Hmm, maybe this is a good reason not to fly BA

[ViriiK]

Wee if I was one of the passengers, I would be glad to know I'm in good hands! Ya right God, either potentially lose 351 passengers and face lawsuits for careless engineering, crappy pilot training, you name it. Hmm ya, I rather take the £100,000 penalty and make sure the passengers stay safe..

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article...499342,00.html

A BRITISH AIRWAYS jumbo jet carrying 351 passengers was forced to make an emergency landing after an 11-hour transatlantic flight with a failed engine.

The fault occurred on take-off from Los Angeles but the pilot declined all opportunities to land in the US and instead continued on three engines for 5,000 miles to Britain.

The incident happened three days after a European regulation came into force requiring airlines to compensate passengers for long delays or cancellations. Under the new rules, if the pilot had returned to Los Angeles, BA would have been facing a compensation bill of more than £100,000.
...

Air traffic controllers at Los Angeles spotted streams of sparks shooting from the engine and immediately radioed the pilot. He attempted to throttle the engine back but was forced to shut it down after it continued to overheat. The plane then began circling over the Pacific while the pilot contacted BA’s control centre in London to discuss what to do. They decided the flight should continue to London even though it would burn more fuel on just three engines.

The Boeing 747 was unable to climb to its cruising altitude of 36,000ft and had to cross the Atlantic at 29,000ft, where the engines perform less efficiently and the tailwinds are less favourable. The unbalanced thrust also meant the pilot had to apply more rudder, causing extra drag.

The pilot realised as he flew over the Atlantic that he was running out of fuel and would not make it to Heathrow. He requested an emergency landing at Manchester and was met by four fire engines and thirty firefighters on the runway.

[1110]

that penalty is pretty

[Squeeky]

What a fucking moron.

[Fletch]

I don't think any of us would want to know all the corners airline companies cut.

[ViriiK]

Originally Posted by 1110

that penalty is pretty

Ya I rather take the risk of losing an entire plane full of people over that!

[click46]

haha, a bunch of people are going to get fired.

[mike27]

A 747 with 2 dead engines can still land safely.

[ViriiK]

Originally Posted by mike27

A 747 with 2 dead engines can still land safely.

Land safely back to it's departure location yes. Ignore the situation and fly to the destination over the atlantic no-no..

[click46]

Originally Posted by mike27

A 747 with 2 dead engines can still land safely.

it just can't fly safely across the fucking atlantic

[ViriiK]

The BA spokesman insisted that the decision to fly on to England was made with the best interests of the passengers in mind. Somehow BA never quite explains how running out of gas over the Atlantic benefits the passengers, nor how an engine blowing out on takeoff for a transcontinental flight doesn't warrant a stop somewhere before the plane goes across 5,000 miles of ocean.

[Psyduck]

If it's full of Brits then they'll be no lawsuit; we don't know how to sue.

[flshdncr]

I wonder what the people with a view of that engine did on that flight?

[synaesthesia]

Originally Posted by brkdncr

I wonder what the people with a view of that engine did on that flight?

fucked in the bathroom if they were smart

[PiMpY]

That's insane. BA is going to get Fed in the A on this one.

[redhotfanboy]

Thats why you fly Emirates



go chelsea