The flight crew members had boarded the aircraft at Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Kuala Lumpur and were due to pilot the 747 from the Malaysia to Perth Airport leg. And here's Wikipedia's description of the incident: British Airways Flight 9, sometimes referred to by its callsign Speedbird 9 or Jakarta incident,[1] was a scheduled British Airways flight from London Heathrow to Auckland, with stops in Bombay, Madras, Kuala Lumpur, Perth, and Melbourne. The crew decided to fly the ILS (Instrument Landing System); however, the glide slope (vertical guidance) system was inoperative, so they were forced to fly with only the localizer (lateral guidance) as the first officer monitored the airport's DME (Distance Measuring Equipment). The incident featured in an episode of the Mayday documentary TV series Air Crash Investigation titled "Falling From the Sky". For more on the world of piloting, check out 6 WWI Fighter Pilots Whose Balls Deserve Their Own Monument and 7 Planes Perfectly Designed (To Kill The People Flying Them). Many passengers, fearing for their lives, wrote notes to relatives.[2]. In front of them was the most intense display of St Elmo's fire that any of them had ever seen. Captain Eric Moody is an example of a pilot sounding cool under pressure. Owing to the high Indonesian mountains on the south coast of the island of Java, an altitude of at least 11,500 feet (3,500m) was required to cross the coast safely. Either McCormick and his crew are damned good, or they're so lucky they shit rainbows. He then called out how high they should be at each DME step along the final approach to the runway, creating a virtual glide slope for them to follow. "He said, 'Ladies and gentlemen. So now you're on an out of control bicycle, footless and hurtling downhill with no brakes. As the flight progressed, smoke began to accumulate in the passenger cabin of the aircraft; it was first assumed to be cigarette smoke. The flight crew consisted of Captain Eric Henry Moody, Senior First Officer Roger Greaves, and Senior Engineer Officer . By the time he did, the plane had tipped up on its side, and was falling fast. What the shit? Shortly after 13:40 UTC (20:40 Jakarta time) above the Indian Ocean, south of Java, the flight crew (consisting of Senior First Officer Roger Greaves and Senior Engineer Officer Barry Townley-Freeman while Captain Eric Moody was in the lavatory) first noted an effect on the windscreen similar to St Elmo's fire. Ahoy there! Many passengers, fearing for their lives, wrote notes to relatives. 161 likes. As the Boeing 747 headed past Java over the south-eastern Indian Ocean at its cruising height, the first sign of trouble came. Racing The Storm (AAL 1420) Michael Origel (First Officer) Recovered from his injuries, continues to fly for American Airlines to this day, and later started his own aviation consultation firm. So the BCCI is likely to wait . Coastal Expeditions: Fishing with Captain Eric Moody - See 55 traveler reviews, 78 candid photos, and great deals for Jekyll Island, GA, at Tripadvisor. ", "G-BDXH European Aircharter Boeing 747-200", Thunderbirds Indian Springs "Diamond Crash", British Army Gazelle friendly fire incident, Concesionaria de Lneas Areas Subvencionadas, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=British_Airways_Flight_009&oldid=1132068884, Accidents and incidents involving the Boeing 747, Airliner accidents and incidents caused by engine failure, Airliner accidents and incidents caused by volcanic events, Aviation accidents and incidents in Indonesia, Pages containing London Gazette template with parameter supp set to y, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing additional references from June 2019, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 7 January 2023, at 03:13. Duration: 14 minutes This clip is from. Family and friends can send flowers and/or light a candle as a loving gesture for their loved one. As they performed the engine restart procedure, engine number four finally started, and at 13:56 UTC (20:56 Jakarta time), Moody used its power to reduce the rate of descent. This is your captain speaking. We have a small problem. He told passengers: "Ladies and gentlemen this is your captain speaking. Photograph: PA archive images All four engines on a Boeing 747 failed at 37,000ft after the plane flew through volcanic ash while passing over Jakarta on 24 . According to BBC, on the evening of Jun. An electrical anomaly known as St. Elmo's fire suddenly erupted on the windshield. The birds obscured the windshield, which would be bad on its own. We have a small problem, in that all four engines have failed. Despite the crew "squawking" the emergency transponder setting of 7700, air traffic control could not locate the 747 on their radar screens. Although the airspace around Mount Galunggung was closed temporarily after the accident, it was reopened days later. here's Wikipedia's description of the incident: Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air, The crew's intense focus on the problem (without false assurances that they could fix it), Concern for the well-being of the passengers (without being patronizing). In the past 40 years, several jet-powered commercial airplanes have encountered clouds of volcanic ash and suffered damage as a result.. Engines one, two, and three were replaced at Jakarta, as was the windscreen, and the fuel tanks were cleared of the ash that had entered them through the pressurization ducts, contaminating the fuel and requiring that it be discarded. The crew decided that if the aircraft was unable to maintain altitude by the time they reached 12,000 feet (3,700m) they would turn back out to sea and attempt to ditch into the Indian Ocean. It was only after a nearby Garuda Indonesia flight relayed the message to Air Traffic Control that it was correctly understood. "We have a small problem. ; Both shots came off Eric Moody ( 0-1 ), making his first major league start. You can