B777 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Training / Qualification; Workload; Time Pressure; Confusion; Human-Machine Interface
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Smoke / Fire / Fumes / Odor
Flight Crew Landed in Emergency Condition; Flight Crew Diverted; General Flight Cancelled / Delayed; General Declared Emergency; General Maintenance Action
Aircraft
As the augmented pilot; I went on first break. I was woken by a Flight Attendant who stated that there was smoke in the cockpit; that we were diverting; and that we were landing in about 45 minutes. Upon returning to the flight deck; I could immediately detect an electrical smoke-type smell; but did not see any indications of smoke. The flying pilots were talking to Maintenance and in the process of pulling an overhead circuit breaker. The lower EICAS DISPLAY panel was black (blank). Fuel dumping was in progress. The navigation display showed direct to the divert airport. The Captain and First Officer briefed me that after going black; the lower EICAS DISPLAY had started to smoke around the edges of the glass screen. A smoky wisp at first; but then at a higher level that greatly concerned them. They had contacted Dispatch via SATCOM; and Maintenance was patched in. An emergency had been declared with ATC and squawking 7700. I was briefed that we were diverting and approximately 45 minutes from landing. Also; the crew was in the process of dumping fuel to 56;000 pounds remaining fuel (to attain maximum landing weight of 460.0) The Captain asked me to refer to the Pilot Diversion Guide. (Prior to my entering the flight deck; a Flight Attendant asked that we make an announcement to the passengers that we were diverting; as they were aware of a course change on the inflight entertainment system. This request was passed along to the Captain). Passengers were notified of our inflight condition; divert destination; and arrival time/weather. At some point in the descent; 'FUEL AUTO JETTISON' EICAS Message Condition: One of these occurs: 'The total fuel quantity is less than the fuel to remain and a jettison nozzle valve is open.' 'The fuel jettison automatic shutoff is failed.' The First Officer referred to the ECL. The Fuel Remaining indication on the Upper EICAS DISPLAY went to 0.0. The Captain attempted to override manually to return to the desired level of fuel remaining 56.0 LBS. This was unsuccessful at first; but eventually the fuel remaining returned to 56.0 without further input. Captain requested from Air Traffic Control that Fire/Crash Rescue equipment be in position on arrival at Runway 24; as a precaution. The Captain did not feel the situation necessary for preparation for evacuation; but felt prudent to have equipment available. During descent phase; a second EICAS message 'C1 ELEC HYD PUMP FAULT.' In conjunction with FAULT light in overhead panel 'C1 ELEC HYD PUMP' switch. ECL referred to and switch was secured in OFF position. Status message appeared on Upper EICAS DISPLAY. When referred to Status page; the following messages were noted: (this may not be a complete list). ELMS P110 PANEL + Door Flight Lock 1L/2L/3L/4L + CARGO HEAT AFT. From that point on; the remaining flight was uneventful with vectors to final approach CAT 1 ILS Runway 24. A normal landing and touchdown were made. Announcement made to passengers that everything was OK; and that we would taxi to the ramp area where fire equipment would inspect the exterior of the aircraft; as a precaution. A single fire truck inspected the nose wheel area and reported no visible damage or concern. Gear synoptic was checked for brake temperatures. We taxied to the terminal/loading bridge. Fire Fighting personnel boarded the airplane and entered the flight deck to get a briefing from the Captain. As part of their process; they used a special heat detecting camera to scan the instrument panel. No unusual heat was detected and personnel felt that there was no further concern with the Lower EICAS Display other than residual 'electrical smoke' odor. Landing weight 458.0 LBS. (460.0 Structural). Landed with approximately 53.0 LBS. Upon completion of Parking Checklist; kept ADIRU ON and APU running for SATCOM availability. FUEL JETTISON REPORT was provided via SATCOM to Dispatcher at the gate. Notification of landing weight below Max Landing Weight was passed to Maintenance.Ground support personnel contacted a contract aircraft Maintenance Technician 'Engineer' who was not qualified on B-777. His initial suggestion was that Lower EICAS Display might be deferrable. Further inquiry was made regarding contacting/locating B-777 qualified technician in the local area for further investigation/inspection. The ELMS P110 PANEL Status message was of concern; plus the other status messages. Via SATCOM we spoke with the Duty Manager for Human Factors Checklist. Crew Scheduling determined that our duty day would expire at in about two hours; if we were able to continue to our filed destination; and in about five hours; if we were able to fly to a closer domestic destination. As the hours ticked by; it was determined that maintenance engineers would arrive from our departure airport that evening with a replacement display panel and parts for ELMS P110 Panel. We were assigned a departure time to our filed destination the next morning.
