AAIB releases bulletin on 787 fire plus additional 777 crash interviews

On 18 July 2013, the UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) released a special bulletin related to the 12 July 2013 fire on an Ethiopian Airlines 787 at London's Heathrow airport. The AAIB made two safety recommendations, the first was to advise the FAA to initiate action to have 787 operators deactivate the emergency locator transmitter (ELT), and the second was to have the FAA conduct a safety review of the installation of ELTs in other aircraft where the ELTs are also powered by lithium batteries.

While the AAIB does not have any authority to implement these recommendations, it is very likely that the FAA, Boeing, and all of the 787 operators will respond relatively quickly to the recommendations.

AAIB summary of the fire
The AAIB special bulletin contained the following key information about the events leading up to the fire:

• The Ethiopian Airlines 787 landed at Heathrow at 0527 hours on 12 July 2013 after an uneventful flight, with no technical problems reported by the crew.


• After it was towed to a parking area, external power was turned off, and the aircraft was left unpowered.


• An employee in the air traffic control tower noticed smoke coming from the aircraft at 1534 hours, and fire fighters arrived about one minute later.


• After a fire crew entered the aircraft, they observed indications of fire above the ceiling panels, and had to move a ceiling panel in order to put out the fire.


• A later examination revealed extensive heat damage in the rear fuselage in the crown area, just to the left of the centerline, an area which coincided with the location of the ELT.


• The ELT, which was powered by a set of chemical batteries containing a Lithium-Manganese Dioxide composition, was the only aircraft system in that area that had the potential to initiate a fire when the aircraft was unpowered.

About emergency locator transmitters
ELTs are battery-powered radio transmitters that are carried aboard airliners, other civil aircraft, and most military aircraft. Thay are designed to survive most accidents, and to transmit a signal that can be used by rescue crews and even satellite-based monitors to locate a crash site. The FAA requires the use of ELTs on commercial airliners.

According to the AAIB, the manufacturer of the ELT associated with the recent 787 fire (Honeywell) has produced about 6,000 ELTs for use in a wide range of aircraft, and this the first time the manufacturer has what the AAIB calls a 'thermal event.'

The ELTs used by Boeing in the 787 are all made by Honeywell, and they are powered by a set of five non-rechargeable batteries, each of which is roughly the size of a common household "D" cell battery.

What's next for the 787
There are currently 68 787 aircraft flying with 13 operators around the world. Although the FAA has not made a formal request for airlines to implement the AAIB recommendations, it is likely that Boeing and the airlines will take action relatively quickly. If the recommended actions are taken, in the short term 787s may be flying without ELTs.

While flying without ELTs may make it harder to find an aircraft that has an emergency in an unpopulated area, the FAA can allow airliners to fly for short periods of time without a working ELT, so implementing these AAIB recommendations will likely not cause the FAA to ground the 787. Other regulatory bodies around the world typically follow the actions of the FAA in situations such as this one.

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Media interviews with Dr. Todd Curtis about the Asiana 777 crash
The following three interviews with Dr. Curtis were made in the days immediately following the crash of Asiana flight 214

- WGN radio - The Dean Richards show on 8 July 2013
- Bloomberg television interview 8 July 2013

CCTV America 8 July 2013

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Additional information

• AirSafeNews.com 15 July 2013 article with common questions about the 777 investigation


• AirSafeNews.com 13 July 2013 summarizing the two prior NTSB press conferences


• AirSafeNews.com 10 July 2013 article on the role of the autothrottle


• AirSafeNews.com 8 July 2013 article on early findings of the crash investigation


• Dr. Todd Curtis and Capt. Tomm Bunn discuss the crash on 7 July 2013


• Other Asiana plane crashes
• Other 777 plane crashes
• Accident details from Aviation Safety Network
• Wikipedia page on this accident

Update on 787 fire in London plus radio interview on 777 crash

Update on the 12 July 2013 787 fire in London
On 12 July 2013, an Ethiopian Airlines 787 caught fire while parked on an apron at London's Heathrow Airport. There were no passengers on the aircraft at the time of the fire, and no one was injured or killed.

The initial witness and physical evidence shows that this event resulted in smoke throughout the fuselage and extensive heat damage in the upper portion of the rear fuselage. The photo below shows that the fire burned through the top of the fuselage in the rear of the aircraft between the two rear doors and near the base of the vertical fin.

(click to enlarge)

The British Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) is investigating the fire, and has not yet released any statement about the likely causes of the fire. However, several things are known about the investigation:

• The aircraft had arrived from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia about nine hours before the fire was discovered.


• In addition to the AAIB, participants in the investigation include the FAA, NTSB, the Civil Aviation Authority of Ethiopia, Boeing, Ethiopian Airlines, and Honeywell International.


