On the morning of June 18th last year, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner suffered a nose gear collapse at London's Heathrow Airport. The affected aircraft was registered as G-ZBJB, owned and operated by national carrier British Airways. It was just eight years old and was also the first of the aircraft type that British Airways took delivery off. A year since the unfortunate incident, the UK Government has released an anniversary statement.

Recap of what happened

The Boeing 787-8 aircraft was parked on a stand at the airport, loaded with cargo for a flight journey to Frankfurt Airport, and undergoing a pre-departure maintenance task. The task was known as the 'Dispatch Deviation Guide' (DDG) procedure, and it was needed to clear maintenance messages relating to an existing Acceptable Deferred Defect (ADD). Part of this task required the landing gear doors to be cycled, meaning the landing gear had to be selected up while the aircraft was on the ground.

To prevent the landing gear from retracting when up was selected and to ensure that only the landing gear doors would operate, the landing gear downlock pins had to be fitted properly and securely. However, the British Airways aircraft that morning had its nose landing gear retracted, causing the aircraft's nose to strike the ground and damage the lower front section. The lower nose, nose landing gear doors, engine cowlings, and one door was substantially damaged. One of the cargo loading team members also suffered minor injuries.

Through an investigation conducted by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), it was found that the nose landing gear downlock pin was incorrectly inserted in the downlock link assembly apex pin bore instead of the downlock pinhole. Interestingly, an airworthiness directive was issued for 36-month compliance from January 16th, 2021, to install an insert over the apex bin bore to prevent incorrect installation of the downlock pin. AAIB additionally found that the airworthiness directive had not yet been implemented on G-ZBJB.

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One year later

Immediately after the incident, the AAIB sensed some urgency in the nose landing gear confusion and expedited the implementation of the airworthiness directive to prevent a third incident from occurring again. The installation of the insert was mandated, and British Airways has since completed the incorporation of the Service Bulletin.

It remains uncertain if the engineers and mechanics involved in the incident dealt with any disciplinary issues. The AAIB also mentions that the investigation continues and will consider the safety procedures associated with landing gear maintenance, including the human factors that may have contributed to the nose land gear downlock pin being incorrectly installed. A final report is expected to be published in due course.

As for G-ZBJB, the aircraft was initially speculated to encounter the possibility of being written off, considering the circumstances revolving around poor demand during the pandemic and the significant damages sustained. Fortunately, the aircraft was repaired, and after five months, it has since returned to active service on November 12th, 2021. Its most recent flight was from Portland to London, as part of British Airways' return to the US destination after a two-year delay.

Bottom line

Hopefully, the AAIB will publish its final report soon to provide a meaningful guide on the other possible human factors that could cause the incorrect insertion of the downlock pin. And although the damage was hefty, it would have been a great shame for British Airways' first Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft to have been written off so prematurely. Thus, it is fantastic to see G-ZBJB repaired and has been in active service ever since.