BA038 crashed when it lost power on descent on January 17 of this year, and it appears now that the problem was caused by ice accumulation in the fuel system impeding fuel flow.
It flew over Siberia at relatively high altitudes and low fuel flows, and so ice accumulated, and when the throttle was added during descent, ice broke loose, and plugged the fuel lines.
If it wasn’t a one in a million thing, it was close.
It’s an interesting read.
OK, maybe the next time I fly, I walk instead.
Some US Air pilots requested additional fuel be loaded into their aircraft in order to have more reserves upon landing. US Airways retaliated:
But US Airways recently crossed the line when it ordered eight pilots who requested “an extra 10 to 15 minutes worth of fuel” to attend training sessions, or “check rides,” that could put their pilot licenses in jeopardy, Ray said. The pilots were supposed to report for their training sessions Wednesday, he said.
So, we have bankruptcy, pay cuts for the workers, massive bonuses for the executives, and now attempts to eliminate safety margins on fuel loads, because you have to burn some of that fuel to carry that fuel.
The basic concept is that combustion is an electron exchange of matter in a cold plazma state, and if you can interfere with the plasma, you can shut down combustion.
Cool stuff.
Now, will you please run with these scissors, and French kiss this cobra.
Yes, in our post 911 environment we decided that it would be a good thing for pilots to carry guns on flights.
Thankfully, Myth Busters has shown that it won’t cause a “Goldfinger” style decompression.