Aviation experts have attributed the crash landing of a British Airways Boeing 777 jet at Heathrow Airport to a problem with fuel flow.
Luckily, all 136 passengers and 16 members of crew survived when the jet, which was on its way from Beijing, dramatically crashed in January. However, one passenger received a broken leg and eight other people were left with minor injuries.
A report into the accident by the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB) states that the "region of particularly cold air" that the plane hit between the Urals and Eastern Scandinavia could be responsible for the lack of fuel flow. The report discovered that temperatures were -76C in this area, which is far lower than expected. It is thought that this unusually cold weather made the fuel tanks and the engines freeze, which caused them to become blocked and eventually led to vital power loss.
In the report, the AAIB concluded: "The reduction in thrust on both engines was the result of a reduced fuel flow. Restrictions in the fuel system between the aircraft fuel tanks and each of the engine high pressure pumps, resulting in reduced fuel flows, is suspected."
In an attempt to prove their theory, the experts are carrying out tests at Rolls Royce in Derby and the Boeing headquarters in Seattle. During these tests, experts will try and recreate the low temperature that the plane experienced in order to test the possibility of their theory. A spokesperson said: "The primary challenge at Boeing is to create the environmental conditions experienced on the flight over Siberia at altitudes of up to 40,000ft. These tests are collectively aimed at understanding and, if possible, replicating the fuel system performance experienced on the day and the potential for formation of restrictions."
One of the high-profile crash theories that the report managed to dismiss involved Gordon Brown after fears that the high-powered transmitters that are used by his security team could have caused interference with the plane's electrical system. However, the report clearly stated that there was no evidence of this. It said: "There is no evidence of any anomalous behaviour of any of the aircraft or engine systems that suggests electromagnetic interference."
This latest report also shifts responsibility from the jet’s two pilots who were hailed as national heroes after the crash for somehow enabling to keep the plane aloft for a vital few extra seconds.
The Boeing 777 jet is generally regarded as one of the world’s safest planes with 667 currently in service. A British Airways spokesperson was keen to emphasise that the plane is a safe one, they said: "It has one of the best safety records of any commercial aircraft. At no stage since the accident has the AAIB, Boeing or Rolls Royce advised against the continued operation of the Boeing 777."
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