Investigators reveal cause of British Airways crash (hint: it was engine failure)

by Aaron Hotfelder on

We reported several days ago on a British Airways flight that crash-landed into Heathrow Airport on January 17. Now investigators have revealed the cause of the mishap, which resulted in no fatalities and was the first ever crash of a Boeing 777.

Just a few miles from the runway, at an altitude of about 600 feet, the pilot attempted to increase engine power to prepare for landing, but the computer-controlled engines didn’t respond. An attempt to do the same thing manually also failed, and in less than a minute, the plane skidded onto the runway. Several passengers were hurt– one seriously– though investigators are saying that the damage would have been much worse if not for the capable performance of the flight crew, especially co-pilot John Coward.

Now investigators are trying to discover whether this same sort of engine failure could occur on any other of the almost 700 Boeing 777s that are currently in operation.

That would be bad.

Bedlam at Heathrow ensues, as British Airways 777 shorts landing

by Grant Martin on

London‘s Heathrow Airport was cast into disarray today when a British Airways (BA) 777 landed short of runway 27 and nosedived into the earth before the tarmac. Several landing gear were sheared off while the airframe sustained significant damage.

Amazingly, there were no casualties in the disaster, with only a couple dozen passengers being taken to the hospital for minor injuries and one concussion. The rest of the passengers deplaned from the emergency slides. It is perhaps a testament to the pilot’s aptitude and performance during the emergency that nothing worse happened.

According to the most recent reports, the aircraft appears to have lost power on approach, resulting in the plane gliding silently under only mechanical control onto its belly.

Operations at Heathrow shut down completely following the incident, with a graduated return to operations over the course of the day. Despite the resumption, dozens of flights were canceled, stranding passengers inside of the already cramped terminal and overtaking lounges. I can only imagine how pleasant that was.

Heathrow expects to resume operations tomorrow as the investigation continues.

What’s the dirtiest hotel in the U.S.? It has company

by Jamie Rhein on

TripAdvisor has just released its annual list of the dirtiest hotels in the U.S. I suppose this is akin to Mr. Blackwell’s Annual Worst-Dressed list aimed at celebrities. Who would aspire to land a spot on such a list?

The Hotel Carter, a 700 room architectural beauty in Manhattan is right at the top of the worst of the dirtiest. The photo on its Web site looks rather 40ish funky–perhaps it hasn’t been cleaned since then. At one time, the hotel was probably magnificent and the place to be. Perhaps, it’s in need of a real update. Whatever the reason, if you look at the travel ratings review chart, this place isn’t even recommended for budget travelers. Young singles might like it a tad better. Young singles without dates, or nowhere to go perhaps?

If all the complaints are accurate, it sounds like this could be named Hell Hotel with accuracy. Mice, lice, cigarette butts, prostitutes, police, blood, hair of various types everywhere, slow to fill tubs, paint peeling–you name it, this place has it. So, this is what the dirtiest hotel looks like? On the plus side, for the Times Square area, it’s price is a deal if you don’t have health or safety concerns. Patricking, who posted this shot on Flickr wrote that this is how he found his room when he arrived. The bag is the only additon. This was in April 2007. For other dirty of the dirtiest.

Check out these weird hotels:


Also on the dirtiest list:

  • Nashville – Days Inn Vanderbilt / Music Row, Nashville, TN
  • Ramada Niagara Falls – Niagara Falls, NY
  • Red Carpet Inn, Fort Lauderdale, FL
  • Regency Inn & Suites, New York, NY
  • St. Augustine Beachfront Resort, Saint Augustine, FL
  • Travel Inn Civic/Medical Center, Miami, FL
  • Eden Roc Motel, Wildwood, NJ
  • Days Inn Lancaster, Lancaster, PA
  • Pacific Sands Motel, Santa Monica, CA

    It’s too bad that those connected to Days Inn and Red Carpet Inn have such bad ratings. Since these are brand name hotels, it goes to show that reading about a hotel before you show up is a good idea instead of relying on the fact you have stayed in a perfectly fine Days Inn. I’d also double check to see if anything has changed since the last comments were made. Hotels and motels can go through transformations, however, in the case of the ones listed, there needs to be major, major improvements.

    For those of you traveling to the UK, TripAdvisor also lists the dirtiest hotels there. If a hotel has the word Eden in it, don’t be fooled in thinking it might be paradise. Regency, Manor and Resort also may not mean anything. Whoever thought up the name of some of these hotels had a way with words, even though they didn’t have a clue about how to run them.

    • Photo of the Day (1/11/08)

    by Neil Woodburn on


    Wow, you can really feel the sense of cold in this photograph taken in Tynemouth, England by OurManWhere. I’m not sure how he coaxed his lady friend into standing right next to the crashing surf, but sometimes art is painful; her resulting bout of pneumonia was certainly worth the shot.

    I also love the mottled texture of the pier itself as the elements slowly eat away at it, even as the subject of the photo stares pensively out across the water. Very cool!

    If you’d like one of your shots considered for Photo of the Day, jump on over to our Gadling Flickr Pool and upload away.

    Talking British

    by Martha Edwards on

    I had to stifle a laugh a few years ago when a new bar popped up on the hippest street in my homecity. The source of my amusement? The name: Ming. To many, it might sound like a trendy Asian name for a trendy Asian hangout, but to me and anyone else who tends to throw British slang into everyday conversation, Ming means something else: Stinky and/or unattractive. For instance, if you pick up a dirty shirt from the laundry hamper and sniff it, you might say, ‘Ewwww, this mings.’ Or if mustachioed lothario was sending sultry looks your way at you local (pub, that is) you might say to your friends, ‘Ugh, he is so minging.’

    I was always so Brit-savvy. In my younger years, a bloke (guy) who I was planning on meeting up with told me he would ‘knock me up.‘ I was stunned at his audacity and told him so in a few choice words, but found out later it was entirely innocent — he merely meant he would pop round to where I was staying and knock on the door. On the other hand, some elderly British relatives of mine went a little red in the face when I declared that I was wearing my nicest pants. To them, pants are underwear and those long things that go down to your ankles are trousers. Whoops.

    If you’re planning on travelling to the UK, or even if you’re not and want to sound a bit more worldly, brush up on your Britspeak with this post. It’s worth it — even though English is the national language there, things still sometimes get lost in translation.