Virgin Atlantic Flight 024

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Virgin Atlantic Flight 024
Virgin Atlantic Airbus A340-311 (G-VSKY-016) (15153676272).jpg
G-VSKY, the aircraft involved in the accident
Accident
Date5 November 1997 (1997-11-05)
SummaryEmergency landing after left main landing gear failed to deploy
Site Heathrow Airport, London, United Kingdom
51°27′53″N00°27′53″W / 51.46472°N 0.46472°W / 51.46472; -0.46472
Aircraft
Aircraft type Airbus A340-311
Aircraft nameChina Girl
Operator Virgin Atlantic
IATA flight No.VS24
ICAO flight No.VIR24
Call signVIRGIN 24
Registration G-VSKY
Flight origin Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles, California, United States
Destination Heathrow Airport, London, United Kingdom
Occupants114
Passengers98
Crew16
Fatalities0
Injuries7
Survivors114

Virgin Atlantic Flight 024 was a regularly scheduled Virgin Atlantic passenger flight from Los Angeles, California, to London, United Kingdom. On 5 November 1997, the Airbus A340 was forced to make an emergency landing at London Heathrow Airport after the left main landing gear failed to deploy. During the crash landing, the aircraft was damaged and later repaired. Of the 114 passengers and crew aboard, 7 were lightly injured. [1] [2]

Contents

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was an Airbus A340-311, registered G-VSKY with manufacturer serial number 016. It made its first flight on 3 November 1993 and was delivered soon after to Virgin Atlantic on 21 January 1994. At the time of the accident, the aircraft had flown 19,323 hours. It was fitted with four CFM International CFM56-5C2 high-bypass turbofan engines. [3] :10

Accident

At 05:09 GMT (21:09 local time), flight VS024 departed from runway 24L in Los Angeles following a 19-minute delay. While climbing, the crew noticed that the landing gear was slow to retract. Later, during a routine in-flight systems scan, it was noted that the no. 6 brake temperature sensor on the inboard rear wheel of the main landing gear had failed, but the flight was otherwise uneventful. [3] :3

At 15:04 GMT, while on final approach to Runway 27L at London Heathrow, the crew received an aural "Gear unsafe" alert after deploying the landing gear, After which, the first officer, who was the pilot flying, elected to go around at 2.5 nm from the runway threshold and return to a holding pattern to attempt to resolve the problem. [3] :3–4

The crew decided to fly near the ATC tower to have a controller visually identify any problem. It was found that after attempting to gravity drop the left main landing gear, that it was stuck in a partially deployed position. The crew tried to complete several manoeuvres to free the landing gear without success. The crew had planned to touch the runway with the right main landing gear and immediately go around, hoping to shake the landing gear into a locked position but this was not attempted. [3] :4–5

When the crew realized that it was impossible to deploy the left main landing gear, the passengers and airport were prepared for an emergency landing. At 16:08 with the aircraft nearly out of fuel, a "Mayday" was declared. The crew chose to land the plane on runway 27L, believing the lopsided aircraft would turn away from airport facilities once on the ground and towards empty space. [3]

As the aircraft touched down, engine 4 struck the runway and the right main landing gear tyres burst. Soon after, engines 1 and 2 also struck the ground, bursting into flames. Once the aircraft veered to the left and stopped passengers were evacuated, seven of which suffered minor injuries. [3] :6–7

Cause

The accident was caused by the following factors: [4]

Aftermath

The aircraft sustained considerable damage, including to three engines and the landing gear. Runway 27L was damaged after the tyres burst. [3] :8

See also

References

UKOpenGovernmentLicence.svg  This article incorporates text published under the British Open Government Licence : Report on the accident to Airbus A340-311, G-VSKY, at London Heathrow Airport on 5 November 1997

  1. "Virgin Atlantic – Airbus – A340-311 (G-VSKY) flight VS024". Aviation Accident Database. 8 April 2016.
  2. "Emergency landing 'all in a day's work'". The Independent. 6 November 1997. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Report on the accident to Airbus A340-311, G-VSKY, at London Heathrow Airport on 5 November 1997" (PDF) (Official accident report). Air Accidents Investigation Branch. 29 June 2000. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 February 2017.
  4. "ASN Aircraft accident Airbus A340-311 G-VSKY London-Heathrow Airport (LHR)". aviation-safety.net.