VOLCANIC ASH THREAT

摘要

Volcanic ash can be a serious hazard to aircraft. This could not have been demonstrated more alarmingly than in the case of British Airways flight 'BA 009'. On June 24, 1982 Captain Eric Moody was at the controls of a Boeing 747-236 which had departed Kuala Lumpur on its way to Auckland in New Zealand. On board were 16 crew and 247 passengers. When the aircraft flew into an unanticipated ash plume from a fresh eruption of Mount Galunggung on the island of Java, all four engines failed and the Jumbo was forced into a steep dive. While the passengers prepared for the worst, the crew made repeated attempts to restart the engines. Their persistence paid off and the aircraft eventually made a safe landing at Jakarta, thanks to sterling work by Moody and his crew. However, the engines were damaged beyond repair, the aircraft's windshield blasted opaque and the passengers badly shaken.