• Honeywell is the manufacturer of the emergency locator transmitter (ELT) used in the 787.


• The battery in the ELT is based on a lithium manganese-dioxide technology and not on the lithium-ion technology associated with the batteries that caught fire on two different 787 aircraft in January 2013.


• The fire was in the rear of the fuselage, and was remote from the areas of the aircraft containing the main battery and the auxiliary power unit batteries, the batteries associated with the grounding of the entire 787 fleet earlier this year.

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Dr. Todd Curtis interviewed by eFM radio in South Korea
In the following July 15, 2013 interview on the South Korean eFM radio show Prime Time with Henry Shinn, Dr. Todd Curtis discussed several issues associated with the ongoing investigation into the July 6, 2013 crash of an Asiana 777 in San Francisco, CA, including speculation about the cause of the crash, the role of automated systems in the cockpit, and the NTSB investigative process. Many of the issues raised in this interview included questions about the 777 crash answered in a previous article.

(Listen to the interview)

Additional information

• AirSafeNews.com 15 July 2013 article with common questions about the 777 investigation


• AirSafeNews.com 13 July 2013 summarizing the two prior NTSB press conferences


• AirSafeNews.com 10 July 2013 article on the role of the autothrottle


• AirSafeNews.com 8 July 2013 article on early findings of the crash investigation


• Dr. Todd Curtis and Capt. Tomm Bunn discuss the crash on 7 July 2013


• Other Asiana plane crashes
• Other 777 plane crashes
• Accident details from Aviation Safety Network
• Wikipedia page on this accident

Update to the Investigation into the 25 January 2010 Crash of an Ethiopian Airlines 737

The investigation into the 25 January 2010 crash of the Ethiopian Airlines is still in the early stages, with searchers still looking for wreckage and victims. While there has been no formal announcement of the death toll by the investigating authorities, no survivors have been found in the two days since the crash. Most of the aircraft wreckage, including the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder (black boxes) is on the seabed just off the coast has not been recovered. On the 27th, several media outlets, including Ethnomedia.com, reported that at least one of the black boxes was located in about 500 feet of water, and that recovery would be attempted. The American naval vessel USS Rampage was assisting in this effort.

The aircraft crashed into the sea about 6 km past the end of runway 21, about 3.5 km from the village of Naameh. According to the departure procedures for that runway, the airplane was supposed to have turned right due to high terrain east and south of the airport.

Several media outlets also reported that the aircraft failed to follow air traffic control instructions after takeoff or that witnesses reported seeing the aircraft in flames before it struck the surface of the water. None of these reports have been confirmed by part of the Lebanese government that is tasked with investigating this event.

Below is an AP report on the early results of the investigation, including wreckage recovery.

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NTV in Kenya filed the following report:

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BBC Report on Crash Aftermath
BBC reporter Uduak Amimo interview on the Focus on Africa program about what the mood was like in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital the day of the crash.

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Resources
More information on the Ethiopian Airlines Crash
American Airlines 737-800 crash in December 2009
Ethiopian Airlines fatal plane crashes
Fatal 737 plane crashes
Boeing 737 Technical Site
Example 737-800 cockpit with notes
Ethiopian Airlines announces order for 10 737-800 aircraft
Fatal airliner crash rates by model

Ethiopian Airlines 737-800 Crashes near Beirut Killing Many on Board

25 January 2009; Ethiopian Airlines 737-800 (ET-ANB); Flight 409; near Beirut, Lebanon
The aircraft was on a scheduled international flight from Beirut, Lebanon to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and crashed into the Mediterranean Sea shortly after takeoff.

There were 82 passengers and eight crew members on board, all of whom were killed in the crash. The accident took place at about 2:30 in the morning local time and during heavy rain.

A Lebanese government official listed the nationalities of the passengers as 51 Lebanese, 23 Ethiopians, two Britons, and one each from Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Canada, Russia, and France. Among the passengers was the wife of the French ambassador in Beirut.



According to AirlinersGallery.com, the accident aircraft (ET-ANB) first flew in 2002 and was previously operated by Ryanair. The aircraft was delivered to Ethiopian Airlines in September 2009.

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BBC Report on Crash Aftermath
BBC reporter Uduak Amimo interview on the Focus on Africa program about what the mood was like in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital the day of the crash.

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Ethiopian Airlines Crash History
This is the third crash of an Ethiopian Airlines jet airliner that has resulted in the death of at least one passenger. The first was a September 1988 bird strike event involving a 737-200, and the most recent was a ditching of a 767-200 during a hijacking in 1996.

