British Airways B763 near Amsterdam on May 7th 2013, burning odour and smoke in cockpit

Last Update: July 19, 2013 / 14:31:40 GMT/Zulu time

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Incident Facts

Date of incident
May 7, 2013

Classification
Incident

Flight number
BA-234

Aircraft Registration
G-BNWI

Aircraft Type
Boeing 767-300

ICAO Type Designator
B763

A British Airways Boeing 767-300, registration G-BNWI performing flight BA-234 from Moscow Domodedovo (Russia) to London Heathrow,EN (UK) with 63 passengers and 9 crew, was enroute at FL400 about 115nm east of Amsterdam (Netherlands) when the crew reported a burning odour in the cockpit and decided to divert to Amsterdam subsequently advising there was visible smoke. Further into the approach the crew reported that the smoke was no longer visible, they suspected an electrical problem. The aircraft continued for a safe landing on Amsterdam's runway 36R about 32 minutes after leaving FL400. The aircraft taxied to the gate after a quick check by emergency services, that did not find any trace of fire or heat.

All 63 passengers were rebooked onto flight BA-433 flown by an Airbus A319-100 and reached London with a delay of 1.5 hours.

A maintenance team is being flown in from London to further examine the aircraft.

The Dutch Onderzoeksraad (DSB) opened an investigation reporting there was odour and smoke in the cockpit, the aircraft also encountered problems with autothrottle.

The DSB reported in their quarterly bulletin of July 2013 that the aircraft was enroute from Moscow to London when the autothrottle disconnected unexpectedly. The crew worked the relevant checklists and consulted with dispatch, then reengaged autothrottle. Seconds later a burning smell developed in the cockpit, dissipated and reappeared. Suspecting a causal link between the autothrottle disconnect and the burning smell the crew disengaged autothrottle, the burning smell dissipated again. Some time later the burning smell appeared again however, one of the cabin crew was called to the cockpit and reported feeling unwell prompting the flight crew to don their oxygen masks and divert to Amsterdam. The cockpit smoke and fire checklists were executed, the aircraft landed in Amsterdam without further incident, the cabin crew member did not require medical treatment. A preliminary investigation did not identify any problem with autothrottle, however, a recirculation fan of the air conditioning system was found seized due to a defective bearing causing the burning smell. The occurrence was rated a serious incident, the investigation continues.
Incident Facts

Date of incident
May 7, 2013

Classification
Incident

Flight number
BA-234

Aircraft Registration
G-BNWI

Aircraft Type
Boeing 767-300

ICAO Type Designator
B763

This article is published under license from Avherald.com. © of text by Avherald.com.
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