Fire Warning Pakistan Seven Zero Three

Discuss issues and news related to PIA, Pakistani airlines and Pakistan's civil & military aviation.
smhusain_1
Registered Member
Posts: 225
Joined: Sat Jul 19, 2008 1:16 pm
Location: Brampton, Ontario, Canada

Fire Warning Pakistan Seven Zero Three

Post by smhusain_1 »

June 25, 1977, Sector Orly to John F. Kennedy, aircraft registration is AP-AYW, a B747-282B and our call sign Pakistan Seven Zero Three.

This as my second flight with Capt Anwar Khan after completing a DXB-FRA-ORY-FRA-DXB pattern earlier with him om June 8 and 9, 1977.

I was a raw B747 First Officer, having completed my training earlier that year on March 27 in Denver, Colorado, and my first flight as copilot B747 on April 13. We departed Orly at 2013Z (Z=UTC/GMT) for Kennedy Airport. It was summer, so our departure was in daylight with the Captain flying the sector and Flight Engineer Hassan Mirza looking after the aircraft systems.

Our Oceanic Entry is over Ireland near Cork, and after getting in contact with Shanwick Oceanic prior to reaching, we are given our route clearance over the Atlantic in the form of Track-Foxtrot in the North Atlantic Track System, which I have to read back backwards from exit to entry, in form of coordinates, latitude and longitude forming different reporting points en-route at 15, 20, 30, 40 and 50 degrees west to Gander, the other point across the ocean and our exit. The track coordinates are entered into the triple INS (Inertial Navigation System) systems we carry on board. This system is self contained in the aircraft and does not rely on any outside aid for navigation.

My job is to assist the captain in flying when required and otherwise maintain the flight plan by making position calls en route and keeping a fuel score of plus or minus ( how goes It ) as we pass the check points. Also it includes taking the weather forecast for the New York Area and our alternate airfields on the flight plan in case the weather deteriorates at Kennedy on the HF Radio, a laborious process, since the channel is common to other stations in the area also. The aircraft flies, navigates, and handles turbulence on the auto-pilot. Our alternates are Washington (Dulles) and Philadelphia.

The flight is routine, it is night now over the ocean and we are cruising at Flight Level 330 (thirty three thousand feet above mean sea level). We are in contact with Gander Oceanic and after midpoint over the ocean, past 45 degrees west longitude, the fire warning light comes on and bell rings loudly in the cockpit. It is quickly identified as a fire warning in the aft cargo bay in the belly of the aircraft and the bell silenced in a reflex action by me by pushing a button. Flight Engineer Mirza checks his panel and the smoke detectors for any sign of visible information, while Capt. Anwar Khan in coordination with him goes through the appropriate checklist and the necessary fire extinguishers bottles (2) are fired. The fire warning bell has only been silenced earlier by my action, but the warning light still glares at us from the front panel and on the flight engineer's panel, meaning the fire is not out yet. We have taken whatever action we could in the air and now we have to land as soon as possible. But we are over the ocean and I am on the radio immediately with Gander Oceanic, who luckily advises us to contact Halifax Radar on VHF as we are in line of sight radio range now. I quickly advise Halifax Radar of our predicament and we are immediately cleared to a lower level for descent into Halifax Airport. Halifax Radar only bothered us once to ask if the warning light was still on along with a request for total souls on board and continued giving us the necessary radar heading vectors and descent altitudes for approach to the Instrument Landing Runway there.

The captain asks me to convey to Halifax Radar if the runway can accommodate this aircraft, and we are told it can. I tune in the frequency for the Instrument Landing System on our navigation receivers for the runway and set the front course direction in degrees for the Localizer, the radio beam which will take us into the runway laterally, till we intercept another radio beam for our vertical descent, the Glide Slope. We have to maintain a cross in the centre with these two radio beams on the Flight Director, the attitude instrument in front of both of us on our respective panels (true Christian, we call it) to continue approach and fly towards the runway till we are able to see it visually, usually from a 200 feet height above ground for a landing.

