Boeing 777s continue to fly despite concerns

Over 200 777s are still in the air in spite of concerns about an engine fault.

Travel Insurance News - 16/03/2009

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This number includes the 15 that British Airways has in its fleet.

US air accident investigators have warned of a "high probability" of the fault - which led to the BA 777 crash landing at Heathrow airport – affecting other Boeing 777s.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued an urgent recommendation that calls for the redesign of a component on the Rolls-Royce engine due to the two engine rollbacks last year. A rollback is the sudden loss of an engine’s power.

A UK accident report had been issued indicating that an ice build-up on the fuel/oil heat exchanger may have been the cause of the 777 incident at Heathrow.

The 17 January 2008 incident resulted in one serious injury on a person on board the plane. The British Airways flight, which originated in Beijing, had cleared the airport’s perimeter fence, but crash-landed just short of the runway.

A second incident occurred 10 months later when a Delta Air Lines 777 experienced a single engine rollback over the state of Montana, while on route to the Atlanta airport.

In both instances, an ice build-up on the engine’s heat exchanger caused a restricted flow of fuel.

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