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Because you could need to shut the engine down with the throttle jammed or non responsive. Thinking about it, it would also add either a mechanical interlock, or some form of software, so adding complexity and avenues of failure for a system that is intentionally isolated. In other words, it...

I suspect that they weren’t testing for the lock’s presence, and were using the normal “lift and move” action, without realising that the “lift” wasn’t necessary.

I recall that 330 incident. It was pretty famous around the company at the time. If I recall correctly, the door had been closed and bridge moved back, and for whatever reason the bridge operator moved it back, and the CSM opened the door, without talking to the coughpit. Bridges should be in a...

I'm sure that will come out eventually, but it's a really good question.

From reaching a stable idle, probably about 10 seconds. But the aircraft would be deeply on the wrong side of the angle of attack by that point (too slow), so one engine may not have had enough power. The obvious one, I think.

Flight time limitations vary with all sorts of factors, so you can't just give a one size fits all answer. The A380 mostly flew with a 4 man crew, and that has different limits to a 3 man or 2 man. In this instance, I'd expect it to be 3 man, so, probably 12 hours extendable to 14.

Nowhere near. The gear handle in on the front panel, slightly on the FO’s side of centre. The fuel control switches are on the centre pedestal, aft of the thrust levers. There’s always some form of lock on the landing gear handle. It unlocks when the air/ground logic changes. There is a way of...

I would assume that the air/ground logic comes into play here.

Given that we now know that the aircraft was being flown by the FO, it seems likely that the phantom switch flicker is the captain. The conversation then makes sense. The gear lever is still down, so it also seems that the gear was never selected up. It looks like the switches were moved at the...

Yes. I particular it moves the inlet guide vanes to a position that may make a start more likely. Ignition will be reactivated automatically. Not really. People don’t wave their hands around for pretty obvious reasons. I used to sit my hands on my legs, when supporting. When flying, I generally...

AV, have you been able to resolve the exact effect of the missing lockout that the Boeing bulletin was about. Seems to me that it removes the requirement to lift the switch, but can’t say for sure.

Unless I saw it happening, I don’t think I’d ever get to that conclusion. And if I did see him, it wouldn’t be followed by a question.

Well, if they’re wired, there’s electricity involved. They aren’t soft touch software switches that the aircraft are so full of these days, but they are not a mechanical linkage to the EECs. They’re probably very simplistic, but there’s bound to be a small circuit board associated with them...

No, you wouldn't assume that. But the switches are easy to see, so I'd guess that he'd looked. Exactly. Without knowing a lot more about the switch and its lock..... In flight, even in turbulence, things are quite smooth. On the ground, you've got vibration and bumps from the runway. If it...

The only way that I think I could move them in that time frame would be to use both hands, one for each switch. And even then I think it would take longer. Of course, I'm assuming the locking mechanism is functioning as I'm used to... Interesting. If you've just done something as obvious as...

Ask to keep the bottle.

It’s exactly the same action, so I’d have thought it would take about the same time. I’d really like to see the exact time line. I don’t think I could move them both in either direction in under a couple of seconds.

When I was flying the 767, back around the mid ‘90s I found a repeatable bug in the FMC programming, that would allow the aircraft to descend through the MCP selected altitude. At that time it had been in service for around 10 years, and that sort of FMC had been in use across multiple types, so...

Not a message about the switch, but numerous messages about engine shutdown, hydraulic, electric generator, etc fail. When you board an aircraft before flight, the EICAS is full of warnings, and you’d be seeing many of those.

I’m sure they’re looking, but I’d be interested in knowing more about whatever wiring is under the switches. Is there a circuit board that they activate, in which case a board fault could be taken as a switch throw? Maybe. I think you’d see the hand movement, but perhaps not. The reported...