Malaysia Airlines (MAS) : experts surprised at disappearance of 'very safe' Boeing 777
Aviation consultant says online flight data suggested the plane experienced a rapid loss of height and change in direction
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Aviation experts have expressed surprise at the sudden loss of contact with the missing Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, which has an almost flawless safety record.
Mohan Ranganathan, an aviation safety consultant who serves on India’s Civil Aviation Safety Advisory Committee, said it was “very, very rare” for an aircraft to lose contact completely without any previous indication of problems.
“The 777 is a very safe aircraft – I’m surprised,” he said.
He noted that the flight had already reached cruising altitude of 10,700 metres but that online flight data suggested it had experienced a very rapid loss of height and change in the direction it was heading.
Neil Hansford, the chairman of consultancy firm Strategic Aviation Solutions and a former air freight executive, said of the Boeing 777: “It has probably been one of the safest aircraft in aviation history.”
He said more than 1000 of the aircraft had been produced and just 60 incidents had been logged, most of them minor. He said the chance of both engines failing at the same time was very low.
“If you lose an engine in a cruise it doesn’t fall out of the sky,” he said.
Hansford said he had seen some people speculating about sabotage or a bomb, claims he said were premature: “How could anybody know make that sort of assertion this early?”
The aircraft, popular among airlines because it is capable of flying extremely long distances thanks to two giant engines, has helped connect cities at the far ends of the globe with flights as long as 16 hours. Its safety record is impressive – the first fatal crash in its 19-year history only came in July 2013, when an Asiana Airlines jet landed short of the runway in San Francisco. Three of the 307 people aboard died, one of whom was hit by an emergency truck after surviving the crash.
“It has provided a new standard in both efficiency and safety,” said Richard Aboulafia, an aviation consultant with the Teal Group. “The 777 has enjoyed one of the safest records of any jetliner built.”
Besides last year’s Asiana crash, the only other serious incident with the 777 came in January 2008 when a British Airways jet landed 305 metres short of the runway at London’s Heathrow airport.
Malaysia Airlines did have an incident in August 2005 with a 777 flying from Perth to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. While flying 11,580 metres above the Indian Ocean, the plane’s software incorrectly measured speed and acceleration, causing the plane to suddenly shoot up 915 metres. The pilot disengaged the autopilot and descended and landed safely back in Perth. A software update was quickly made on planes around the world.
Malaysia Airlines has 15 Boeing 777-200ER jets in its fleet of about 100 planes. The 777 is capable of flying 11,500km non-stop. A new model has a list price of $261.5 million, although airlines typically negotiate discounts.
The 777 was the first twin-engine plane to be immediately certified to fly over the ocean as far as 180 minutes from any emergency landing airport. Government safety regulators have determined that it could fly for nearly three hours on a single engine in the case of an emergency. Such government approval has enabled airlines to fly routes such as New York to Hong Kong non-stop on the 777.
Saturday’s Malaysia Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing was scheduled to take five and a half hours, one of the shorter routes worldwide for the 777.
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