United flight diverted to remote Midway Island due to odor

A harrowing United Airlines flight Friday over the Pacific Ocean was forced to land on remote Midway Island because of what an FAA official said was an electrical odor on board.

The United Airlines plane, carrying 335 passengers and 13 crew on a Boeing 777, was flying from Honolulu to Guam when it was forced to land and spend seven hours on the Pacific atoll, said United spokeswoman Mary Clark. A replacement aircraft later carried everyone back to Hawaii on Friday, she said.

"The captain said there was smoke in the cockpit and the radar failed and other electronic systems were failing, so they had to land. I think they landed old-school. They did an amazing job to get there safely," Merveldt-Guevara said.

www.cnn.com...

A 777. Might this shed some light on MAH370. Failing electronic system including the radar.

Zaphod!

Come here, come here, come here now!

I caught this earlier....
Didn't think it was true...
But good minds here...brought it up...

Fact or faked....how did a commercial airliner land here?

As of 2004, Henderson Field airfield at Midway Atoll, with its one active runway (rwy 06/24, around 8,000 feet (2,400 m) long) has been designated as an emergency diversion airport for aircraft flying under ETOPS rules.

en.wikipedia.org...

originally posted by: Bigburgh
Zaphod!

Come here, come here, come here now!

I caught this earlier....
Didn't think it was true...
But good minds here...brought it up...

Fact or faked....how did a commercial airliner land here?

Maybe he's busy. But I have used the airport on Midway IIsland (Henderson Field). It's a good runway, paved and 7,800 feet long. It is an approved airport for ETOPS purposes, ETOPS being Extended Range Twin Operations, or as we prefer to call it, Engines Turn Or Pilots Swim. There is no control tower there, but I have yet to see any controller climb out of the tower and land an airplane, and the albatross population is a real distraction. This aircraft is not the first aircraft to land there. A Delta 747 used it a couple of years ago for the same reason - smoke in the cockpit.

The article states, per FAA spokes person, it was an 'electrical smell'. It was there before take off, but after a delay the flight left. That appears to have been a mistake. I am surprised they did. That surely is a sign of a problem, I would think.

originally posted by: F4guy

originally posted by: Bigburgh
Zaphod!

Come here, come here, come here now!

I caught this earlier....
Didn't think it was true...
But good minds here...brought it up...

Fact or faked....how did a commercial airliner land here?

Maybe he's busy. But I have used the airport on Midway IIsland (Henderson Field). It's a good runway, paved and 7,800 feet long. It is an approved airport for ETOPS purposes, ETOPS being Extended Range Twin Operations, or as we prefer to call it, Engines Turn Or Pilots Swim. There is no control tower there, but I have yet to see any controller climb out of the tower and land an airplane, and the albatross population is a real distraction. This aircraft is not the first aircraft to land there. A Delta 747 used it a couple of years ago for the same reason - smoke in the cockpit.

Hey thanks..I thought this was restricted....star!

7800 ft...
Could the space shuttle land here..if needed? Not to long ..but not to short either.....
I thought it was a preserve...before it was announced..
Thanks ya taught me something:-)

originally posted by: Bigburgh
Zaphod!

Come here, come here, come here now!

I caught this earlier....
Didn't think it was true...
But good minds here...brought it up...

Fact or faked....how did a commercial airliner land here?

You guys do understand that the guidelines set for a plane landing / taking off is based in part on safety margins right?

originally posted by: Xcathdra

originally posted by: Bigburgh
Zaphod!

Come here, come here, come here now!

I caught this earlier....
Didn't think it was true...
But good minds here...brought it up...

Fact or faked....how did a commercial airliner land here?

You guys do understand that the guidelines set for a plane landing / taking off is based in part on safety margins right?

This data seems to indicate landing there would not be a problem.

PDF link

a reply to: roadgravel

A Triple wouldn't have any problem getting in and out of there.

Midway at one point had regular flights out of Hickam. Used to have regular bird strikes too.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: roadgravel

Midway at one point had regular flights out of Hickam. Used to have regular bird strikes too.

I can see why.

While Midway supports nearly three million birds, each seabird species has carved out a specific site on the atoll in which to nest. Seventeen different species of seabird can be found, the rarest of which is the Short-tailed Albatross, otherwise known as the “Golden Gooney.”

a reply to: Zaphod58

Doesn't departing with a 'electric smell' (using the article terms) sound like a bad idea. That, to me, sounds like some component or wiring melting down or at least failing in some way. That's not normal but the air crew decides 'what the heck'?

Really scary situation for everyone involved, especially since the smell was present before takeoff. Must have been scary but landing on Midway! how awesome is checking out that piece of history.

J

a reply to: roadgravel

Yeah they never should have departed, unless it had been checked over with a comb. There's always going to be a lingering odor after something like that, but no way would I depart without a good check first.

A link to flightaware for United 201 which seems to be the flight. It shows the diversion north to Midway.

A United Boeing 777-200, registration N210UA performing flight UA-201 (dep Jul 10th) from Honolulu,HI (USA) to Guam,GU (USA) with 335 passengers and 13 crew, was enroute at FL350 over the Pacific Ocean about 300nm southsouthwest of Midway Islands,UM (USA) and about 850nm west of Honolulu when the crew decided to return to Honolulu due to smell of smoke on board. The aircraft descended to FL300 for the way back. About 10 minutes later haze was observed in the cabin prompting the crew to turn north and divert to Midway Islands. The aircraft dumped fuel and landed safely in Midway about one hour after turning around.
...

There is a report on the Internet telling that the aircraft lost transponder, radios and other systems one by one, however, radar data indicate the transponder worked until touchdown.

Link

An example of the capabilities of modern commercial jetliners -

i have a serious question about this. electrical smell, haze in the cockpit, radar and other electronics failures (indicating if not electrical fire then at least serious wiring/equipment overheating). how were they able to take off again in 7 hours? is there a stash of 777 electronics and wiring, and a crew of knowledgeable technicians kept on the atoll? if not, did they fly a dangerous aircraft out of the airport (even without passengers WTF?), possibly endangering both the crew and people at/on the way to another airport. sounds a wee bit fishy, i would have expected the aircraft to remain there at least a couple days. first waiting for appropriate technicians to arrive and diagnose the problem, then applicable parts to be brought in, then repair and inspection to be sure it was safe. 7 hours just doesn't seem near long enough for such possibly serious problems to be inspected and corrected, insuring it would be safe to fly.

United blamed the diversion on a cooling fan problem, which mechanics fixed, Clark said. It has returned to service.

www.cnn.com...

One heck of a fan...

a reply to: generik

Another plane returned the passengers to Hawaii on Friday after seven hours on the island, and they made it to Guam the next day, she said.