British Airways Flight 38 Heathrow crash ATC recording

British Airways Flight 38 (Speedbird 38) Boeing 777-236ER aircraft G-YMMM was a scheduled flight from Beijing Capital International Airport which crash landed just short of the runway at its destination, Heathrow Airport, London, on 17 January 2008. There were no fatalities, but 47 people sustained injuries. The cause was determined to be ice crystals in the fuel clogging the fuel-oil heat exchanger (FOHE) of each engine. This is the original Air Traffic Control Recording!

[@stu1002]

Did the ATC controller in this ever get any official recognition for their outstanding work that day? Slick...very very slick indeed.

[@nigelrequiem]

ATC did a wonderful job under such pressure.Thats a true professional

[@traveljunkie2007]

I'm Heathrow Ground Staff working that day, this gave me goosebumps listening to this. Well done to everyone involved.

[@banana1618]

ATC was outstanding as well as others heard in the recording. Clear concise information with clear (no panic) responses. What a tribute to the professionalism of all involved.

[@joebell585]

Outstanding ATC!

[@rodoates2211]

Gives me goosebumps every time I hear this.

[@planningto]

And that is how the British deal with emergencies. Very proud to be British after hearing that. Well done everybody!

[@simon199418]

The fact that he was from England does not mean anything, this is what is expected for every air traffic controller to do. Raising the proud to be British flag here is stupid ; you had a good ATC controller at Heathrow, whoopty fucking doo . Great job yes but nothing to be proud of by a whole fucking nation.

[@suzannel8926]

simon199418 British are good in emergencies. Keep calm and concentrate on what to do.

[@kbudden1107]

simon199418

[@kbudden1107]

Ken Budden

[@TheAdamKandil]

simon199418 let @planningto love his people simon!!

[@2004JETTA]

Dang, five years ago today, kudos to the crew, and everyone else that day, who demonstrated a level of professionalism that prevented any loss of life

[@Pilot1806]

You cannot extend a glide by lowering flaps. They induce drag which will shorten a glide if no power is applied. He actually retracted one stage of flap to extend his glide just enough to clear the fence.

[@hairyairey]

and ILS transmitters.

[@Hakuto0505]

Thank you for sharing.

[@Penguinsix]

When he was calling 'Rendevouz Point is South' is that the ATC talking to the fire department? There was a weird ringing noise just before that. Not sure if that was some alarm or something.

[@neilriding902]

Speedbird 95 was sounded by Capt. Burkill as under extreme circumstances he forgot it was 38 he was flying as Speedbird 95 was supposed to be his next flight after Speedbird 38...nothing to do with emergency training whatsoever

[@vegas005]

Actually Speedbird 95 is used during simulator training exercises. He reverted to his training...understandable given the circumstances.

[@neilriding902]

Check your facts before commenting...his next flight was BA95...he says so in his book thirty seconds from impact

[@vegas005]

Neil Riding Books are full of BS as we all know. My company clearly posted detailed instructions to use real life flight numbers during training because of this incident. I fully doubt he would have known, thought about or cared about his "next" flight after crashing a plane. ... But hey since you are the supreme authority will just leave it .....

[@neilriding902]

vegas005 may I suggest you read his book if you already haven't. That text I put is from his book so in essence, HE is the supreme authority, not me!

[@imamannotanumber4963]

vegas005 Burkill states it clearly in his book it was his next flight. So have to agree with Neil Riding.

[@simmouk2006]

Very professional - glad to be in safe hands all the time, but my issue is at 2:18... what is with this handover? is it the other runway space or something

[@AMCT101]

I know your comment was 2 months ago. However I will politely inform you that the last stage of flap simply produces drag to slow the aircraft, it has no benefits to increase lift. By raising that last stage you decrease drag and thus extend the glide.

[@besinnliches]

Shuttle is the callsign for domestic flights from Heathrow and Gatwick - Shuttle 7W was coming from Glasgow :)

[@SierraGolf23]

British airways used the Callsign BAW 95 in the Simulator training. After that crash they use random callsigns. It is amazing how a human brain can refer to something thatwas learned before and use it in critical moments...

[@blueb0g]

@morg2204 Well this is all on one frequency. The PA adress is accidentaly transmitted on ATC by the captain.

[@Speedbird103]

I was there on the day this happend, got delayed because of it. Jonh Coward was at the controlls at the time amazing pilot, deserves a medal the size of a frying pan

[@SQK1200]

@lolvks Actually, Speedbird 95 was the BA callsign used in the simulator for mayday practice.

