UK Government Shares Statement On British Airways 787 Nose Gear Retraction At Heathrow

英国政府在希思罗机场就收回英国航空公司787前起落架发表声明

On the morning of June 18th last year, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner suffered a nose gear collapse at London's Heathrow Airport. The affected aircraft was registered as G-ZBJB, owned and operated by national carrier British Airways. It was just eight years old and was also the first of the aircraft type that British Airways took delivery off. A year since the unfortunate incident, the UK Government has released an anniversary statement.

去年的6月18日上午，一架波音787-8梦幻客机的前起落架在伦敦的希思罗机场倒塌。事发飞机的注册号为G-ZBJB，是一架英国国家航空公司所有和运营的飞机。这架飞机只有八年记录，是英国航空公司交付的第一种机型。在发生这起事件的一年后，英国政府发布一周年声明。

Recap of what happened

情景重现

The Boeing 787-8 aircraft was parked on a stand at the airport, loaded with cargo for a flight journey to Frankfurt Airport, and undergoing a pre-departure maintenance task. The task was known as the 'Dispatch Deviation Guide' (DDG) procedure, and it was needed to clear maintenance messages relating to an existing Acceptable Deferred Defect (ADD). Part of this task required the landing gear doors to be cycled, meaning the landing gear had to be selected up while the aircraft was on the ground.

这架波音787-8飞机装着要运往法兰克福机场的航班所需的货物停在机场的停机位上，正在进行起飞前的维护工作。维护又称“调度偏差指南”，是需要清除与现有可接受延迟缺陷相关的维护消息，要求循环起落架门，这意味着飞机在地面时必须选择起落架。

To prevent the landing gear from retracting when up was selected and to ensure that only the landing gear doors would operate, the landing gear downlock pins had to be fitted properly and securely. However, the British Airways aircraft that morning had its nose landing gear retracted, causing the aircraft's nose to strike the ground and damage the lower front section. The lower nose, nose landing gear doors, engine cowlings, and one door was substantially damaged. One of the cargo loading team members also suffered minor injuries.

为防止起落架在选择向上时缩回，确保只有起落架舱门可以操作，起落架降锁销要求正确安全地进行安装。然而当天早上，英国航空公司的飞机收回了机头起落架，导致机头撞击地面，飞机前端下部受损。下机头、前起落架舱门、发动机整流罩和一扇门受损严重。一名货物装载队的成员也受了轻伤。

Through an investigation conducted by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), it was found that the nose landing gear downlock pin was incorrectly inserted in the downlock link assembly apex pin bore instead of the downlock pinhole. Interestingly, an airworthiness directive was issued for 36-month compliance from January 16th, 2021, to install an insert over the apex bin bore to prevent incorrect installation of the downlock pin. AAIB additionally found that the airworthiness directive had not yet been implemented on G-ZBJB.

经过空难调查处的调查，在前起落架下锁销发现错误插入了下锁链节组件顶点销孔，而非下锁销孔。有意思的是，自2021 1月16日起，针对36个月的合规性发布的适航指令中，为防止下锁销的错误安装，要求在apex料仓孔上安装插入件。空难调查处还发现，G-ZBJB尚未执行适航指令。

One year later

一年后

Immediately after the incident, the AAIB sensed some urgency in the nose landing gear confusion and expedited the implementation of the airworthiness directive to prevent a third incident from occurring again. The installation of the insert was mandated, and British Airways has since completed the incorporation of the Service Bulletin.

事件发生后，以防止再次发生第三起事故，空难调查处立即意识到解决前起落架问题的紧迫性，加快了适航指令的实施。该插件的安装已获授权，英国航空公司已完成服务公告的合并。

It remains uncertain if the engineers and mechanics involved in the incident dealt with any disciplinary issues. The AAIB also mentions that the investigation continues and will consider the safety procedures associated with landing gear maintenance, including the human factors that may have contributed to the nose land gear downlock pin being incorrectly installed. A final report is expected to be published in due course.

目前仍不能确定涉案工程师和机械师是否存在纪律问题。空难调查处表示仍在调查，并将把与起落架维护相关的安全程序纳入考虑范围，包括人为因素可能导致前起落架下降锁销安装错误。最终的报告预计将适时发表。

As for G-ZBJB, the aircraft was initially speculated to encounter the possibility of being written off, considering the circumstances revolving around poor demand during the pandemic and the significant damages sustained. Fortunately, the aircraft was repaired, and after five months, it has since returned to active service on November 12th, 2021. Its most recent flight was from Portland to London, as part of British Airways' return to the US destination after a two-year delay.

鉴于疫情期间需求不足以及其遭受的重大损失，最初推测G-ZBJB可能会被注销。所幸这架飞机进行了维修，五个月后，它于2021年11月12日重新服役。最近一次航班是从波特兰飞往伦敦，作为一部分英国航空公司推迟两年返回美国目的地。

Bottom line

要旨

Hopefully, the AAIB will publish its final report soon to provide a meaningful guide on the other possible human factors that could cause the incorrect insertion of the downlock pin. And although the damage was hefty, it would have been a great shame for British Airways' first Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft to have been written off so prematurely. Thus, it is fantastic to see G-ZBJB repaired and has been in active service ever since.

希望空难调查处能尽快发布最终报告，为其他可能导致下锁销插入错误的人为因素提供有效指导。尽管损失巨大，但如果英航首架波音787-8梦幻客机过早地注销掉将会是耻辱的一笔。因此，很高兴G-ZBJB得到维修，并在那以后一直积极进行服务。