777 Death Dive over Atlantic

[JesusLives]

A packed British Airways jet was just seconds from disaster
after plummeting out of the sky in a dramatic near miss over
America, it has emerged.

BA flight 2166 carrying 175 terrified passengers, three
pilots and 11 crew plunged 600 feet in a bid to avoid
collision with another plane above it.

Two passengers and four crew members were injured in the
dramatic incident which took place at 16,500 feet just 15
minutes after take off from Tampa in Florida.

US air traffic controllers had just seconds earlier told the
BA flight to start ascending from 16,000ft to 20,000ft when
the emergency happened.

The emergency collision avoidance system on the Boeing 777
plane kicked in over the Atlantic Ocean, causing lights to
flash and an alarm to sound in the cockpit, with the pilot
hearing the words "descend,descend,descend."

The descent was so sudden that some of the crew members left
the floor, went into "freefall" and hit their heads on the
ceiling of the plane as it plummeted.

Others slammed into the bulkheads. All four crew were stood
down from their duties while being treated for bruises on
board in the Club cabin for the remainder of the flight.

They were met by paramedics when the plane landed at London
Gatwick.

Injuries included back pains, bruises and swelling to arms
and hands,

BA confirmed last night that the near miss is now being
formally investigated by the US Federal Aviation Administration.

It said its pilots had acted properly and professionally but
had been under the authority of US air traffic controllers
when the emergency occurred.

Staff were praised for their handling of the emergency.

One eyewitness said: "I was on the Tampa flight. About 15
minutes into the climb the aircraft suddenly dropped out of
the sky."

"Luckily all of other passengers were all still strapped in.
But unfortunately the cabin crew were starting to prepare
for service and were badly injured."

"At least four were so bad that they were unable to continue
working."

The eye-witness said: "The captain came on and apologised
saying that he had to take emergency evasion action to avoid
a collision with another aircraft above him."

"There was a paramedic on board who apparently said 'It will
be OK to continue but it was touch and go as to whether they
return to Tampa."

BA confirmed that one of the forward Club class cabins was
used as an impromptu sick-bay in which the injured
stewardesses were treated and allowed to recuperate.

The eyewitness said: "I have been a frequent flyer for over
40 years and it is the scariest thing I have ever experienced."

"I'm off now to change my underwear."

Another said: "It felt like turbulence in the Club cabin but
of course the poor guys and girls at the back got their
freefall experience."

The stricken BA plane left Tampa, Florida at 6.30pm on
Tuesday October 10 and landed at Gatwick at 8am on Wednesday
October 11th. But details have only today emerged.

A BA spokesman said: "Our pilots were under the control of
US air traffic controllers when the incident happened."

"They had been asked to ascend from 16,000ft to 20,000ft,
but then told to hold at 16,500ft. At the same time the
emergency collision avoidance system - TCAS- told our crew
to descend. They followed this command."

BA said it did not know the identity of the other plane
involved in the near miss - or how close - only that it had
been above their plane.

Collision avoidance systems are programmed only to operate
when a collision is likely and the safe space between
aircraft - whether horizontally or vertically, has been
compromised.

BA said: "We have filed a report with the US Federal
Aviation Authority which is investigating."

[Jim Macklin]

BFD and you snipped the copyright info. Plunged a whole 600
feet? My God, that is about like straight and level flight
for a poor pilot.