say its in my blood. We have a small problem. In 1982, Captain Eric Moody was piloting a British Airways jet over Indonesia when he unexpectedly flew into an ash cloud. British Airways Flight 9 was flying from London to New Zealand in 1982, and was on one of the last legs of the trip, going from Malaysia to Perth, Australia. It's better to be safe than sorry. And here's where one Mr. Alastair Atchison stepped up to the goddamned plate. Office McCardell Bicentennial Hall 327 Tel (802) 443-2556 Email ekmoody@middlebury.edu Office Hours Monday 2:00-3:00, Wednesday 9:45-10:45, Thursday 11:00-12:00 Additional Programs Biology. Before leaving the flight deck, Captain Eric Moody checked the weather radar. Copyright 2023. Description: Dr. Moody graduated from the Brown University Alpert Medical School in 1985. However, the news had to be announced when the passenger oxygen masks dropped as the plane steepened its descent. With shit officially getting real and the plane breaking up from the inside out, McCormick attempted a landing. [1] The phenomenon persisted after Moody returned from the lavatory. It was scrapped at Bournemouth Airport, Dorset, England, in 2009. It was only after a Singapore Airlines 747 was forced to shut down three of its engines while flying through the same area nineteen days later (13 July) that Indonesian authorities closed the airspace permanently and rerouted airways to avoid the area; a watch was set up to monitor clouds of ash. His writing has appeared in The National Interest and other news media. Sign up for a weekly brief collating many news items into one untangled thought delivered straight to your mailbox. The flight crew immediately performed the engine shutdown drill, quickly cutting off fuel supply and arming the fire extinguishers. And even worse, the windshield was so fogged up that they had to rely on the lights on the tarmac they could only see through a small, clear part of the windshield. As the ash entered the engines, it melted in the combustion chambers and adhered to the inside of the power-plant. Captain Eric Moody made the following announcement to the passengers: Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. In 37 short, direct, and simple words, Captain Moody conveyed the following: "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. British Airways Boeing 747 flight BA 009, flown by Captain Eric Moody, lost thrust from all four engines at 37,000ft. It is with deep sorrow that we announce the death of John Eric Henry Moody (Warrandyte, Victoria), who passed away on April 19, 2020, at the age of 96, leaving to mourn family and friends. We are doing our damnedest to get them going again. I trust you are not in too much distress. Without engine thrust, a 747-200 has a glide ratio of approximately 15:1, meaning it can glide forward 15 kilometres for every kilometre it drops. Yet even the threat to aircraft is nothing compared to . He was drafted by the Rangers in the 24th round of the 1993 amateur draft. Just as the crew was realizing this meant sudden decompression, the floor of the cabin started to collapse into the cargo hold. Moody swiftly decided to descend at 1,800m per minute to an altitude where there was enough pressure in the outside atmosphere to breathe almost normally. Get the best of Cracked sent directly to your inbox! After being ferried back to London, engine number four was replaced and major work was undertaken to return the aircraft to service. Passengers who had a view of the aircraft's engines through the window noted that they were unusually bright blue, with light shining forward through the fan blades and producing a stroboscopic effect. But sometimes, things do go wrong. Captain Eric Moody was later praised for a cabin announcement that was described as "a masterpiece of understatement." Moody's announcement was actually more than that. Eric Moody was the pilot aboard a British Airways flight that managed, barely, to fly through volcanic ash thrown up by Mount Galunggung in Indonesia in 1982. The tags, bearing the campaign's logo, were worn as necklaces or bracelets and used to raise awareness of 10:10's work: the organisation aimed to persuade individuals, organizations and businesses to reduce their carbon emissions by 10% in 2010.[11]. The crew began engine restart drills, despite being well above the recommended maximum engine in-flight start envelope altitude of 28,000 feet (8,500m). 00:00, 22 APR 2010. [3], At approximately 13:42 UTC (20:42 Jakarta time), engine number four began surging and soon flamed out. When. In 2009, US Airways Flight 1549, just after takeoff from New York, hit a flock of Canadian geese. Choose your file Higher quality (128kbps) Lower quality (64kbps) . In 1982, when his British Airways Boeing 747 flew through a cloud of volcanic ash over Indonesia and all four engines were progressively snuffed out, Captain Eric Moody demonstrated an abundance . Eric J. Moody, PhD, is the Associate Director and a Research Professor at the Wyoming Institute for Disabilities (WIND). Guinness Book of Records lists Flight 9 as the longest glide of any aircraft not designed for gliding. Pilot Bryce McCormick, known for having the most piloty name in history, thought he'd just been in a mid-air collision. The crew immediately descended and held 12,000 feet (3,700m). However, Jakarta Area Control misunderstood the message, interpreting the call as meaning that only engine number four had shut down. Despite the weather radar showing clear skies, the crew switched on engine anti-ice and the passenger seat belt signs as a precaution. British Airways 747 Captain Eric Moody. As the aircraft approached its target altitude, the St. Elmo's fire effect on the windscreen returned. Darin Graham speaks to retired Captain Eric Moody, who flew the plane that night. Things became even less OK when the plane started diving and turning at the same time, doing a barrel roll heading straight down, losing 10,000 feet of altitude in less than 20 