AA, UA Plan Safety Push After Icing Linked to British Crash

[FWAAA]

Interesting proactive measures by AA and UA:

Prompted by suspected ice accumulation in the fuel system of a British Airways PLC jumbo jet that crash landed near London last month, two major U.S. carriers are stepping up safety initiatives to prevent such problems, according to people familiar with the matter.

The moves come amid growing indications that a buildup of ice crystals or slush simultaneously restricted fuel flow and reduced the thrust of both engines of the Boeing 777 jet moments before the Jan. 17 accident at Heathrow International Airport, these officials said.

UAL Corp.'s United Airlines, and AMR Corp.'s American Airlines are taking precautionary steps to ensure fuel quality and re-evaluate fuel characteristics before investigators release preliminary findings. While it is common for airlines to ramp up safety efforts in the wake of a high-profile crash, they typically wait until the release of such findings or early safety recommendations by regulators or manufacturers.

United is reassessing certain quality-control systems it uses for accepting and testing fuel at airports, according to these people, and is reviewing procedures its mechanics use to drain water from jetliner fuel tanks. American has launched an effort to determine if a different type of jet fuel could better withstand temperature extremes on the longest and coldest polar routes, other officials said.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1202770269...hs&ru=yahoo

 

[eolesen]

Fuel quality out of China has apparently been a concern with the ALPA safety committee for a while, and I'm told there have been approx six incidents where icing was suspected as a cause for FADEC faults with the GE engines. This is the first incident with the FADEC's on the Trent.

So, either there's something to this, or AA and UA have agreed to the checks simply to appease the unions. My guess is the former, since for all the back and forth between management and labor, the two sides are usually aligned when flight safety is concerned.

 

[Mach85ER]

Fuel quality out of China has apparently been a concern with the ALPA safety committee for a while, and I'm told there have been approx six incidents where icing was suspected as a cause for FADEC faults with the GE engines. This is the first incident with the FADEC's on the Trent.

So, either there's something to this, or AA and UA have agreed to the checks simply to appease the unions. My guess is the former, since for all the back and forth between management and labor, the two sides are usually aligned when flight safety is concerned.

It may not be a Chinese problem so much as a record cold problem. Any aircraft including the 777 has a min fuel temp. Even if not exceeded, it may be a factor with the fuel, anybody's fuel.

I read an anecdote from another "claimed" pilot, (take it for what it's worth), that that day the northern routes were the coldest that pilots had seen in a long time. Other planes were descending to warmer cruise altitudes and flying at higher speeds to offset the temps. It may or may not have been a factor with BA. Just another possibility.

 

[FWAAA]

Dunno how accurate the 777 flight airshow stats are, but I've seen outside air temps as low as -80 F when flying close to the N Pole and -70 F is common. I assume that jetA (unlike diesel) contains very little parafin, because at those temperatures, even No 1 diesel can gel.