Democratic Underground - Speedbird 38: FADEC failure or something more basic .. ran out of gas?

Hunt for fatal flaw of Flight 38
An electronic systems failure is emerging as the prime suspect in BA’s brush with disaster at Heathrow

After 10 hours of flying, Speedbird 038 was almost home. First Officer John Coward was preparing to land the British Airways flight from Beijing to Heathrow. In front of him on the right side of the cockpit were three screens displaying flight, navigation and engine data; another three were arrayed in front of Captain Peter Burkill, who sat on the left.

Beyond, through the cockpit windows, Coward could see central London, one of the most densely populated areas of Europe, stretch into the distance. It was Thursday lunchtime and they were approaching Heathrow from the east. There is a preference for flights into the airport to cross the capital in this direction because it is quieter than having them take off over the city. Below them, millions of people were going about their business, never imagining that a plane might fall out of the sky. (snip ..)

As Coward stared at the controls, the auto-throttle demanded more thrust. It was a normal procedure, a small adjustment intended to keep the plane at the correct speed and height. Nothing happened. The computer system again ordered more thrust. Again, no response. (snip ..)

Coward or Burkill - it is not clear which - tried to increase thrust manually. Still nothing happened. (More at link)

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article3216746.ece

Basic stuff, here. But the bit about BA running light on fuel loads intrigued me. I've heard that before.

But if Speedbird 38 was coming into London "on fumes," would they not have declared a fuel emergency? you ask. Probably so .. but maybe not. That would generate a shit-storm of paperwork.

I witnessed a KLM Boeing 747-200 land at Houston Intercontinental Airport (KIAH) in the early 1980s. They landed on runway 14L and took the high-speed turnoff in front of the Exxon corporate fleet hangar. As the 747 made the turn back up the taxiway, it stopped. All four engines had flamed out. Fuel starvation. KLM had to send a tug to tow the aircraft to the gate. The KLM crew not only said nothing to air traffic controllers about their critical fuel status, but they accepted clearance to a runway that was not the closest to their arrival route.

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