Crash May Prompt New Safety Rules for 777 Polar Flights

[Matt Molnar]

Wall Street Journal:

Re-Evaluating Long, Cold Flights
Crash May Prompt
New Safety Rules
For Boeing's 777
By ANDY PASZTOR
April 25, 2008

Prompted by the crash landing of a British Airways jetliner near London earlier this year, air-safety investigators are moving to recommend heightened cold-temperature safeguards for Boeing 777 aircraft flying long polar routes, according to people familiar with the details.

In a few weeks, these people said, investigators are likely to warn operators and pilots of Boeing Co.'s long-haul 777 models to take extra precautions when monitoring fuel temperatures on a growing number of extended flights over the North Pole. If temperatures creep too low, pilots can descend to warmer air or speed up to increase the heat generated by air friction against the plane's skin.

"It's a possibility" that such operational warnings or recommendations will be issued within the next few weeks, said David King, chief investigator for Britain's Air Accidents Investigation Branch, or AAIB, which is in charge of the probe. In an interview Thursday, Mr. King said safety experts are "looking at a wide range of things" affecting fuel management and environmental conditions on polar flights. [Full Article]

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[cancidas]

i remember reading an article written about COA's 777 flights over the pole. the crew then mentioned the fact that they had to continuously monitor the fuel temperature throughout the flight. i don't remember how they kept the fuel from freezing, but i don't doubt there being heat exchangers onboard the airplanes.