I fly a lot for work and I knew we were flying too low.
"The pilot alerted the cabin crew over the loudspeaker to answer his calls. It all happened quite quickly."

[hetfield]

I fly a lot for work and I knew we were flying too low.

At least, she knew....:ugh:

[SKS777FLYER]

Ms Evershed added: "Other passengers were quite calm but I was nervous.

"I'm travelling with my fiance and he saw smoke under the wing.




Traveling with her fiance made her nervous

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

And just who was outside smoking under the wing, eh? eh?

I think it's in the spotters forum... someone has quoted the News of the Screws version. It'll have y'all falling about hysterical..
http://www.pprune.org/spectators-balcony-spotters-corner/429359-747-lowish-over-wimbledon-2.html

[tonker]

A precautionary landing wouldn't sound as good would it:ugh:

[ZeBedie]

I thought it was interesting that this apparently routine incident made the national news. Also thought it odd that they put a heavy 747 back on the ground in as little as 11 mins.

[rogerk]

On a more serious note is there a not case for BA to report this to the Press Complaints Committee ??
Whether you love BA or hate them this utter crap cannot be good for BA or the industry as a whole.
:ok:

[Airbus Girl]

:D:D:D Well done News of the World!!! That story has made my Sunday morning!!! Hilarious!!!! I think it must be a slow news day, and one of the new interns has been told "make a story from this complete non-event" and they have really taken them at their word!!!
I love the fact that the passenger "knew we were too low" (except actually, they weren't) and the "aviation expert" either isn't a commercial pilot or has no media training!!
It was a loose door handle. Therefore they chose to return. No open door, no passengers about to get sucked out, no engines on fire in the air, no loss of control, it was at no point 'doomed' and it was a normal landing.
I had a "door open" indication the other week, on the take-off run. Do you think I should sell my story to the News of the World? :E

[Capetonian]

I had to go to the 'News' of the World website to see if coldair had made this up. He hasn't, it's all there. What a complete and utter load of sensationalist drivel. Much as I dislike BA, I am a great believer in fairness and objectivity and I hope they will take this to the Press Complaints Committee and win substantial damages.

[rogerk]

... you are missing the chance of a life time.
I assume from your profile you are "Lady Airbus Driver" ??
NoW headline - "Stunning Blonde 32 year old Pilot fights the controls of doomed jet low over the leafy suburbs of London"
Her husband Dave also a pilot said "This is what she is trained to do and I love her to bits" as he wiped a tear from his eye standing in the garden of their 400K luxury home in Berkshire holding 4 year old son Jason.
Jason said "My Mum is very special and I want to be a pilot one day" .................... :ok::ok:
... oh and Jordan was a terrified passenger :D:D

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

rogerk..... brilliant, but her chest measurement... where's her chest measurement?

[atakacs]

Also thought it odd that they put a heavy 747 back on the ground in as little as 11 mins

Especially at such a busy airport... So no fuel dump ? Overweight landing ? For a suspected problem with a door handle ? Hmm...

[Capetonian]

"British Airways flight turns back to Heathrow after Jordan's £10,000 breast implants threaten to burst as cabin pressure is reduced.

Interviewed later, the supermodel said : "Well it was ee-ver me tits or the 'plane, like, so I went, like, ballistic, like, y'know, and the bloke wot drives it came out of his cockbit where 'e sits in the front, or watever it's called, and he goes, like, you know, your tits is a national treasure. So 'e lands the 'plane. Innit"

[Montgolfier]

I thought it was interesting that this apparently routine incident made the national news

Yeah, it's got a lot more mainstream coverage than the horrific UPS accident in Dubai. Which seems like a bizarre news-worthiness scale to be working on.

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

<<Quote:
Also thought it odd that they put a heavy 747 back on the ground in as little as 11 mins

Especially at such a busy airport... So no fuel dump ? Overweight landing ? For a suspected problem with a door handle ? Hmm...>>

11 minutes is not an unduly short period for the aircraft to return. The problem occurred soon after take-off and the aircraft was reported to have crossed Wimbledon prior to landing. That's an approximate track distance of 30 nautical miles. The aircraft would have been flying at a speed of 200 kts (+/-) so it would cover that distance in about 9 minutes. I do not know what happened on the day; I'm just saying that it would have been possible.

If a pilot of a heavy jet tells ATC soon after take-off that he has a problem and wants to return, even if he does not declare an emergency it's likely that ATC will afford him priority. It's no big deal, just leave a slot on final approach and space the following traffic accordingly.

[Booglebox]

New York isn't too long a trip for a 747 (one of BA's shortest routes on it I think!), might not be very overweight / overweight at all?

[frangatang]

Not a lot overweight as its take off wt was in region of 310 tonnes and max landing wt
285 tonnes. If the door handle was moving around when it shouldnt then quite agree land the thing

[BOAC]

Why didn't they just let Tony Hancock in?

There's one for the older UK generation...................

[baggersup]

If anybody can actually SEE the area clearly that is circled in red on the photo of the alleged aircraft, my hat's off to them. Even my trusty Sherlock Holmes spy glass cannot determine what that bit is hanging off the side. Hm.

We'll probably never hear a report on what happened.

But I was thinking back on my (ancient) days in the cabin before going on to other professions.

Once we went to automatic on the doors, if they did not set properly for some reason, a light would come on then. Before take-off and the flight engineer (yes, it was so long go some aircraft had a 3rd crew member) would alert us. I was on the old DC10 or the 747s when the latter were in their first decade of service. But there were alerts for this problem before take-off.

So...on this type of aircraft, if the door was not properly set to automatic (or whatever they call it today), wouldn't they know before take-off? Or could it be set to automatic, look good, and then once take-off occurs, "unset" itself and open? Guess so, if somebody set it and it looked good before take off.

It all sounds really odd. So any info from those who know would be interesting.

[frangatang]

It was Kenneth Williams that wanted to get in, not Monsieur Hancock.

[Landroger]

It was Kenneth Williams that wanted to get in, not Monsieur Hancock.

It was also Tony Hancock, although for a moment the name of the film escapes me. Hancock - dressed as a chicken - arrives breathless at a checkin in Paris.

"I need to fly to London!" Gasps Hancock.

"It is a long way M'seur!" Is the reply. :)





You had to be there. :O

Roger.

[Groundloop]

It was also Tony Hancock, although for a moment the name of the film escapes me. Hancock - dressed as a chicken - arrives breathless at a checkin in Paris.

The Kenneth Williams/Tony Hancock comments are about the Hancock's Half Hour episode called "The Test Pilot".

Hancock was the pilot and Kenneth Williams was a ground engineer who had been on the tailplane when Hancock took off. In flight he started knocking on the canopy asking to be let in.

The chicken bit is something else entirely.