Was Wi-Fi Behind the Boeing 777 Crash In London?
Last week, a British Airways Boeing 777 on final approach to London Heathrow touched down short of the runway. The landing gear failed on impact and the plane ground to a halt on its belly at the beginning of the runway. Initial findings revealed that the aircraft's throttles failed to respond to a request for an increase in power, which caused the aircraft to come up short. Now, amid growing speculation about the effects of electromagnetic radiation, one woman is suggesting that Wi-Fi interference resulted in the problem.
The 777 relies on electronics for all flight controls, including the throttles. This enables computers on-board the aircraft to handle many of the details of flight, including fully-automated landings at many airports. In this case, when the landing system requested more thrust, the engines didn't comply. The pilots noticed this and manually shoved the throttles forward, but the engines still didn't respond.
Author and pilot Nina Anderson, who wrote 'Worse Than Global Warming -- Wave Technology,' believes that ground-based Wi-Fi signals are the culprit here, interfering with the aircraft's electronics and causing the throttles to fail. Her book, published late last year, ties technology to the prophesied downfall of humanity in 2012, believing that electromagnetic waves will trigger Earth's magnetic poles to shift, causing a global catastrophe. Her latest theory, about the 777 crash, was made public in an Australian Air Cargo magazine, and, like the rest of her book, doesn't seem to have much basis in fact.
The real cause seems to be bad fuel picked up from the craft's last stop in Shanghai. Water in jet fuel sinks and has the potential to be picked up by fuel pumps in the wings when the craft tilts back at landing. Substitute water for fuel and you have a recipe for disaster.
The real kicker, however, is that Boeing 777's have landed at Heathrow hundreds of times with no similar issues, meaning if there is some design flaw in the craft why is it just appearing now?
From CNet.com.au and Aircargo Asia Pacific
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