"JesusLives" > wrote in message
. ..
|A packed British Airways jet was just seconds from disaster
| after plummeting out of the sky in a dramatic near miss
over
| America, it has emerged.
|
| BA flight 2166 carrying 175 terrified passengers, three
| pilots and 11 crew plunged 600 feet in a bid to avoid
| collision with another plane above it.
|
| Two passengers and four crew members were injured in the
| dramatic incident which took place at 16,500 feet just 15
| minutes after take off from Tampa in Florida.
|
| US air traffic controllers had just seconds earlier told
the
| BA flight to start ascending from 16,000ft to 20,000ft
when
| the emergency happened.
|
| The emergency collision avoidance system on the Boeing 777
| plane kicked in over the Atlantic Ocean, causing lights to
| flash and an alarm to sound in the cockpit, with the pilot
| hearing the words "descend,descend,descend."
|
| The descent was so sudden that some of the crew members
left
| the floor, went into "freefall" and hit their heads on the
| ceiling of the plane as it plummeted.
|
| Others slammed into the bulkheads. All four crew were
stood
| down from their duties while being treated for bruises on
| board in the Club cabin for the remainder of the flight.
|
| They were met by paramedics when the plane landed at
London
| Gatwick.
|
| Injuries included back pains, bruises and swelling to arms
| and hands,
|
| BA confirmed last night that the near miss is now being
| formally investigated by the US Federal Aviation
Administration.
|
| It said its pilots had acted properly and professionally
but
| had been under the authority of US air traffic controllers
| when the emergency occurred.
|
| Staff were praised for their handling of the emergency.
|
| One eyewitness said: "I was on the Tampa flight. About 15
| minutes into the climb the aircraft suddenly dropped out
of
| the sky."
|
| "Luckily all of other passengers were all still strapped
in.
| But unfortunately the cabin crew were starting to prepare
| for service and were badly injured."
|
| "At least four were so bad that they were unable to
continue
| working."
|
| The eye-witness said: "The captain came on and apologised
| saying that he had to take emergency evasion action to
avoid
| a collision with another aircraft above him."
|
| "There was a paramedic on board who apparently said 'It
will
| be OK to continue but it was touch and go as to whether
they
| return to Tampa."
|
| BA confirmed that one of the forward Club class cabins was
| used as an impromptu sick-bay in which the injured
| stewardesses were treated and allowed to recuperate.
|
| The eyewitness said: "I have been a frequent flyer for
over
| 40 years and it is the scariest thing I have ever
experienced."
|
| "I'm off now to change my underwear."
|
| Another said: "It felt like turbulence in the Club cabin
but
| of course the poor guys and girls at the back got their
| freefall experience."
|
| The stricken BA plane left Tampa, Florida at 6.30pm on
| Tuesday October 10 and landed at Gatwick at 8am on
Wednesday
| October 11th. But details have only today emerged.
|
| A BA spokesman said: "Our pilots were under the control of
| US air traffic controllers when the incident happened."
|
| "They had been asked to ascend from 16,000ft to 20,000ft,
| but then told to hold at 16,500ft. At the same time the
| emergency collision avoidance system - TCAS- told our crew
| to descend. They followed this command."
|
| BA said it did not know the identity of the other plane
| involved in the near miss - or how close - only that it
had
| been above their plane.
|
| Collision avoidance systems are programmed only to operate
| when a collision is likely and the safe space between
| aircraft - whether horizontally or vertically, has been
| compromised.
|
| BA said: "We have filed a report with the US Federal
| Aviation Authority which is investigating."

[john smith]

Another story where British pilots encounter a situation and decide to
fly all the way to the UK before landing!!!
Fifteen minutes after takeoff, four crew members are injured severly
enough that they cannot continue with their duties, and the Captain
decides to let them suffer for another eight hours and 15 minutes before
they are allowed to receive proper medical attention?

[Roger (K8RI)]

On Sat, 21 Oct 2006 15:55:16 -0400, JesusLives >
wrote:

>A packed British Airways jet was just seconds from disaster
>after plummeting out of the sky in a dramatic near miss over
>America, it has emerged.
>
>BA flight 2166 carrying 175 terrified passengers, three
>pilots and 11 crew plunged 600 feet in a bid to avoid
>collision with another plane above it.

Death dive? He only did a push over to lose 600 feet. I've been on a
737 that did that when it hit the jet stream. The only difference was
every one was strapped down. Unfortunately it was right after
breakfast and most of those were not held down. Have you ever been on
an airplane with 150 (give or take) puking passengers? When seated
with the choir it becomes difficult to not join in with the singing.
Thankfully the guy to my right on the aisle seat was a seasoned
traveler.

