The Mystery of British Airways Flight 38
Summary
This episode examines British Airways Flight 38, which crashed short of Heathrow in 2008 due to a mysterious dual engine failure. Investigators discovered that ice slush, formed in a specific temperature range, blocked the fuel oil heat exchangers during a sudden power demand. The story highlights the crew’s crisis management and the subsequent engineering fix, which involved flattening a microscopic metal protrusion to prevent future blockages.
Topics discussed
Sponsor segment: Limited lifetime tire guarantee
Introduction: The mystery of British Airways Flight 38
The incident: Dual engine failure during descent
Crisis management: Captain Burkill's split-second decisions
The crash: Landing short of the runway with no fatalities
Investigation begins: Ruling out fuel exhaustion and contaminants
Digital brain: Analyzing the QAR data blackout
The suspect: Ice as the invisible assassin
Lab tests: The physics of ice in fuel oil heat exchangers
The sticky range: How slush formed and triggered an avalanche
The flaw: A microscopic protrusion causing the blockage
Confirmation: The Delta Airlines incident and altitude differences
The fix: Redesigning the heat exchanger and crew recognition
Conclusion: Lessons on automation and physical reality
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