Incident Boeing 747-45EM B-16462,
ASN logo
ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 173889
 
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information. If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.

Date:Sunday 23 May 2004
Time:
Type:Silhouette image of generic B744 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Boeing 747-45EM
Owner/operator:Eva Air
Registration: B-16462
MSN: 27173/998
Year of manufacture:1993
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Location:London-Heathrow Airport (LHR/EGLL) -   United Kingdom
Phase: Standing
Nature:Passenger - Scheduled
Departure airport:Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi International Airport (BKK/VTBS)
Destination airport:Heathrow Airport
Confidence Rating: Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources
Narrative:
While parked at a remote stand, the nose gear of this Eva Air B747 collapsed. Engineers were troubleshooting some technical problems, which had delayed the flight to BKK and TPE. According to contemporary eyewitness reports:

"Apparently the BA guys were troubleshooting a hydraulic leak on one of the main gears. This required lifting the landing gear lever to the up position. This wouldn't normally be a problem if the nose gear down-lock pin is correctly installed, but the pin rests on the nose gear doors and when the doors opened as the first part of the gear sequence, the pin fell out as it wasn't correctly latched into position, consequently the nose gear retracted". The British Airways Engineers used a crude non standard nose gear pin of the own design which did not have a safety locking device. During retraction test following the replacement of a leaking hydraulic seal on the gear.....It just fell out. No EVA personnel were involved in this incident.

"The aircraft also suffered damage to an entry door which came down onto a set of steps, which also set off the escape slide. Unfortunately, the aircraft also settled onto the fixed electrical ground power unit, which got buried into the fuselage".

"Rumour control has it, that it will be out of service for 2-3 months and cost between $6-8 million to repair. Apparently, when it landed on it's open nose gear doors (which looked like a venetian blind afterwards) it forced the whole nose gear bay upwards into the fuse slightly........Oh dear!"

"Apparently, there was one person slightly injured.....A bag ape (baggage handler) was rifling through the galley, eating a lamb chop, when the aircraft dropped he went upwards, banging his head on the galley structure. He reportedly needed a few stitches and I would expect a clean pair of Y-fronts..."

Aircraft towed to the British Airways East Engineering Base for repairs, which were completed "on site" and the aircraft left Heathrow to return to service on 22 September 2004 (four months later, almost to the day)

Sources:

1. https://www.pprune.org/spectators-balcony-spotters-corner/131319-eva-air-747-without-nosegear-lhr.html
2. https://www.pprune.org/spectators-balcony-spotters-corner/131313-eva-air-b744-nose-gear-collapses-lhr.html
3. https://www.planespotters.net/Production_List/Boeing/747/27173,B-16462-EVA-Airways.php
4. http://www.airfleets.net/ficheapp/plane-b747-27173.htm
5. https://www.airliners.net/photo/EVA-Air/Boeing-747-45EM/592651/L

Images:



Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
15-Feb-2015 18:53 harro Added
15-Feb-2015 18:54 harro Updated [Photo, ]
15-Feb-2015 18:54 harro Updated [Photo, ]
13-Jul-2015 19:33 Dr. John Smith Updated [Cn, Total occupants, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Damage, Narrative]
13-Jul-2015 21:00 Dr. John Smith Updated [Narrative]
16-Dec-2015 18:48 Anon. Updated [Cn]
12-Jul-2017 16:52 skeptical Updated [Embed code, Narrative]
12-Jul-2017 16:52 harro Updated [Embed code]
02-Apr-2021 14:33 The8thSpirit Updated [Source]

Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description

The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:

CONNECT WITH US: FSF on social media FSF Facebook FSF Twitter FSF Youtube FSF LinkedIn FSF Instagram

©2024 Flight Safety Foundation

1920 Ballenger Av, 4th Fl.
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
www.FlightSafety.org