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com

[Roger (K8RI)]

On Sat, 21 Oct 2006 22:02:38 GMT, john smith > wrote:

>Another story where British pilots encounter a situation and decide to
>fly all the way to the UK before landing!!!
>Fifteen minutes after takeoff, four crew members are injured severly
>enough that they cannot continue with their duties, and the Captain
>decides to let them suffer for another eight hours and 15 minutes before
>they are allowed to receive proper medical attention?

Yah gotta admire the tenacity and toughness of those British crews.
Had it been one of ours they'd probably have thrown in the towel and
went back to the airport. <:-))

As to the 600 feet, I've been on flights where I was happy to hold
that close. US:" Ahhhh...ATC it's a tad bumpy up here and we *may*
have a bit of a problem holding altitude." (We were getting the crap
beat out of us) Them: "Yah, we know. The alarms are off". A 182 about
20 miles to the north or NNE was reporting torrential rain and severe
turbulence. That was where we were headed. Naturally that particular
flight was my second time in actual with the first having been that
morning.
Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com

[Mark Hansen]

On 10/21/06 15:35, Roger (K8RI) wrote:
> On Sat, 21 Oct 2006 15:55:16 -0400, JesusLives >
> wrote:
>
>>A packed British Airways jet was just seconds from disaster
>>after plummeting out of the sky in a dramatic near miss over
>>America, it has emerged.
>>
>>BA flight 2166 carrying 175 terrified passengers, three
>>pilots and 11 crew plunged 600 feet in a bid to avoid
>>collision with another plane above it.
>
> Death dive? He only did a push over to lose 600 feet. I've been on a
> 737 that did that when it hit the jet stream. The only difference was
> every one was strapped down. Unfortunately it was right after
> breakfast and most of those were not held down. Have you ever been on
> an airplane with 150 (give or take) puking passengers? When seated
> with the choir it becomes difficult to not join in with the singing.
> Thankfully the guy to my right on the aisle seat was a seasoned
> traveler.

Did you ever see the movie 'The Goonies', where the heavy-set kid tells
the tale of his prank in the balcony of the movie theater going horribly
wrong?

Now, that's just good stuff ;-)

>
> Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
> (N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
> www.rogerhalstead.com



--
Mark Hansen, PP-ASEL, Instrument Airplane
Cal Aggie Flying Farmers
Sacramento, CA

[G. Sylvester]

Roger (K8RI) wrote:
> As to the 600 feet, I've been on flights where I was happy to hold
> that close. US:" Ahhhh...ATC it's a tad bumpy up here and we *may*
> have a bit of a problem holding altitude." (We were getting the crap
> beat out of us) Them: "Yah, we know. The alarms are off". A 182 about
> 20 miles to the north or NNE was reporting torrential rain and severe
> turbulence. That was where we were headed. Naturally that particular
> flight was my second time in actual with the first having been that
> morning.

Come on Roger, you had it easy. You weren't even serving peanuts. ;-)

Gerald

[Mike[_4_]]

Bonehenge wrote:
> On Sat, 21 Oct 2006 22:02:38 GMT, john smith > wrote:
>
>> Another story where British pilots encounter a situation and decide to
>> fly all the way to the UK before landing!!!
>
> My thoughts exactly.
>
> My God, they were 15 minutes out of Tampa! What's that make them 7
> from Miami or Melbourne? <G>
What I like that 'low-key' description of the event and how obviously
accurate it is.. Like starting off describing "packed" British Airways
Jet, then mentioning the "175 terrified paddangers"... Let's see not,
175 passangers on a 777 ?? Wow.. that is really packed!! What's that,
somewhere around half filled? Yeah, right...

