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| Date: | Tuesday 4 October 1994 |
| Time: | c. 13:30 LT |
| Type: |  Boeing 747-136 |
| Owner/operator: | British Airways |
| Registration: | G-AWNN |
| MSN: | 20809/220 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1973 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 391 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Minor |
| Category: | Serious incident |
| Location: | over The Mid Atlantic -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | London-Heathrow Airport (LHR/EGLL) |
| Miami International Airport, FL (MIA/KMIA) | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
G-AWNN took off from London Heathrow, as Flight BA 293 to Miami, at 1106 hrs. The takeoff and
climb were uneventful and the aircraft levelled at FL 330, its final cruise level, at 1310 hrs. However,
at 1330 hrs, with no prior indications of any engine malfunction, the fire warning system on No 3
engine activated. The crew carried out the fire drills from the checklist and, having discharged the first (left) fire extinguisher, the fire indications ceased after 28 seconds. When the fire had been
extinguished, it was noted that the Nacelle Temperature Indicator on No 3 engine showed that a fault
had developed in the 'B' loop of the fire protection system. The commander decided to return to
Heathrow and so turned onto the reciprocal track and performed a three engine drift-down to FL 250.
Having dumped 10 tonnes of fuel over the Irish Sea, the aircraft returned to Heathrow and landed
without further event.
After landing, the aircraft was met by the AFS who said that there were no signs of fire remaining in
No 3 engine. The aircraft was then taxied onto Stand T 8, where the ground engineers informed the
crew that the starter motor of No 3 engine had burned out. No crew member recalls adjusting, at the
time of the incident, any cockpit selection located at a control panel near the starter panel. Similarly no crew member recalls seeing the 'START VALVE OPEN' light illuminate, although this is not
positioned in such a way as to be in the normal visual scan of any crew member, being above the head
and to the left of the P2 position where it is shielded from the normal view of the flight engineer by the fire handle.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422fcefe5274a131700090b/Boeing_747-136__G-AWNN_02-95.pdf
https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/6422883 (Photo)
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 28-Jun-2025 14:42 | Justanormalperson | Added |
| 28-Jun-2025 14:43 | Justanormalperson | Updated [Accident report, ] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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