Go Back  PPRuNe Forums > Flight Deck Forums > Rumours & News
Reload this Page >

El Al flight makes emergency landing at Heathrow after mid-air engine fire


Notices
Rumours & News Reporting Points that may affect our jobs or lives as professional pilots. Also, items that may be of interest to professional pilots.

El Al flight makes emergency landing at Heathrow after mid-air engine fire

Old 5th July 2012 | 10:53
  #1 (permalink)  
Thread Starter
 
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
From: london
El Al flight makes emergency landing at Heathrow after mid-air engine fire

El Al flight makes emergency landing in U.K. after mid-air engine fire Israel News | Haaretz Daily Newspaper



An El-Al flight heading from London to Tel Aviv was forced to perform an emergency landing in Heathrow airport on Thursday, after one of its engines caught fire minutes following takeoff.

The incident occurred about 20 minutes after flight 318 took off from the U.K. airport with 411 people aboard, around 1 A.M. Israeli time, when a loud thump was heard on the right side of the Boeing 747-400 airliner.

A strong smell was then reported in the cabin, with the jetliner losing thrust. The pilots, headed by captain Ilan Margalit then redirected the plane toward Heathrow, where emergency crews were deployed ahead of the unscheduled landing.

The crew began to undertake emergency procedures, during which a trail of fire was seen coming out of the engine, causing much alarm among the passengers.

Eventually, however, the pilots were able to safely land the plane with only three engines.

El Al said in response that it hoped that all of the passengers will be able to arrive in Israel in less than 24 hours.

Speaking to Haaretz, Margalit said that the incident was handled calmly, and that crew wasn't forced into taking extreme emergency measures. "I didn't have to dive or do a loop," he said, adding that he managed the episode "alertly, quietly, and calmly."

The emergency landing follows an incident in May, during which an El Al airliner bound for London was forced to land in Ben-Gurion International Airport shortly after taking off, after discovering a technical fault in its flaps.

The malfunction was discovered 40 minutes into its flight, at which point the plane was instructed to burn fuel and return to Tel Aviv. It then circled the port for another 40 minutes, before safely landing. The flight's were passengers transferred to another plane.
darren6012 is offline  
Reply
Old 5th July 2012 | 11:40
  #2 (permalink)  
 
Joined: Mar 2002
Aviation Qualifications: ATPL
Posts: 9,189
Likes: 961
From: Seat 1A
the incident was handled calmly, and that crew wasn't forced into taking extreme emergency measures. "I didn't have to dive or do a loop," he said
When things get extreme in my next SIM, I'll try that!
Capn Bloggs is online now  
Reply
Old 5th July 2012 | 11:59
  #3 (permalink)  
 
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 3,780
Likes: 0
From: Surrounded by aluminum, and the great outdoors
Yes, if one does a perfectly symmetrical loop, the burning engine will ingest it's own flame trail, thus canceling out the fire, like starting a back-fire during a forest fire....
ironbutt57 is offline  
Reply
Old 5th July 2012 | 12:11
  #4 (permalink)  
15 Anniversary
 
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 72
Likes: 41
From: AUS
The engines internal calendar was obviously faulty. It thought it was Saturday and that god wouldn't want it to be working.
AmarokGTI is offline  
Reply
Old 5th July 2012 | 12:47
  #5 (permalink)  
 
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 231
Likes: 0
From: Sandhurst, Berkshire
They clearly could not find a pic of an El Al 747
scudpilot is offline  
Reply
Old 5th July 2012 | 13:46
  #6 (permalink)  
15 Anniversary
 
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,133
Likes: 0
From: Bracknell, Berks, UK
Originally Posted by scudpilot
They clearly could not find a pic of an El Al 747
It's massively difficult...

https://www.google.com/search?q=el+a...=1920&bih=1075

Mike-Bracknell is offline  
Reply
Old 5th July 2012 | 13:58
  #7 (permalink)  
 
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 728
Likes: 0
From: Cape Town / UK / Europe
The pictures on Google are probably copyright and for a newspaper to use them would be asking for trouble. They might not have had time to obtain the necessary permission from the copyright owners.