[Roger (K8RI)]

On Sun, 22 Oct 2006 01:33:39 GMT, "G. Sylvester"
> wrote:

>Roger (K8RI) wrote:
>> As to the 600 feet, I've been on flights where I was happy to hold
>> that close. US:" Ahhhh...ATC it's a tad bumpy up here and we *may*
>> have a bit of a problem holding altitude." (We were getting the crap
>> beat out of us) Them: "Yah, we know. The alarms are off". A 182 about
>> 20 miles to the north or NNE was reporting torrential rain and severe
>> turbulence. That was where we were headed. Naturally that particular
>> flight was my second time in actual with the first having been that
>> morning.
>
>Come on Roger, you had it easy. You weren't even serving peanuts. ;-)
>

You bet and I had my seat belt *tight* too<:-))

>Gerald
Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com

[Roger (K8RI)]

On Sat, 21 Oct 2006 16:08:17 -0700, Mark Hansen
> wrote:

>On 10/21/06 15:35, Roger (K8RI) wrote:
>> On Sat, 21 Oct 2006 15:55:16 -0400, JesusLives >
>> wrote:
>>
>>>A packed British Airways jet was just seconds from disaster
>>>after plummeting out of the sky in a dramatic near miss over
>>>America, it has emerged.
>>>
>>>BA flight 2166 carrying 175 terrified passengers, three
>>>pilots and 11 crew plunged 600 feet in a bid to avoid
>>>collision with another plane above it.
>>
>> Death dive? He only did a push over to lose 600 feet. I've been on a
>> 737 that did that when it hit the jet stream. The only difference was
>> every one was strapped down. Unfortunately it was right after
>> breakfast and most of those were not held down. Have you ever been on
>> an airplane with 150 (give or take) puking passengers? When seated
>> with the choir it becomes difficult to not join in with the singing.
>> Thankfully the guy to my right on the aisle seat was a seasoned
>> traveler.
>
>Did you ever see the movie 'The Goonies', where the heavy-set kid tells
>the tale of his prank in the balcony of the movie theater going horribly
>wrong?
>
>Now, that's just good stuff ;-)

Yup.

Remember when the buss load of grade school kids that had been to the
college party hit the bump at the railroad tracks? I think that was
Van Wilder of something like that. OH yah, what was in that milk
shake...Colon blaster? That boy had a wee bit of a problem sitting
there through the final exam.

How about "Down Periscope" when they were resting "silently" on the
bottom?

Ah, yes... Some of my more intellectual moments.


>
>>
>> Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
>> (N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
>> www.rogerhalstead.com
Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com

[Robert Chambers]

Stiff upper lip and all that. I'm sure the marine life in the Tampa
area appreciated not getting thousands of pounds of jet-a dumped on them.

Mike wrote:
> Bonehenge wrote:
>
>> On Sat, 21 Oct 2006 22:02:38 GMT, john smith > wrote:
>>
>>> Another story where British pilots encounter a situation and decide
>>> to fly all the way to the UK before landing!!!
>>
>>
>> My thoughts exactly.
>>
>> My God, they were 15 minutes out of Tampa! What's that make them 7
>> from Miami or Melbourne? <G>
>
> What I like that 'low-key' description of the event and how obviously
> accurate it is.. Like starting off describing "packed" British Airways
> Jet, then mentioning the "175 terrified paddangers"... Let's see not,
> 175 passangers on a 777 ?? Wow.. that is really packed!! What's that,
> somewhere around half filled? Yeah, right...

[Ron Natalie]

Jim Macklin wrote:
> BFD and you snipped the copyright info. Plunged a whole 600
> feet? My God, that is about like straight and level flight
> for a poor pilot.
>
>
You can easily have 600' in a short time in turbulance.

[Sam Spade]

Robert Chambers wrote:
> Stiff upper lip and all that. I'm sure the marine life in the Tampa
> area appreciated not getting thousands of pounds of jet-a dumped on them.

I don't know about the Brits but few U.S. carriers would dump fuel on a
777 with everything working. They would simply use pilot's emergency
authority to make an overweight landing.

That is the norm.

[Al G[_1_]]

"JesusLives" > wrote in message
. ..
>A packed British Airways jet was just seconds from disaster after
>plummeting out of the sky in a dramatic near miss over America, it has
>emerged.
>
Enquirer version snipped..

>
> BA said: "We have filed a report with the US Federal Aviation Authority
> which is investigating."