seconds. After landing, the flight crew found it impossible to taxi, due to glare from apron floodlights which made the already sandblasted windscreen opaque. At this point, the falling aircraft had about 23 minutes of glide time until it hit the ocean. Moody swiftly decided to descend at 1,800m per minute to an altitude where there was enough pressure in the outside atmosphere to breathe almost normally. Without engine thrust, a 747-200 has a glide ratio of roughly 15:1, meaning it can glide forward 15 kilometres for every kilometre it drops. here's Wikipedia's description of the incident: Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air, Paytm makes single click payments possible with UPI LITE you can now make UPI payments up to 200 without pin, Internet hails Paytm's lightning-fast payments with UPI LITE here's how you can use it, A business class airline passenger who ordered vegan food says it was insulting to be served one banana along with a pair of chopsticks, Vivo V27 Pro Review: Capable camera performance in a sleek form factor, Divgi TorqTransfer Systems IPO subscribed 12% on day 1, Investing is an art and the ultra rich are showing us how, Adani Power to supply nearly 16 pc less power to two Haryana discoms, India's super-rich gear up for a better year ahead: Knight Frank, The crew's intense focus on the problem (without false assurances that they could fix it), Concern for the well-being of the passengers (without being patronizing). We have a small problem. But the flight crew didn't even announce their landing as any kind of emergency to the stunned air traffic controllers. Times Syndication Service. All four engines have stopped. After landing, the flight crew found it impossible to taxi, due to glare from apron floodlights which made the already sandblasted windscreen opaque. One such passenger was Charles Capewell, who scrawled "Ma. Understatement is an expression of lesser strength than what the speaker or writer actually means or than what is normally expected. With nerves of steel, the captain, Eric Moody, miraculously landed the plane. A nearly identical incident occurred on 15 December 1989 when KLM Flight 867, a Boeing 747-400 from Amsterdam to Anchorage, Alaska, flew into the plume of the erupting Mount Redoubt, causing all four engines to fail due to compressor stall. The focus of his research there was on shared interpersonal emotions and psychophysiology. [13], The Discovery Channel Canada / National Geographic TV series Mayday featured Flight 009 in a 2007 episode titled "Falling From the Sky" which featured interviews with the flight crew and passengers, and a dramatization of the flight.[14]. Since hydraulic fluid was now leaking at a pretty serious pace, the controls of the plane became weaker and weaker. This, by the way, is precisely the reason why planes have co-pilots. See Also. [4], Around 13:42 UTC (20:42 Jakarta time), the number-four Rolls-Royce RB211 engine began surging and soon flamed out. Good evening ladies and gentlemen. It turned out someone had forgotten to seal the cargo door, and the force of the takeoff had ripped it straight off and tossed it into the tail of the plane, disrupting the engine and the flaps in the back. In 1982, when Mount Galunggung volcano, Indonesia, erupted, several Boeing 747s encountered ash from this eruption. Moody's announcement was actually more than that. All four engines have stopped. The passenger cabin began to smell of sulfur. In 37 short, direct, and simple words, Captain Moody conveyed the following: "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Roger the first officer looked over and saw that the number 4 engine was lit from within. As they came in to land, the crew managed to get the landing gear down and announced to the passengers that they should brace for impact. Mrs Pat Moody with Rupert & Ollie! Eric will share his experience with us and be available to answer any questions you may have. One of the passengers, Betty Tootell, wrote a book about the incident, All Four Engines Have Failed. ; Briefly Right-hander Eric Moody signed a one-year contract yesterday. . As the aircraft neared the 3,500 metre altitude where the crew would have to turn around and ditch in the ocean, Captain Moody got on the passenger intercom and, in a perhaps the most stereotypical British of British announcements in a deadly emergency possibly, simply stated, "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. I trust you are not in too much distress.[4][5][6]. ", At this point, the falling aircraft had about 23 minutes of glide time until it hit the ocean. Incredibly, it landed with just a broken tail wing and only two seriously injured passengers which, given the operation standards of the airline, was probably well within normal guidelines. Announcements informing passengers of a delay, technical problems, emergency or simply of something interesting to be seen out of the window, may be made off the top of your head. He could either let the plane descend very slowly and risk exposing his first officer to a lack of oxygen or he could descend and take the plane down to a more breathable altitude but that would eat into the precious little altitude that they had. [3] At 13:44 UTC (20:44 Jakarta time), Greaves declared an emergency to the local air traffic control authority, stating that all four engines had failed. Ash from a nearby volcano soon started to fill the air. Needing time to calmly consider his options, Capt Moody used autopilot to put the plane into a gentle descent, and instructed his first officer to issue a mayday call. We are doing our damnedest to get them going again. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. In trouble. The plane had flown into a cloud of dust spewed out by an eruption of Mount Galunggung, 110 miles south east of Jakarta. All four engines stopped for 14 to 15 minutes while the jet was sandblasted and plunged into darkness. 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