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Boeing 777 Crash: Investigators Looking At Fuel From China
By Paul Midler | January 25, 2008
The British Airways flight from China is still under investigation, and they have so far determined that the crash at Heathrow was not due to electrical. All signs point to fuel so far, and the aircraft was in fact refueled in China. Here is an interesting bit from Aviation Daily:
“Sources close to the investigation [say] British Airways engineers have been collecting fuel samples from every flight emanating from China. The sample collection, plus comments from the AAIB indicating the aircraft had “adequate” fuel remaining on board at the time of the crash, is believed to point toward suspicions of a heavier-than-fuel contaminant being present. Theories propounded by crew include the possible presence of water in the tanks that, having become frozen during the intense cold-soak period of the flight, partially melted and formed a slush that could have partially blocked the fuel lines.
Of course, I would suspect a scheme like quality fade. If it happens to be an issue of water in the tanks, a scenario might go something like this: Assuming a cost of $200k to fuel an airliner for a long-haul flight, someone on the ground who is in a position to replace 1% of of fuel with water can create an opportunity to “save” $2,000. Doesn’t sound like much until you realize that this is four months of a manager’s salary. And worth keeping in mind that there are thousands of flights operating out of Beijing airport each month.
If there were water in the tanks, it would have settled to the bottom (the fuel systems draw from the top is my understanding). So, water would not reach fuel lines until towards the end of a flight. If the tanks were 10% full, in other words, and 1% of the volume was water, it might not have mattered. The thing is that aircraft do not often fill up their tanks completely. If fuel is cheaper in London than it is in China, they may load with just enough to get them to Heathrow. Or thereabouts. Right.
It may turn out to be something else. Or, maybe it turns out to be fuel, but it is not reported. China just made fresh some news about a JV with Boeing in Shanghai. It’s pretty obvious that both China and Boeing want to see the cause having to do with neither the country, nor the aircraft manufacturer. I find this latest development interesting and blogworthy.
Topics: China |
January 25th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
Not to mention conspiracy theory-worthy ;^)
I’m gonna laugh when China rolls out their own domestic commercial aircraft and see the droves of savvy Chinese travellers that will steer far from the planes until they have at least a ten year safety record under their belts.
China’s one of the only places I’ve been where they tell you the *brand* of the plane you’re flying on when they sell you tickets for a certain flight (or was that fright?). Probably a habit leftover from the days when they still had a lot of Russian made aircraft…
January 25th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
On domestic flights, I’ve had mostly good experiences. This post is about the possibility of a quality concern, and I am quite aware that this may come back as having been the fault of mechanical, or electrical. Here’s a link on the Boeing JV in Shanghai, just in case it’s of interest…
http://www.china.org.cn/english/business/240475.htm
January 25th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
It doesn’t take 1% of water in fuel to cause blocked fuel line. But, haven’t they heard of fuel line anti-freeze ?