There is a strong wind blowing at the time we touchdown, and with the fire trucks in tow, we taxi to the ramp. The captain has decided against any evacuation as no fire is visible through contact from outside sources. Later while standing outside the aircraft after shut down, he asks me to check if he has indeed shut down the engines as the engine rotor vanes are howling in the blowing wind. Such is the strain on him and all of us. That is how I first arrived in Canada; the time is 0308Z or 2308 EDT.

Boeing 747 Series 100/200
A true giant of the skies, the 747 revolutionized air travel by carrying more people further, and at a lower cost, than any other aircraft before it. Called the Jumbo Jet because of its wide-body capacity, it introduced size and economy to the world's airline routes. Made possible by dramatic progress with jet engines, so large that a man can stand in their air intakes, the 747 suddenly made airline travel accessible to millions who had never flown before. It was the largest airliner to have entered large-scale service and also one of the fastest; its four powerful engines drove it to a maximum of almost nine-tenths the speed of sound. It is regarded today as the backbone of air transport, and provides efficiency and comfort for business travelers and tourists around the globe.

Specifications 747-200 B
Type High capacity commercial transport
Power Plant Four (54, 800 lb-thrust) Pratt & Whitney JT9D turbofans
Cruising Speed 584 mph at 20, 000 ft
Range 6524, normal payload
Cruising ceiling 45, 000 ft

Weights
Empty 382, 000 lb
MTOGW 832, 906 lb
Passenger load 490 seats maximum; typically 394 seats including 24 first class, 70 business-class and 290 standard-class passengers

Dimensions
Span 195 ft
Length 231 ft.
Height 63 ft.
Wing area 5,500 sq. ft.
Last edited by smhusain_1 on Wed Apr 29, 2015 4:22 pm, edited 8 times in total.
User avatar
Abbas Ali
Site Admin
Posts: 52155
Joined: Thu Aug 05, 2004 6:52 pm
Location: Pakistan

Re: Fire Warning Pakistan Seven Zero Three, ORY-JFK

Post by Abbas Ali »

Enjoyed reading - Thank you for sharing old memories.

Abbas
Dil Dil Pakistan... Jaan Jaan Pakistan

See you at:
Image
User avatar
Fazal_SKIES
Registered Member
Posts: 50
Joined: Sun Jul 03, 2011 4:20 am
Location: SKT/OPST

Re: Fire Warning Pakistan Seven Zero Three, ORY-JFK

Post by Fazal_SKIES »

Beautifully written.
Waiting for some other pieces of such nice sharing.
Helicopters are for people who want to fly but don't want to go anywhere..
User avatar
raihans
Registered Member
Posts: 4672
Joined: Sun May 01, 2005 12:09 pm
Location: Kuwait

Re: Fire Warning Pakistan Seven Zero Three, ORY-JFK

Post by raihans »

excellent read, it would be nice to compile/publish a book of such beautiful memories like Capt. Johny Sadiq did.
Raihan SR Bakhsh

flickr.com/photos/raihanshahzad
EY-B77W, A345, A320, A319, EK-B773, B77W, A388, FZ-B738, GF-L1011, B732, A332, A320, A319, KU-A343, AB6, A310, A320, NL-A320, PK-B707/720, B733, B772, B77L, AB4, A310, A320, QR-A320, A321, A333, A359, A35X, B77W, B788, WY-B738, B739, A333
meekal ahmed
Registered Member
Posts: 417
Joined: Tue Aug 03, 2010 7:35 pm

Re: Fire Warning Pakistan Seven Zero Three, ORY-JFK

Post by meekal ahmed »

Raihans,

I support your idea. I hope this can eventually become a book.
H Khan
Registered Member
Posts: 264
Joined: Sun Jan 07, 2007 6:06 am

Re: Fire Warning Pakistan Seven Zero Three, ORY-JFK

Post by H Khan »

A fascinating read.

I believe this is you on the right http://www.historyofpia.com/legends12.htm.

I might have been in the cockpit with you couple of flights along with my father.

