Faulty 747

Hi. Can anybody let me know what was the actual fault with the undercarriages was, and will Virgin look at all there 747 fleet? We fly out to orlando in May on the LGW 747's and I have 1 very nervous wife who isn't a great flyer and this hasn't help her at all

It was a problem with the hydraulic system but won't know all the details until the AAIB publish their report (won't be for months). More details here

http://avherald.com/h?article=47f7b9f9

The reason it made the news is due to its rarity, this is only the 2nd time it's happened to Virgin in 30 years of operation.

It's due to the work of the AAIB that lessons are learned and safety actions put in place so that it won't happen again.

If anything you should be pleased that you're on a 747 as it shows how over designed the aircraft is that it can land missing a set of wheels. I shall make the standard statement about flying, you're more likely to be in a fatal accident in the taxi driving to the airport.

The reason it made the news is due to its rarity

Coupled with what happened to Air Asia the day before.

Although a little out of date these figures show just how safe air transport is.

For the UK

death rate for all transport 5.94 per 100,000 population

motor vehicle accidents - 5.66 / 100,000

pedestrians killed in rta - 1.15 / 100,000

motor cyclist killed in rta - 1.02 / 100,000

cyclist killed in rta - 0.25 / 100,000 (1 in 400,000)

Passenger airline - 0.03 / 100,000 (1 in 3.3 million)

passenger train - 0.02 / 100,000


You are indeed more likely to die in any form of transport incident other than when travelling by train.

The reason incidents with planes make the news is simply because they are not that common and when incidents do happen they involve a lot of people all at once.

Each VS plane is on a tight maintenance schedule of regular checks which simply cannot be postponed.

Boeing will also be looking at this incident as will the CAA. If they feel that extra checks are needed on landing gear then these will be carried out in short order.

I agree would never fly anybody else love Virgin Atlantic and love the 747 400 always fly premium economy which our family loves

Although a little out of date these figures show just how safe air transport is.[...]

i think those figures are total population which really skews things - some people fly a lot, some never, ditto for other modes of transport

if you look at risk per trip the results are quite different, this is also a bit old now, but it has results based on three different ways of looking at things...

http://www.numberwatch.co.uk/risks_of_travel.htm

...interesting to see what changes and what stays the same depending on the measure

I'm a nervous flyer and although I'll never skip on to a plane, the amount of maintenance, checks and training that goes on at VS makes me feel much more comfortable. A few years ago I did the Virgin Flying without Fear course. I would highly recommend it for your wife.

Totally agree RachelCox.
Five of the LGW 747s spent over a month each this summer in China receiving a serious amount of maintenance. Whilst that obviously doesn't totally preclude an incident, it certainly dramatically cuts the risk.
Andy Moss also posted a link to '747 The Jumbo Revolution' and whilst only 747 geeks like me might watch it in its entirety, the test flying sequence is interesting if only to appreciate exactly what that plane can withstand.

G-VROS....

anyone know what has happened to Barbarella since as when I arrived into Gatwick seriously late last night she was just outside the hangar and can see not flown since 29/12. Although arrival at lgw was late last night got to see jersey girl too parked up behind us it was like a little orange dot between two great big virgins.

Nothing will happen to her until the AAIB have completed their look at her following the incident last week.

After that she will have whatever work done to her that is deemed necessary to make her safe to fly again.

[Darren Wheeler]

I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for the AAIB report either. The one into the VSXY emergency landing at Gatwick took 22 months to publish.

So, how long before we can expect to see G-VROM back in the air?
Weeks or months?

G-VROS....

I flew back from MCO on VSXY about 5-7 days after the incident so would assume the aircraft will be back in the air sooner than the report gets published

Looks like G-VAST is off to China for maintenance at the weekend, so the LGW 747s will be two down, potentially for quite some time.

G-VROS.....

Not a major issue - I think LGW-MCO is down to one flight a day for the winter (and none at all on certain days, as with LAS) so there should be enough slack.

G-VROM scheduled on the VS27 today. If that is so, fantastic job by the maintenance crew.

G-VROS....

on its way:

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/GVROM