BRITISH AIRWAYS TRIAL FLIGHT: TECHNICAL STATEMENT

Analysis of British Airways’ trial flight yesterday through parts of the no-fly zone established by the airspace authorities has revealed no variations in the aircraft’s normal operational performance.

Prior to the flight, and in order to formally establish its condition, BA Engineering at London Heathrow conducted a full survey of the aircraft structure and engines.

These inspections included the aircraft radome, wing and stabiliser leading edges, flight deck windshields, passenger windows, sensors and probes, landing lights and engine inlets. Digital images of each of these items were taken to ensure a full comparative assessment of the hardware could be conducted once the flight had been completed.

Borescope inspections of each engine, including the compressors, combustor, vanes and turbine were also conducted on each engine position. A number of engine oil and fuel filters, together with aircraft recirculation fan and equipment cooling filters were also replaced. This would ensure that the engineers could assess any debris that had been captured during the flight.

In order to assess fully the performance of the aircraft in the suspected area of contamination, the flight was conducted at various altitudes and geographic locations. At each condition and after a period of stabilisation, the performance of the aircraft was closely monitored by the flight crew and observers.

Particular attention was paid to the performance of the engines, the presence of any acrid odour build up within each zone of the cabin, the condition of the wing and aerofoil surfaces together with the condition of the windshields and passenger windows. No deterioration or odours were observed throughout the flight. In addition to the above, Rolls-Royce, the engine manufacturer, monitored the performance of the engines from their base in Derby in real time.

Following the successful conclusion of the flight, the aircraft returned to BA’s aircraft maintenance facility in Cardiff for detailed after-flight checks.

These included full re-inspection of the aircraft structure and a re-borescope of the engines. All these checks showed no deterioration from that previously recorded at London Heathrow. The engine oil and fuel filters have been removed for analysis by Rolls-Royce.

Playback of the aircraft flight data recorders has also been carried out at the engineering base in London. Analysis of this data has indicated that all four engines performed without fault for the duration of the flight. The data also indicated that the performance of the engines had not suffered any deterioration as a result of the flight.


Commenting on the technical report on the performance of British Airways' trial flight yesterday, British Airways' Chief Executive Willie Walsh said:

"The analysis we have done so far, alongside that from other airlines' trial flights, provides fresh evidence that the current blanket restrictions on airspace are unnecessary.

"We believe airlines are best positioned to assess all available information and determine what, if any, risk exists to aircraft, crew and passengers.

“Since airspace was closed on Thursday our assessment is that the risk has been minimal and can be managed by alternative procedures to maintain the highest safest standards.

“We call on the Government urgently to adopt new policies that would allow us to resume flying. Safety is the overriding priority for an airline. We use our expertise in risk assessment across a wide range of safety issues to make decisions on the safe operation of flights every day.

"We believe that we should be allowed to take the same responsibility over safety issues over the recent volcanic eruptions in Iceland."