A little correction: PIA B-747-282B (AP-AYV/W) were powered by four Pratt & Whitney JT9D each rated at 43,500 lbs trust rather than 54, 800 lbs.
Moin
Registered Member
Posts: 3165
Joined: Sun Aug 08, 2004 11:17 am

Re: Fire Warning Pakistan Seven Zero Three, ORY-JFK

Post by Moin »

What ever happened to AP-AUN/AUO/AUP and AMG?
Moin Abbasi
User avatar
Abbas Ali
Site Admin
Posts: 52155
Joined: Thu Aug 05, 2004 6:52 pm
Location: Pakistan

Re: Fire Warning Pakistan Seven Zero Three, ORY-JFK

Post by Abbas Ali »

^ Boeing 720B (AP-AMG) was sold to Air Malta in 1979. It was broken up/scrapped in Malta in 2001.

Boeing 707 (AP-AUN) was sold to JAT Yugoslav Airlines in 1972. It was scrapped in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, in 1994.

Boeing 707 (AP-AUO) was sold to JAT Yugoslav Airlines in 1972. It was scrapped in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, 1994.

Boeing 707 (AP-AUP) was reregistered as AP-AXA and was broken up at Karachi Airport in 1993.

Abbas
Dil Dil Pakistan... Jaan Jaan Pakistan

See you at:
Image
smhusain_1
Registered Member
Posts: 225
Joined: Sat Jul 19, 2008 1:16 pm
Location: Brampton, Ontario, Canada

Re: Fire Warning Pakistan Seven Zero Three

Post by smhusain_1 »

AP-BAT and AP-BAK were flown by me. The power of those engines CF? was around 52,000 lbs thrust with FADEC. I remember a take off with Capt. Chaudhry & F/E Chohan where we used the auto throttles on takeoff. Thank you Abbas Sahib for filling some vacant spots in my memory regarding our 707s. On one flight, we ferried an engine (5th pod) on the 747 from Frankfurt to Tehran. Capt Frazer called me and F/E Khwaja Naseem for a briefing in the hotel room before the flight the following day.
User avatar
Abbas Ali
Site Admin
Posts: 52155
Joined: Thu Aug 05, 2004 6:52 pm
Location: Pakistan

Re: Fire Warning Pakistan Seven Zero Three

Post by Abbas Ali »

^ You're welcome Sir.

Yes, AP-BAK and AP-BAT were powered with General Electric CF6 engines.

Somewhere I read that initially Pratt & Whitney JT9D engines were considered by PIA for the two brand new Boeing 747s (AP-BAK & AP-BAT) ordered by the airline.

I think PIA eventually selected CF6 engines for AP-BAK & AP-BAT because DC-10-30 aircraft already in service with the airline and four Airbus A300 aircraft ordered by PIA were also powered with CF6 family engines.

Abbas
Dil Dil Pakistan... Jaan Jaan Pakistan

See you at:
Image
smhusain_1
Registered Member
Posts: 225
Joined: Sat Jul 19, 2008 1:16 pm
Location: Brampton, Ontario, Canada

Re: Fire Warning Pakistan Seven Zero Three

Post by smhusain_1 »

AP-AYV and AP-AYW had JT9s
User avatar
Abbas Ali
Site Admin
Posts: 52155
Joined: Thu Aug 05, 2004 6:52 pm
Location: Pakistan

Re: Fire Warning Pakistan Seven Zero Three

Post by Abbas Ali »

^ Yes, AP-AYV and AP-AYW were powered with P&W JT9 engines but those two Boeing 747-200B aircraft were on dry lease from TAP Portugal when PIA placed orders for two brand new Boeing 747-200B Combi and four brand new Airbus A300B4-200 aircraft all powered with GE CF6 family engines.

I guess at the time of those aircraft order placements, PIA management intended to have fleet of DC-10-30, Boeing 747-200B Combi and Airbus A300B4-200 aircraft all powered with CF6 family engines with plan to return dry leased AP-AYV and AP-AYW powered with JT9 engines.

But, PIA bought dry leased AP-AYV and AP-AYW from TAP Portugal on April 30, 1980. The two Boeing 747s were acquired by PIA on dry lease from TAP Portugal in April 1976.

Abbas
Dil Dil Pakistan... Jaan Jaan Pakistan

See you at:
Image