THE CREW OF A Martinair Holland Boeing 767-300ER faced blank flight-instrument displays as it approached the US coast on a flight from Amsterdam, Netherlands, to Orlando, Florida, on 28 May. The flight was diverted to Boston and continued with electro-mechanical standby instruments, according to a US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator.
Martinair says that the aircraft suffered "a partial DC-power failure", and Boeing adds that early reports of total power failure "-are not confirmed". If a partial DC-power failure was the only fault, however, says a 767 captain, the electronic flight-instrument system (EFIS) would not have failed.
The aircraft (PH-MCH), fully cleared for extended-range twin-engine operations, had to be landed fast with no flap, spoilers, autobrake, or anti-skid, says the NTSB, bursting eight mainwheel tyres and causing brake fires, which were quickly extinguished. Martinair says that the crew used flap-setting "one", which deploys leading-edge slats only, but that the aircraft had no reverse thrust. All 204 passengers and crew disembarked without injury, using mobile stairs.
The incident started in the cruise at 33,000ft (10,000m) about 30km (16nm) off the USA's Maine coast at about 14:00 local time. A US Federal Aviation Administration official, observing that the landing was made on standby instruments, describes the event as "-a good old- fashioned landing, which fortunately took place in [good visibility] conditions".
Source: Flight International