From ANN:

Officials: BA Plane, King Air Had Close Call Near Tampa
Mon, 23 Oct '06

When Is A Near Miss, Not?
Everyone's OK after a British Airways 777 and a privately-flown Beech King
Air got a bit too close in the skies
around 50 miles north of Tampa, FL earlier this month. The planes did not
collide, and the BA pilot did not report
a near-miss to the FAA... but six people were injured when the big Boeing
suddenly descended 700 feet to avoid the
turboprop twin.

The Orlando Sentinel reports on October 10, the British Airways airliner
with 175 aboard had just taken off from
Tampa to London. As it was climbing to its assigned altitude of 26,000 feet,
the Traffic Collision Avoidance
System suddenly alerted when the aircraft was at 16,800 feet, said a British
Airways spokesman.

The TCAS directed the plane to descend, which the pilots did very quickly...
so much so that two passengers and
four crew members were sent to the ceiling.

An FAA spokesman said the King Air was still at least 1,400 feet higher than
the 777, and its pilot claimed that
he was aware of the location of the British Airways jet.

Despite the injures, the British Airways 777 did not officially report the
apparent near-miss and its sudden
descent, and continued on to England.

Several critics told the Associated Press this incident illustrates the
problem with the antiquated air traffic
control system in this country, but as yet, it is unclear if the near-miss
was actually a close-call, or one
pilot's overly enthusiastic cooperation with a TCAS alert.

In any case... since injuries were minor, and no official report was filed,
the FAA will not be investigating.

[jbskies]

Al G wrote:
> control system in this country, but as yet, it is unclear if the near-miss
> was actually a close-call, or one
> pilot's overly enthusiastic cooperation with a TCAS alert.

I thought in most of airlines' operation manual, a TCAS's manuever
instruction is a mendatory command that the crew must follow
immediately after its issurance.

jbskies

[Jose[_1_]]

> An FAA spokesman said the King Air was still at least 1,400 feet higher than
> the 777, and its pilot claimed that
> he was aware of the location of the British Airways jet.

I've been told by the FAA at safety seminars (pertaining to the NY
Bravo) that if a nearby plane climbs or descends more than 500 fpm, it
triggers an RA much farther away than a near miss would. Perhaps that's
what happened?

Jose
--
"Never trust anything that can think for itself, if you can't see where
it keeps its brain." (chapter 10 of book 3 - Harry Potter).
for Email, make the obvious change in the address.

[Jim Burns[_1_]]

Where the hell was Jesus when all this was going on?

"JesusLives" > wrote in message
. ..

[Matt Barrow]

"Jim Burns" > wrote in message
...
> Where the hell was Jesus when all this was going on?
>
Someone interrupted him about the Mets!

--
Matt
---------------------
Matthew W. Barrow
Site-Fill Homes, LLC.
Montrose, CO (MTJ)

[David Cartwright]

> Al G wrote:
> I thought in most of airlines' operation manual, a TCAS's manuever
> instruction is a mendatory command that the crew must follow
> immediately after its issurance.

This rings a bell with me too. It may have come about as a result of a
collision between a Tu154 and a B757 over Germany a few years back. The TCAS
said one thing, and the controller said another; it seems that although both
pilots obeyed the TCAS in the first instance, the Tu154 pilot changed his
mind and obeyed the controller instead. Thus both aircraft descended, and
the collision occurred - but it wouldn't have if TCAS had been obeyed in
both instances.

D.

[Bob Noel]

In article >,
"David Cartwright" > wrote:

> > Al G wrote:
> > I thought in most of airlines' operation manual, a TCAS's manuever
> > instruction is a mendatory command that the crew must follow
> > immediately after its issurance.
>
> This rings a bell with me too.

complying with a TCAS Resolution Advisory is indeed mandatory.

> it may have come about as a result of a
> collision between a Tu154 and a B757 over Germany a few years back.

Nope. This was the case from the beginning of TCAS II.

--
Bob Noel
Looking for a sig the
lawyers will hate