Boeing B-777 G-VIID

Summary

On 11 August 2004 at about 21:55 local time, a Boeing B-777 registered G-VIID, operated by British Airways, was involved in an incident near Houston, Texas, United States. 129 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was slightly damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

11 August 2004 at 21:55

Classification

Incident

Location

Houston, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Houston Intercontinental (IAH)

Coordinates

29.7606, -95.3696

Aircraft

Boeing B-777

Registration

G-VIID

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

British Airways

Operating rule

Part 129: Foreign

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Houston, → London

Aircraft damage

Minor

Weather

VMC

NTSB number

DCA04IA066

Nobody was injured.

the failure of a high pressure turbine blade which damaged an oil seal and allowed smoke to enter the cabin. Contributing to the blade failure was the mis-labeling of the blade's part number by the manufacturer, which allowed the blade to remain in service far in excess of it's life limit.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

As the throttles were advanced for takeoff, the flightcrew heard a noise and felt a vibration from the left side of the airplane. As the airplane rotated, the crew received a cockpit warning of LH Eng Vibration - Level 5. During the climb, the crew observed smoke and haze in the cockpit and the cabin crew advised that the cabin was filling with smoke. The flightcrew declared an emergency and made an immediate landing and emergency evacuation. The investigation revealed that a turbine blade in the left engine had failed due to a fatigue crack and the resulting damage caused excessive vibration in the engine. As the engine continued to vibrate, an oil seal failed allowing oil to contaminate the bleed air and create smoke in the cockpit and cabin. The failed blade had been mis-marked with the wrong part number by the manufacturer, which allowed it to remain in service far in excess of it's life limit until the fatigue crack developed.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.