AirSafe.com

Plane Crashes and Significant
Events for the Boeing 777

Other Boeing Models: 717, 727, 737, 747, 757, 767, 777

The 777 has not had any fatal events involving passengers. The one significant safety event involving passengers is listed below.

17 January 2008; British Airways 777; Flight 38; London, England: The aircraft touched down about 1000 feet short of runway 27L at London's Heathrow Airport. The aircraft skidded just over 1000 feet, tearing off its landing gear and coming to rest on the tarmac just to the right of the end of the runway. This was a scheduled international flight that was arriving from Beijing, China. There were 16 crew members and 136 passengers on board, and one passenger sustained a serious injury. This was the first serious accident for the 777 since it began commercial service in 1995.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), the lead agency in this investigation, has released several updates on the progress of the investigation, and has reported the following preliminary findings:

• The flight was normal until the aircraft was on final approach and about two miles (3.2 km) from touchdown on runway 27L, when the aircraft was about 800 above the ground.
• Engines initially responded to autothrust commands to increase thrust during final approach.
• About seven seconds later, thrust on left engine reduced to similar levels.
• The flight crew manually advanced throttles, but engines still did not respond.
• Engines continued to produce thrust above flight idle but below the commanded level.
• The aircraft touched down in a grassy area about 1,000 feet short of the runway.
• There is no indication that the engines ingested either ice or birds, or that there was signficant amounts of water in the fuel.
• The fuel temperature stayed signifcantly above its freezing point throughout the flight.
• Recorded data indicate adequate fuel and autothrottle and engine controls performed as expected prior to, and after, reduction of thrust.

This crash did not cause a passenger death and is not a fatal event as defined by AirSafe.com, but is included because of the seriousness of the event. For more information on the ongoing investigation, please review one or more of the podcasts listed below.

Accident Investigation Update - March 2009

Interim findings from the AAIB accident investigation that were released in March 2009 point to ice buildup in the fuel system as the key factor in the January 2008 crash of a British Airways 777 in London. The same month, the NTSB called for a redesign of the fuel system, and for the affected aircraft to have those changes installed within six months after the redesign is complete.

Report on March 2009 AAIB and NTSB Updates

Watch or listen to the full AirSafe.com report below, or read the transcript
Audio: MP3 | Video: iPod/MP4 | WMV |  Google Video | YouTube

For more videos, visit the AirSafe.com YouTube channel.

Accident Investigation Update - 20 May 2008

Listen to or watch the full AirSafe.com report below:
Audio: MP3 | Video: iPod/MP4 | WMV | Google Video | YouTube
Detailed show notes, including transcript

For more videos, visit the AirSafe.com YouTube channel.

Accident Investigation Update - 20 February 2008

Listen to or watch the full AirSafe.com report below:
Audio: MP3 | Video: iPod/MP4 | WMV | Google Video | YouTube
Detailed show notes, including transcript

For more videos, visit the AirSafe.com YouTube channel.

Accident Investigation Update - 25 January 2008

Listen to or watch the full AirSafe.com report below:
Audio: MP3 | Video: iPod/MP4 | WMV | Google Video | YouTube
Detailed show notes, including transcript and timeline

For more videos, visit the AirSafe.com YouTube channel.

Accident Investigation Update - 23 January 2008

Listen to or watch the full AirSafe.com report below:
Audio: MP3 | Video: iPod/MP4 | WMV | Google Video | YouTube
Detailed show notes, including transcript and timeline

For more videos, visit the AirSafe.com YouTube channel.

Listen to the initial AirSafe.com report from 17 January 2008

Other AirSafe.com Podcasts
Fatal British Airways Events
All AAIB Investigation Updates (PDF)
Initial AAIB Statement on 18 January 2008 (PDF)
Air Accidents Investigation Branch

18 June 2009; Continental Airlines 777; Flight 61; en route from Brussels to Newark: The captain of Continental Airlines Flight 61, a 777 en route from Brussels to Newark, died while the aircraft was in flight over the Atlantic. The captain was replaced by a reserve first officer and the crew declared an emergency. The aircraft landed without further incident. There were 247 passengers on board, and there were no other injuries to passengers or crew.
Visit the AirSafe.com News for more information.
Other Continental Plane Crashes

Fatal Events by Model
Fatal Event Rates by Model
Accidents by Model