[@TheKai891]

Respect to british airways crew and the controller, WELL DONE BRITAIN!

[@morg2204]

Can anyone explain how we manage to hear several channels at once, such as ATC, Qatari flight, Capt on BA38 public address system, etc. Does this include the cockpit voice recording?

[@CivilAviation1]

0:30 in backgound you can hear caution signal, luckily no one died

[@user-ky6vw5up9m]

The Controller was following procedure -What was he expected to sau?

[@hlfLordTesco]

is that ringing the stall warning in the background?

[@Insperato62]

Thank goodness there were no children working in ATC Heathrow that day!

[@Bruchpilot1995]

What does the pilot mean with 9 5, 9 5?

[@SuperMjf123]

flight 95 was the next flight the pilot was flighing after flight 38, he was just confused.

[@MrAviator12]

Why does ATC say "After the landing company 777" Why COMPANY 777? Is the reason for this that the 777 is BA and so is the aircraft receiving the command?

[@cjad100]

For additional clarity when controllers want to give instructions to pilots in relation to other aircraft from that airline they call it "company". I don't know if it's an international thing but it's extremely common in the UK.

[@twnlumh]

Apparently,other than the design fault in the Rolls-Royce engines, it was the fuel quality. Made in China fuel.

[@Magicttmt]

That's just. I dunno. I just watched with my mouth hanging open.

[@mruppity64]

@morg2204 as BTS737 said, everything is recorded, and i mean everything (when they transcribe these, they right down every "er" - what you are hearing is the conversations in chronological start order - if you were listening in real time there would have been multiple conversations going on at once

[@FranciscoCamino]

Chilling

[@steven8hamilton]

impressive

[@guccigunner]

its british airways callsign

[@raymondrayban]

AIRTRAFFIC control worked for his money that day! i bet he had a story to tell his mates on his day off down the local!

[@galop1974]

His book is obviously his accounts of things....saying that, He claims that BA bosses screwed him in a big way by not clearing his name and his actions on that day. If I was in his place ie went through that and then got bad mouthed by people that were not there and don't know I would be bitter/pissed off/want to kill some one too. Wouldn't you??

[@bruchpilot2009]

5stars!

[@lem_possible]

it's speeebird 95 not 38

[@playsamay4]

Lemar Hashimi No. it is Speedbird 38. 95 is the Mayday code.

[@lem_possible]

+TeddyBearGAMING never knew thanks!

[@playsamay4]

Lemar Hashimi I'm just kidding. 95 was his next flight but he was kinda tired and accidentally said 95.

[@lem_possible]

TeddyBearGAMING 😒

[@hairyairey]

@@playsamay4 he wasn't tired it was seconds to impact. Rather a lot to process for anyone! He barely had time to transmit the mayday.

[@russ117044]

:(

[@jjovereats]

4 parallel would be 27l 27lc 27rc 27r

[@artusdreimalneun2595]

No actually 26L 26R 27L 27R or 27L 27R 28L 28R, respectively, for four or more parallel runways you usually change the numbering of two of the runways by one

[@radiosification]

you're*

[@chassidim888]

What the British will not admit to is that the 2 British pilots, both homosexuals were fully engaging each other on the fight deck as homosexuals tend to do. They neglected to monitor the 777 and blame it on Boeing. Not till they come good with the truth will the mystery be resolved. They have had 2 on the ground collisions in Heathrow airport within 6 months of each other which says a lot about their pilots. Can't get in right on the ground can't do it right in the air.

[@hairyairey]

This was in the official report was it?

[@cjad100]

Seek help. I know I'm 6 years too late but I hope you found the psychotherapy you clearly need. PS homophobia is a disgusting thing.

[@bkoranyi]

To anyone commenting on the captain's "mistakes", don't forget this happened in the course of 48 seconds. That's how much time he had, on final approach, to realize something's wrong, figure out what to do and execute. In that time, he raised flaps to extend the glide and not crash into the freeway. And, oh, I almost forgot, he also got the plane down with everyone safe. In my book, that's a pro bordering hero.

[@hairyairey]

From memory - one broken leg. The captain had thought that many had died the impact was that hard.

[@specialandroid1603]

very professional - the worlds best

[@ahoythespoonsareawake4617]

ATC still has his manners and says 'Ta!' - unbelievable professionalism. I thank these people every time I fly.

