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| Date: | Sunday 24 January 1999 |
| Time: | c. 20:32 LT |
| Type: |  Boeing 737-3Y0 |
| Owner/operator: | GO Fly |
| Registration: | G-IGOH |
| MSN: | 23926/1562 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1988 |
| Engine model: | CFMI CFM56-3 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 50 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Minor |
| Location: | near TALLA Reporting Point -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | London-Stansted Airport (STN/EGSS) |
| Edinburgh-Turnhouse Airport (EDI/EGPH) | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The aircraft was in the cruise at Flight Level 260 on a flight from London Stansted to Edinburgh,
and was experiencing moderate turbulence. Just prior to the descent, the flight crew became aware
of a continous noise which they later described as a 'ticking' or 'clicking' sound and subsequently
were unable to select a lower altitude using the selector on the Mode Control Panel (MCP). The
autopilot was disengaged and the descent initiated manually. However, during the descent severe
arcing was seen on the front windscreens followed by loss of MCP heading and indicated airspeed.
At this point the crew elected to make a high speed descent to below cloud level and continued the
approach in order to land as soon a possible at Edinburgh. The autothrottle and flight director were
disengaged and a PAN declared to ATC. Following a manually flown approach using raw ILS data
the aircraft landed safely.
Initial examination of the MCP, associated cables and connectors and other cables in the general
area, failed to find any obvious defects. However, after the instrument panel coaming had been
removed, a power cable integral with the MCP floodlight panel was discovered 'chafed'-through to
the conductor in such a position to suggest that it had been in contact with the MCP. This damage
was within approximately 0.5 inch of an in-line connector used to facilitate connection of the MCP
floodlighting panel wires to the aircraft wiring. It was commented upon by the maintenance
organisation that the insulation of the wires integral with the floodlight panel seemed to be less
robust than normal and of a type not seen elsewhere on the aircraft. Other wiring in this area and
along the front of the windscreen was also examined, but no further damage was found. Although a
small area of polishing was present on the MCP in a position where the wire was thought to have
made contact, there was no reported evidence of arcing damage at this location. Following
replacement of the damaged section of wire and the in-line connector, the MCP was re-fitted and
found to function normally. However, in order to be certain that no damage had been caused to this
unit, it was replaced with another MCP which had been removed two days previously as a result of
defects with the commander's course selection and flight director. With this in mind, the aircraft
was released back to service with a CAT 1 only limitation. Should any pre-existing defects be
revealed within the MCP after bench testing, they will be reported upon in a future AAIB Bulletin.
The MCP floodlight is mounted on the aft edge of the coaming, and is supplied by two integral
wires normally routed from the left side of the aircraft as shown in Figure 1. The in-line connectors
and any excess wire lengths are normally stowed under the coaming in such a manner as to be clear
of the MCP and coaming support structure. In the case of G-IGOH, these wires had been pulled
through and were resting on top of the MCP. A check of other aircraft revealed signs of insulation
abrasion on at least one wire where it had also been in contact with the MCP. The maintenance
organisation has advised the manufacturer of this event, and has instigated a fleet wide check of all
similar aircraft for which they are responsible to determine the extent of this problem.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422f46bed915d13740004d9/dft_avsafety_pdf_501613.pdf
https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/121067 (Photo)
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 6 December 1996 | F-GLLD | British Airways, opb TAT European Airlines | 0 | London-Heathrow Airport (LHR/EGLL) | |
min |
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 05-Oct-2025 12:20 | Justanormalperson | Added |
| 05-Oct-2025 12:21 | Justanormalperson | Updated [Accident report, ] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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