Or they might just be bungling idiots who didn't bother to check their picture against the facts!
Tableview is offline  
Reply
Old 5th July 2012 | 14:09
  #8 (permalink)  
 
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 1,974
Likes: 0
From: Choroni, sometimes
The engines internal calendar was obviously faulty. It thought it was Saturday and that god wouldn't want it to be working.
Or serviced with nonkosher oil?
hetfield is offline  
Reply
Old 5th July 2012 | 14:43
  #9 (permalink)  
15 Anniversary
 
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,133
Likes: 0
From: Bracknell, Berks, UK
...yes and so "el al 747-400 royalty free" gives you this within a couple more seconds:

Boeing 747-400 AL EL Airlines | Stock Photo | iStock

I'd go with your latter suggestion
Mike-Bracknell is offline  
Reply
Old 5th July 2012 | 15:49
  #10 (permalink)  
15 Anniversary
 
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 183
Likes: 9
From: Solihull
To be fair, it doesnt say that the picture is of a 747.....!
LessThanSte is offline  
Reply
Old 5th July 2012 | 21:07
  #11 (permalink)  
 
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 182
Likes: 0
From: Iriomote
Was this early morning today? Sure I heard and saw an SIA 380 do a go around at around 0900?!
TwoTone-7 is offline  
Reply
Old 6th July 2012 | 04:37
  #12 (permalink)  
 
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 1,880
Likes: 0
From: Dublin, Ireland
4X-ELD

The aircraft was 4X-ELD, the newest of the airline's four -400s:

JetPhotos.Net Photo » 4X-ELD (CN: 29328) El Al Israel Airlines Boeing 747-458 by John Fitzpatrick

Here's a report from The Aviation Herald:

Incident: El Al B744 near London on Jul 4th 2012, engine shut down in flight
akerosid is offline  
Reply
Old 6th July 2012 | 07:38
  #13 (permalink)  
 
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 684
Likes: 0
From: Hungary
This is the route: FlightAware > Israel Airlines (LY) #318 > 04-Jul-2012 > EGLL-LLBG Flight Tracker

Here is the flight data information: FlightAware > Flight Track Log > ELY318 > 04-Jul-2012 > EGLL-LLBG You can see how it made it to FL270 before going down again.

It's only for interest, nothing spectacular


Last edited by Tonic Please; 6th July 2012 at 08:21.
Tonic Please is offline  
Reply
Old 6th July 2012 | 08:07
  #14 (permalink)  
Community Builder
 
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 17,687
Likes: 2,030
From: Reading, UK
and to add this quote from the opening post: "It then circled the port for another 40 minutes, before safely landing." - No, it did not
How do you know ?

That quote was nothing to do with this week's incident, it was a reference to an incident in May when a London-bound flight was forced to return to TLV.
DaveReidUK is offline  
Reply
Old 6th July 2012 | 08:22
  #15 (permalink)  
 
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 684
Likes: 0
From: Hungary
You are correct. I didn't realise it mentioned the previous diversion.

Comment pulled.
Tonic Please is offline  
Reply
Old 6th July 2012 | 22:44
  #16 (permalink)  
 
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 350
Likes: 0
From: ***
"I didn't have to dive or do a loop,"
Looks like the colleague has a good sense of humor.

And the newspaper didn't even realise they were being made fun of - and even printed it...

Nic
Admiral346 is offline  
Reply
Old 7th July 2012 | 00:47
  #17 (permalink)  
20 Anniversary
 
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 643
Likes: 30
From: Global Vagabond
Looks like the colleague has a good sense of humor.
And drops in here from time to time...
mini is offline  
Reply

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service

Copyright © 2026 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.