Ethiopian Airlines Fleet
According to the Ethiopian Airlines web site the airline has an operating fleet of 37 aircraft, including three 737-800s. AeroTransport Data Bank has additional fleet details, including average age by model. The airline has 45 aircraft on order, including 10 737-800s, 10 787s, and five 777-200s.

Previous 737-800 Crashes
This is the seventh crash involving a 737-800. The first was a September 2006 midair collision involving a Gol Linhas Aéreas 737-800 in Brazil that killed all six crew members and 148 passengers, and the most recent was the non-fatal runway overrun last month involving an American Airlines 737-800 in Jamaica. Three of the previous six crashes involved passenger fatalities.

• 29 September 2006; Gol Linhas Aéreas 737-800; Flight 1907; near Peixoto de Azevedo, Brazil: The aircraft was on a scheduled domestic flight from Manaus to Brasilia when it had a midair collision in the area of São Félix do Xingu with an Embraer ERJ135 Legacy 600 executive jet operated by ExcelAire. The ExcelAire Legacy 600 jet had been on a flight from São José dos Campos to Manaus. After the collision, which damaged the left wing, left stabilizer, and left elevator of the executive jet, the crew of the damaged ExcelAire aircraft was able to land at a nearby military airfield at Cachimbo, Brazil. The 737 subsequently experienced an inflight breakup and crashed about 30 kilometers (19 miles) north of the Peixoto de Azevedo municipality. The Legacy 600 was on the first leg of a delivery flight to the US The 737 aircraft was also relatively new, having come into service with the airline less than three weeks before the crash. All six crew members and 148 passengers on the 737 were killed. The two crew members and five passengers on the Legacy 600 were not injured.


• 5 May 2007; Kenya Airways 737-800; Flight 507; near Douala, Cameroon: The aircraft was on a scheduled international flight from Douala, Cameroon to Nairobi, Kenya. The aircraft crashed into a swampy area near the airport less than one minute after takeoff. The aircraft departed just after midnight local time and the aircraft sent at least one communication to the control tower prior to the crash. All nine crew members and 105 passengers were killed.


• 20 August 2007; China Airlines 737-800; Flight 120; Naha, Japan: Shortly after landing at Naha on the island of Okinawa, the left engine caught fire and the crew initiated an emergency evacuation. Although the aircraft was destroyed by fire, all 157 passengers (including two toddlers) and eight crew members survived.


• 10 November 2008; Ryanair 737-800; Flight 4102; Rome, Italy: The aircraft, on a scheduled international flight from Frankfurt, Germany to Rome, Italy encountered a flock of birds during approach to Rome, sustaining damage to both engines, the wings, and the nose. The crew was able to land on the runway, but aircraft had a collapsed landing gear and serious damage to the rear of the fuselage. All six crew members, and 166 passengers survived.


• 25 February 2009; Turkish Airlines 737-800; Flight 1951; Amsterdam, Netherlands: The aircraft, on a scheduled international flight from Istanbul, Turkey, to Amsterdam, Netherlands crashed in a field about a mile (1.6 km) short of the runway. Three crew members, including both pilots, were killed, as were at least six others among the 134 passengers and crew members.


• 22 December 2009; American Airlines 737-800 (N977AN); Flight 331; Kingston, Jamaica: The aircraft was on a scheduled international flight from Miami, FL to Kingston, Jamaica. The aircraft landed during a rainstorm, and was unable to stop on the runway. After departing the runway, the aircraft went beyond the airport fence, and crossed a road before coming to rest on a beach. The landing gear collapsed, both engines separated from the wings, and there were two major breaks in the fuselage, but all 148 passengers and six crew members survived. The landing was carried out with a slight tail wind.

AirSafe.com will provide updates as information becomes available.

Resources
More information on the Ethiopian Airlines Crash
American Airlines 737-800 crash in December 2009
Ethiopian Airlines fatal plane crashes
Fatal 737 plane crashes
Ethiopian Airlines announces order for 10 737-800 aircraft
Fatal airliner crash rates by model

Video from Associated Press

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Five Lowest Fatal Plane Crash Rates by Model
A 25 September 2009 entry on the AirSafe.com News described the September 2009 update to following listing of fatal plane crash rates by model. The video and audio podcast below discusses the aircraft models with the lowest rates. After the Ethiopian Airlines 737-800 fatal crash, the revised estimate of fatal crash rates would change the order of aircraft. The current generation of the 737, which includes the 737-800, would drop from number two to number three, and the A320 series would go from number three to number two. For more details, visit AirSafe.com's Fatal Plane Crash Rates for Selected Airliner Models page

Video and Audio Podcast Links (2:57)

Audio: MP3 | Video: iPod/MP4 | WMV | YouTube

ET-ANB Photo: Antony J. Best