The reporter stated that the lower EICAS display failure and the ELMS malfunctions were not connected. The EICAS issue was resolved when his Company flew a replacement part into the divert airport. The ELMS anomaly was much more complex and not resolved when the crew departed two days later on a substitute aircraft.The ELMS P110 panel has numerous cards and other components on which it stored information following a malfunction. In this case; the reporter stated that Maintenance apparently did not understand the relationship between the P110 cards because the available documentation did not fully describe the consequences of one card's malfunction affecting other cards. The reporter did not know specifically why the ELMS was MEL'ed but assumed that Maintenance had considered the complex ramifications of the MEL. Apparently that was not the case; because the next day during the takeoff roll at the divert airport the EICAS again alerted FUEL AUTO JETTISON which resulted in a rejected takeoff and a return to the gate. Maintenance at that point was at a loss about the EICAS alert and so the flight was cancelled for another day while a replacement aircraft was flown in. The reporter checked on the aircraft several days later and determined that the ELMS had two faulty cards and had been out of service for several days during a maintenance investigation of the event. A second issue which concerned the reporter was related to the iPad stored Flight Manuals. During this event an iPad was referenced for systems information and when activate displayed a 'Provision Fault' alert which would not permit access to the software manuals. The reporter is not certain what the alert meant; but as a result of his experience he would not accept a B777 which did not also have a set of paper manuals on board. The specific issue was some portion of Electronic Checklist (ELC) was powered by the P110 panel; and whatever failed in that panel prevented the ELC from functioning. Since the iPad would not function; that particular device could not display an appropriate checklist and without the paper manual the crew would not have been able to address the checklists needed for the EICAS displayed malfunctions.
Airplane was released by Maintenance with a deferral for 'ELMS P110 CHANNEL INOPERATIVE' but there were no associated flight crew procedures or notes. All systems operated normally until shortly before entering Oceanic airspace. I then noticed that the lower EICAS screen had gone black. The First Officer then informed me that thin smoke was coming from the edges of the failed display (oxygen masks not needed). I immediately informed Control that I was declaring an emergency and wished to proceed to a divert station. A left turn direct was authorized and we proceeded to divert. The First Officer initiated contact with Dispatch and Maintenance. Maintenance advised which circuit breaker controlled power to the failed screen. We opened that CB and the smoke began to subside. Shortly after fuel jettison began we were presented with an EICAS message and ECL Checklist prompt for 'Fuel Auto Jettison' and also observed that the 'Fuel to Remain' display; which had been 56.0 now indicated zero. Use of the manual adjustment knob failed to change the zero value and the fuel system synoptic showed a yellow 'X' fault for the left jettison valve. I discontinued jettison long enough to analyze the problem and then decided to resume jettison while monitoring total fuel values. At some later time jettison system faults cleared and fuel jettison was completed normally. EICAS also displayed a checklist prompt for the Center Hydraulic System C1 Electric Pump which we then turned off per checklist procedure. EICAS also displayed a notice that 'Cargo Heat Aft' had failed. Status Messages were displayed for 'Door Flight Lock' 4L; 3L; 2L; 1L and by the time we got to the gate 'P110 Panel' (possibly in flight as well). Purser was briefed that preparation for evacuation was not needed and Relief Officer; who had been on scheduled rest break; returned to the cockpit to assist the First Officer with all aspects of airplane fault management and preparation for landing. I requested Emergency ARFF to meet the flight and after clearing the runway they performed a safety inspection of the nose area of the plane. Following their 'all clear' I taxied to the gate.
A B777 lower EICAS display began smoking at cruise on an international flight so an emergency was declared and while diverting EICAS Messages for Fuel JETTISON; FUEL REMAINING; a HYDRAULIC Pump; Cargo Heat and Door Lock were displayed. The flight terminated uneventfully for delayed maintenance.