Heathrow

[Kelvin]

Is Heathrow broken? (16:00 GMT).
I see a lot of stuff stacked , going round and round but no signs of anything arriving or departing.
Eg: VS652 must be getting dizzy circling over Woking, currently on something like the 6th circuit now.
Same situation at all the other stacks, with quite a few aircraft now doing circuits.

[speedbird1960]

According to Heathrow's Arrivals Board nothing has landed since 15:48.

Showing heavy delays here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/travelnews/air

Aircraft are now starting to divert Stansted, Luton and Gatwick.

[Rick2522]

There's an ongoing incident at Heathrow involving a eithopian aircraft both runways closed (Source BBC News)

[Kelvin]

Thanks Rick.
Kelvin

[Rick2522]

Update:
Plane is currently on fire after batteries on plane have over heated and caught fire (Source Sky News)

17:14 Fire is out and Plane is currently under investigation

17:20 No Passengers on Board, Aircraft involved was a 787 Dreamliner

http://news.sky.com/story/1115054/heathrow-plane-catches-fire-on-runway

[Kelvin]

No great shocks, I am sure; 787 & overheated batteries?
I did laugh when Boeing initially said they had fixed the problem and, at the same time, said they were not sure of the actual cause.
I have spent my life fixing things electronic ( 2 way radio, radar, nav aids etc) and have never "fixed" anything without understanding what caused the problem in the first place.
This aircraft has been on the ground since approx 05:30 and was due to depart at 21:00. So what could happen to cause the closure of 2 runways when the aircraft was presumably parked up somewhere?

[Rick2522]

Due to the Fire crews being on scene some have stood down and returned to the fire station because it's a full scale alert and if the fire starts up again they need to get there straight away so rather than the fire crews waiting to cross both runways they would rather they keep them closed so they have full access on the airfield without having to look over there shoulder for aircraft

[Kelvin]

Ta! This is going to be a massive embarrassment for Boeing. I have also read that this was the first "post-battery modification" flight when they were being returned to service.
I am glad I chose yesterday to go taking photos at Heathrow. It could have been a boring afternoon otherwise!

[Rick2522]

No worries yeah I heard that this plane in question had the modification done on it with the steel cages around each battery it will be a massive embarrassment for Boeing indeed, it could be a very boring evening for all passengers and staff

[Rick2522]

Looks like the Airport has re-opened as planes are now landing and taking off

[Kelvin]

Yes, I noticed it was functioning again. Some failed to make the grade though; the Virgin flight from Lagos ended up at Gatwick and the Kuwait flight is now at Stansted.

[Kelvin]

The short video on the BBC site shows the aircraft may be seriously damaged with appears to be smoke or fire damage on the top of the fuselage, just ahead of the tail.
And Thomson are due to release an announcement re their 787 flight from Manchester that went tech and had to return to Manchester.

[Birdie]

I have spent my life fixing things electronic ( 2 way radio, radar, nav aids etc) and have never "fixed" anything without understanding what caused the problem in the first place.

If you found a defective transistor, do you simply replace it with a good one or try to do a defect analysis ato find out what caused the transistor to fail ?

[Rick2522]

Reports now saying that it's not the batteries cause there under the floor not in the roof so possibly a electrical fire??? Thompson said there plane suffered Technical issues and that's all so not any clearer on the one that diverted to Manchester it's not a good day for Boeing at all

[Rick2522]

Here's a image of the Damage

Boeing Fire 787.jpg