BA 744 Diversion to MAN
 

BA 747-400 diverted in to Manchester this afternoon around 15:45 - can anyone in the know shed some light on this? Fire trucks followed the aircraft in, but all looked normal.

Curious to know the reason for the diversion, and why the decision to land at Manchester, rather than LHR.

Over to the lions' den . . .

BA Divert
 

Was BA268, Lax-Lhr.

Called "Pan" with fuel problem.

Expected to depart 18.00 to Heathrow.

Pilot advised London ATC that there was an issue re the "No 2, left inboard" engine (his words).

Listening in , the pilot declared an engine shutdown followed shortly after by a PAN alert due to fuel shortage. Between 3000 and 4000 ft he declared a MAYDAY with critical fuel and asked for sterile runway as he would to be unable to go-around.

I suspect something may have been lost in the reporting here. Had the the aircraft had insufficient fuel to go around they'd have known about it a lot earlier than 3000 ft and company policy would have been to declare a mayday much, much earlier than that. Sounds a bit unusual that all 3 flight crew were ignorant of company fuel policy or chose to ignore it.

I agree with HS. No knowledge of the incident beyond what I read here but they would certainly have used the M word much sooner if that was the case.

3 donks isn't a big issue on a -400.

I agree with john8b on this one, aircraft was 8 miles out when he declared a mayday.
ATC had said 10 minutes before in a conversation with OPS 3 that one engine shutdown and to expect an overweight landing.

Egerton Flyer.....

Taken from a Manchester website

BA 268 shut down one engine,the controller on 128.050 asked him if he was
declaring a PAN,he said no,
Then declared PAN PAN,said he couldnt get fuel from the tank,then went to
121.350,called Mayday Mayday,
He didnt have the fuel for a go around,requested a sterile runway.

Well those two posts don't add up. If you think about it logically, the only way the aircraft could have been over max landing weight was if it was still carrying lots of fuel. That doesn't tie up with the suggestion that the aircraft had insufficient fuel to fly a go around.

Three flight crew? Does the 744 have an engineer on board, or just a spare pilot for such a long haul sector?


Thanks.

@A300Man

LAX-LHR isn't a party for two, isn't it?

regards

whay i don't get is why, if he knew fuel was critical, did he not divert earlier in flight. surely it is not worth taking the risk when it comes to fuel.

It would appear from the posts above, that it might not have been a problem of the total fuel onboard being insufficient, but rather the useable fuel.

If it was a problem in the fuel system, then it might not have been clear exactly how much fuel was useable until very late.

Sorry, was a genuine question. I am not a pilot and have never flown the route. I assume from your reply that there is a third pilot onboard. Thanks.

Why do so many have to ask the same questions? If you are not familiar with the a/c and the way its systems work then would the spotters please leave us alone on this forum. It sounds like this wasn't just a diversion because of low fuel but there was a technical problem to do with fuel transfer from tank to engine.

Maybe a 'FUEL TANK/ENG' problem?

From one of the cabin crew who was on it:

Engine surge on or shortly after take-off at LAX. Engine shut down, all the way on 3 engines but not enough fuel to make LHR. Some suggestion that fuel may have been dumped at some stage ( 3-engine cruise performance?). I'm not and never have been 747 licensed so I can't comment further.

Are you seriously suggesting that after shutting an engine down "shortly" after take-off at LAX, the crew would elect to continue a 10 hour flight on three? If this pans out to be true, that'll be BA off my longhaul prefered carrier list! However, methinks and hopes that it's total bulls##t.

Avman

The subject of Flight Continuation Policy has been covered several times on PPRuNe.

Airclues

Avman- Correct! ATC at LAX also reported flames from engine exhaust.

that'll be an interesting captains special report!