British Airways Flight 9 - The Heroic Flight!

 

Hey Kids! Welcome back to KidsCast! Today, we are going to talk about a dangerous yet heroic flight, in which all engines were failed, they were on fire, yet the Plane Survived! So let us begin!

Years ago, on 24th June 1982, British Airways Flight 9, also known as Speedbird 9, flew from London Heathrow Airport, United Kingdom, which's destination was the Airport in Auckland, New Zealand. It was stopping in a few airports in different cities and countries, which were: Bombay and Madras (Present Day: Chennai) in India, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, and Perth and Melbourne in Australia.  

While the plane was travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Perth, the accident occurred, shortly after 8:40 PM (Jakarta Time), when the plane was travelling above Indonesia, a pilot of the flight noticed some thick and black smoke coming out of the vents. And when he noticed on the cockpit window, it was all lighting like fire. And it wasn't just a normal fire. The fire which occurred on that incident is called as St Elmo's Fire which is a weather phenomenon in which glowing and light emitting plasma is given out. 

Shortly after the St Elmo's Fire incident, within minutes, the pilots of the flight got an alarm that their 4th engine of the airplane had stopped working, it had failed and was on fire! And soon after, they got another alarm that all the engines had stopped working! The Pilots calculated the distance they can Glide the airplane for, and they concluded that the distance would be of 91 Nautical Miles (168 Kilometers). The Pilots then announced the situation to the passengers, which created more panic on the flight. 

In fact, after some time, oxygen in the cabin dropped, and all the passengers had to wear Oxygen masks, so here Pilots conducted a brave action. They made the plane go very steep, literally on its nose, and reached an altitude where the passengers and crew could breathe easily. Then in the horror of this situation, a miracle happened! After a several minutes, the plane's 4th engine roared back and started to function again! In fact, after a few more minutes all the rest three engines started to function too! And the plane landed successfully after that! No casualties, no bad injuries, and everyone were just fine after landing! But now the question arises, Why did this accident occur? Is it a Mystery or a Logic?

Why did this Accident Occur?

It was a Logical Reason, that why did this accident occur. After hard work of investigation, investigators got to know and concluded that this accident occurred shortly after this flight British Airways Flight 9 flew into the cloud of a volcanic ash, after the eruption of Mt. Galunggung, a volcanic mountain in Indonesia, which was located south-east to Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia. 

Now children, you would ask that how did the volcanic ash effect the aeroplane? Well here's the answer. The smoke mentioned earlier was coming from volcanic ash of the volcano, and this ash blocked the engine and caused the flaming of all the engines. Hence, the engine stopped working because the volcanic ash was stuck in it. But, after several minutes, this ash cooled down and got removed by itself, and this made the engines work again! The St Elmo's Fire too occurred because of some reason too, so don't believe it as a mystery or magic! Just Kidding!

Thank You children for your wonderful time on this Fact Story. Will see you soon! Till then, Stay Happy, and Keep Learning!