[@yournamehere2908]

Such incredible professionalism by both the pilots and controlers. NATS staff, particularly senior staff such as those working tower ATC at Heathrow or control centres such as Swanwick, are trained and refreshed just as much as pilots. They are the unsung heroes of the skies, spending their lives training for the unimaginable.

[@deaustin4018]

I always wonder what the other pilots on frequency and on final must feel hearing all this - and yet they have no time for it, must snap back instantly and fly their own planes.

[@GetBruno]

What a job! I feel very safe when I fly to London =)

[@Digital111]

it gives me goosebumps, not the pilot saying "mayday" but the alarm and the "pull up" in the background.

[@hairyairey]

Until this point no-one ever trained for this possibility. They do now. They also discovered that the increase of the flaps that the captain carried out allowed them to glide just enough further to miss the fence and ILS transmitters. The world's most expensive glider landing, or lawnmower depending on your point of view!

[@SepehrMaleki]

That air traffic controller ...

[@dylanhodgson7441]

This recording should be used for training new air traffic controllers on how to stay calm in an emergency. That controller is so calm and professional through out! First class!

[@midnightexpress2314]

He loses it a bit at 1.50 but is still calm

[@GuyAwoke]

Very professional and all that. The only thing I find slightly amusing is when the tower controller goes through everything in a flowchart manner including "Type of problem is 'Crash'.....the aircraft has 'Crashed' ".....

[@cjad100]

Yes, I have to admit, I found that quite funny as well.

[@MrJimjamesjimbo]

The ATC finishes declaring the emergency to all stations at 0.55 and the first fire truck is on the actual runway at 1.26. That's 31 seconds. Good work all round that day at Heathrow.

[@hairyairey]

There is video available online that shows the first fire engine arriving about a minute afterwards. Considering some of these vehicles can reach 90mph it shouldn't be a surprise.

[@cjad100]

@@hairyairey Except that they spend all day, every day, on standby and don't have to do anything. It's still impressive that they were properly ready, in the truck and rolling within the timeframe. I get pretty sick of people saying in aviation accidents "yeah well that's what they're trained to do, blah blah". Yeah. Aviation is about doing everything safely 99.9% of the time then suddenly remembering to do things differently in that 0.1% of the time when it really matters, and nailing it.

[@BeechSundowner]

Amazing how controlled the ATC person was even though you could hear the distress in his voice.

[@falcos]

I like that the video included the internal coordination controller to controller

[@icemachine79]

Hudson River "Miracle" pilot Sully Sullenberger also reported an incorrect flight number when he declared an emergency. Then the controller at LaGuardia who responded to the call got it wrong too. Not only that; for some reason the "mayday" in Sully's first message was not transmitted to ATC (but it was on the CVR transcript). I suppose as long as the pilots and ATC know who's who - and the situation is clear to everyone - getting the ever-changing flight number wrong isn't that important.

[@galop1974]

@Dundullla Hello. Just Reading Cpt. Peter Burkill Book called 30 seconds to Impact. He explains in the book that the 95-95 is him making a mistake in the call signs cause BA95 was his next schedualed flight and in the presure of the moment he got the call sign wrong. The book is brilliant and I highly recommend it. Get your self a xmas pressie!!

[@TSBA92]

What's sad about this whole thing is that Peter Burkhill, despite the fantastic job he did along with the rest of the crew, has been unable to get a job after he was laid off by BA because of this crash

[@a7cman]

just listen the reaction of the ATC just perfect

[@guyvannifterik]

Hero pilot !

[@bermudarailway]

Can you believe how calm that controller was, it was like we have air craft crash and by the way put the kettle on. A true proffessional.

[@StratMatt777]

People do know that the cause of this crash was the faulty design by Rolls Royce of the "Fuel Oil Heat Exchanger" (FOHE) used on 777s that are equipped with Rolls Royce engines. The error allows ice particles that have frozen in the fuel system enroute to block the FOHE instead of being melted by the FOHE - which is what it exists to do. Anyone who blames BA or Boeing for this is operating on incomplete information and may very well enjoy operating from emotion instead of facts so they can fight people on youtube so they can feel "smarter than" others. Rolls Royce screwed up and since I never heard the cause in the news... apparently the UK accident investigators weren't interested in airing a British firms error that could very well have been deadly. At the moment a Malaysia Airlines 777 (also equipped with Rolls Royce engines) has been lost for 2 hours, but all the FOHEs were corrected after they figured out that it was the cause.

[@andytaylor1588]

+StratMatt777 Thank you.

[@KjartanAndersen]

The news is right in not placing blame on anyone as long as the investigation is underway. There was no omission of the fact that the engine design was at fault in the accident investigation report. This is even shown in the NG TV-series. To often media is out even before the flames are put out to have the answer to what happened. They come dragging with "experts" that more or less conclude on basis of nothing else than speculation. Normally one must expect up to a year before the official reports are out. Sometimes even more (Air France flight 447 took almost 4 years).

[@hairyairey]

Actually it's a bit more complex than that. Ice will build up on long haul flights with steady thrust. So now all flights will change altitude and increase thrust every two hours to clear any blockage. Doesn't just apply to the 777 either have observed pilots doing this on other flights (one of the perks of business class is being able to see airspeed and altitude!)

[@N1755L]

@@hairyairey Very interesting, thanks for that information. Something to look into.

[@cjad100]

@@hairyairey Spoke to my father (retired BA 747 captain) about an hour after the crash and he said his best guess was fuel exhaustion due to icing. Not making that up... ! I was amazed he called it right so early. A common thing to be aware of when coming back on northerly routings from the Far East where OATs over Siberia do get extremely cold.

[@3chel3]

They had no thrust so by reducing drag they hit the ground a couple of hundred feet later, missing the perimeter fence. Lift is only relevant if you have engine power/thrust. In a glide, with a heavy aircraft, it's basically just a controlled fall. He did it do maintain forward momentum knowing they were not going to make it to the tarmac. If the pilot hadn't been so quick and wise they would have hit the perimeter structures and many, if not, all would have died.

[@wowdude999]

Speedbird 95 is used as well as their emergency callsign when their training in simulators. At least for a couple of pilots i've talked to from BAW.

[@Ryan198416]

I just finished the book written by Captain Burkill and his wife. It was a great read and it was interesting to read the story, and aftermath from the captains point of view.

[@FastAsFunk]

A very impressive demonstration of emergency procedures by Heathrow ATC / Ground Control and Emergency Services. One minute everything is normal, next minute the controller is presented with an emergency situation which he coordinates impeccably. Well done to all on duty that day. The procedures and processes worked flawlessly.

[@Kentuckyhorse1]

Yeah. you can hear the adrenaline. I expect he could have done with a stiff drink after that!

[@raymondrayban]

OH yes the TOWER dealt with this situation spot onBUT! do you know the exam to be a airtraffic controller! i do and im GOING TO HELP YOU BE ONE,................................................. just get FLIGHT CONTROL APP on your I phone , once you have mastered it .......................YOU ARE QUALIFIED AIR TRAFFIC COTROLLER and will get employed all round the world! dont say i didnt help you!

[@TheDoctorOfGaming]

and for the record no British plane crashes OR even incidents have been recorded since BA38 which was just over 5 years ago.

[@MartyNOC25]

Amazing response! The controller was shaking the whole time Id say but seemed to remain focused on the job (at one of the busiest airports in the world)!!

[@karamsaviation2813]

Similar to Asiana crash

[@bkoranyi]

A quote from accident investigation report: "... in an attempt to reduce drag the commander retracted the flaps from flap 30 to flap 25"

[@GreenJetsam]

bkoranyi it was actually the first officer who did it. But not many people know that

[@18sri1]

Repair? This was a complete right off. I think it was the 1st hull loss of a 777.

[@rossyp2k6]

@TSBA92 he got his job back a few weeks ago :)

[@hairyairey]

He took voluntary redundancy then went back.

[@adrian-d]

wow, very cool! how did you get this this good sound-quality? 5* for you!

[@IrishPlaneSpotter]

Incredibly cool and professional. Very impressive.

[@Kaleemofadia]

ATC was on top of his brief.

[@sketchley]

Applause for the professionalism and swift action demonstrated here.

[@stuart29stuart]

the tower controller was fantastic a credit to nats

[@mikey19lon]

Pedmond1 you clearly haven't got a clue....can you imagine having to run 100's of scenarios ins simulator every 6months using the same dummy call sign, I guarantee you impost will revert to that the one and only time they have to call mayday for real...secondly, it is clearly audible in the act recording that as the commander made the standard BA evacuation order that the Evac alarm was already sounding and therefore wasn't even necessary to call, besides, BA SEP training permits ANY crew membe

[@JasonRowPhotography]

27R is not the opposite direction, its the same direction parallel to 27L and well separated. A go around on 27R would pull away and to the right of the field, not over the airport and crash site.

[@Harihar_Patel]

How ironic that even with an aircraft crashed on that very runway they decide to use that runway to land planes in the other direction. I understand the runways are very long but imagine if someone had to do a go around from 27R, you would have a huge aircraftwooshing over your already frightened heads. :/

[@pedmond1]

I know he saved lives that day but many people dont realise how many mistakes he makes here. Speedbird 95? Thats a simulator. And hes saying Evacuate evacuate on atc. You dont do that. Just an observance

[@ckyliu]

"British" was/is used by BA CitiExpress flights to/from London City Airport. BA have also used "Shuttle", I think on some of the Manchester regional flights. "Speedbird" is used because that was the tail logo/emblem of BOAC, one of the two airlines that merged together in 1974 to form British Airways, which inherited that callsign.

[@jediritta]

In this case prety easy : All we were listening to was Heathrows Tower frequency. You xould here the BA38's captain because he pressed the wrong button and accidentally transmitted on Towrs frequency thats why ATC told him : Transmitting on ATC !

[@ckyliu]

Because music radio broadcasts from masts that are frequently hundreds of feet tall and very powerful. They also predominantly FM, whilst aircraft radio is AM.

[@BTS737]

In aviation world everything is recorded. Every word they say in the TWR and all a/c locations are monitored. And as captinvid said for the evacuation call, i think it was meant to be for the cabin crews and the pax (evacuation command)...

[@Nilguiri]

No, smartarse; he raised the flaps... the engines had failed. With full flaps it wouldn't have made it to the field with no power, so he raised them a notch to reduce the drag. Get your facts right before you slag off other punters or you might make a fool of yourself.

[@zorak950]

@MrAviator12 Yes. This is common ATC phraseology on both sides of the Atlantic; not sure if it's an ICAO thing or not, but it's so prevalent I rather suspect so. Not precisely sure how and why it came about, but controllers will almost always refer to it as a "company" aircraft when calling the attention of one plane's pilots to a plane using the same call sign (operating under the same company).

[@Caellest89]

In that case it would become 27L (left), 27C (center) and 27R (right). Amsterdam Airport Schiphol has three parallel runways. Los Angeles has sort of 4 parallel runways although their magnetic angle are slightly different, they are 25L, 25R and 26L and 26R

[@RensterUK]

Exactly. And just to clarify Jason's comments on how runway numbering works. Take the numeric part - add a 0... Ie, 270 in this case. That gives you the compass bearing to the nearest 10 degrees that you are heading in as you land / take off. the L/R is nothing more than Left and Right!

[@brett18uk]

If the cabin PA was accidentally transmitted to ATC, does this mean it wasn't heard int he cabin?, or it was heard by both ATC and in the cabin?

[@Staldren]

@sam9524 From The Sunday Times (UK): "...may have been caused by ice clogging its fuel supply..." - "...water leaked into fuel tanks and froze on the 10½ hour flight from Beijing..." - "...airports and airlines to review safeguards and checks on fuel before long-haul flights, when planes on some routes are exposed to temperatures as low as -75C."

[@johno.432]

Excellent tower controller. While the 777 flightcrew handled the emergecy landing, the controller made all the right calls and prevented any secondary incidents WHILE providing important info to the Capt about his Evacuation order and fire response status. Well done. I haven't read the book, but I thought the F/O contiued to fly through the landing, while the Capt did the required steps to make it as survivalble as possible (reset flaps, etc.)

[@lukerm91]

i've been on the ba038 route during the olympics. unlike this one, we went to land at t5 on runway 2. over russia we flew over cold airspace, but it being the summer at the time gave less impact on the plane. shame that ice stalled the plane

[@mikejreading]

They only landed aircraft that were already on final approach. All inbound and outbound flights were then suspended. Also, the standard missed approach for runway 27R doesn't cross over 27L.

[@RensterUK]

Hence LHR has 27R and 27L, which are opposite to 9L and 9R respectively. Which do they use? Depends on wind direction - land / take off facing into the wind.

[@TheDoctorOfGaming]

i think someone needs to check British flight records by injury and death not by incident, the real skill is saving the souls on board, notice it was not pilot error, the plane was not manufactured by the Brits it was manufactured by americans, so in what way was this an englishmens fault other than painting a sticker on the outside of the plane considering everyone survived.

[@mruppity64]

@morg2204 oh and if you notice his callsign is Speedbird 38, but when declaring a mayday his used the callsign for what would have been his next flight - Speedbird 95

[@fredrikstadmann]

It was ice in the fuel line, and the heaters where to short so ice built up in the heater,, And that made fuel flow with limited capasity.