onetrack

The blokes in the video below are very, very good. They're aircraft maintainers and crash investigators, and they're three proper experts sitting around having a clinical discussion of the facts. They're not scripted, as are many of the YooToob "crash experts". They savage a lot of the airline captains who present as crash experts, but lack maintainer and crash investigation knowledge. They absolutely slam the wild theorists, the conspiracy merchants and the outright loonies who propose answers with little logical reasoning and even less technical knowledge. They point out that the lag in providing information by the Indians was a factor that has led to stupid opinions on the reasons for the crash. They also point out the preliminary report information is deficient, and hope that further AAIB information will be more enlightening. But they come to the logical conclusion that no matter what the potential for computer or data glitches, the simple fact remains that the switches were physically moved, they were moved by one of the crew, they were physically returned to run by one of the crew, and that the fuel shutoff valves functioned precisely as designed - from off and back to on, on instructions from the physical movement of the cutoff switches. A software glitch must be eliminated in this conclusion, as it is basically impossible for it to happen in the above defined events timeline. The conclusion can only be that the cutoff switches were moved in a criminal act, or in a "brain fart" action that seems incredible, but which as we know, can happen, because humans are humans, and they do stupid things. This video is a little long-winded, and you can skip the few minutes in the centre where they talk to an underwriter in an "infomercial" - but overall, it is a worthy watch.

......relegate both himself and Turbo to history as minor players, on a par with Capt James Cooks crew, who fell under the spell of the Wahinis, and who had to be physically dragged back on board the Endeavour. In fact, to this very day (as Cappy is one of Capt Cooks direct descendants), Cappy immediately turns into a dribbling incoherent shell of his normal self, immediately he sights a Wahini in a traditional costume (that's topless, of course). Cappys displays of socially unacceptable and uninhibited behaviour in this arena, have led to him being...........

As with all investigations trying to discover all the facts, the timeline, the motives, and to examine all the potential scenarios, the worst approach is to rapidly come to a conclusion, and to then make the facts fit the conclusion one has come to. Many Police forces have failed dismally when trying to solve major crimes with limited evidence, damaged crime scenes, lies, and often, seemingly no motive - because they approached the cases with preformed ideas, and ignored seemingly small pieces of information, instantly considering them as having no value, and dismissing them from the investigation. In essence, despite air crash investigations being based on avoiding the placement of blame on any one party, the principles of crime investigation should also be applied to air crash investigations, to ensure that even the tiniest piece of evidence of the crash cause or causes, is not ignored, or dismissed out of hand. There is sufficient power pressures at play in this major crash (almost on a par with the Erebus crash), that suspicion is harboured in many quarters, that political or corporate pressure will be applied to ensure that either Air India, Boeing, or even the Indian Aviation regulator come out of the investigation, squeaky clean. An interesting factor now is that a U.K. based law firm, intent on placing blame on a particular party involved in the crash, has commenced its own separate crash investigation, utilising the skills and knowledge of a very senior commander from the IAF. I do feel that this law firms investigation may be skewed from day one - and they are still reliant on the AAIB providing them with information, whereupon the AAIB may withhold critical information if it reflects badly on Air India or Indian aviation training, or the Indian Aviation regulator. However, it's perhaps not a bad thing to have another investigation running alongside the primary AAIB one, to maybe uncover facts or issues that the AAIB may overlook, or ignore. I've seen one of the victims relatives describe the preliminary report as "reading like a product review", rather than placing all the facts on the table. The preliminary reports failure to address the timing of the crew voices on the CVR, and to identify those particular voices, is something that seems to be a major failure in the report and has numerous aviation experts carrying on at length about the 10 second delay in returning the fuel cutoff switches to run. That 10 second delay could easily be explained if the voice records had been given a precise timeline in the preliminary report. There would almost certainly be a "WTF" few seconds in the cockpit as the engines spooled down, power to the displays flickered (as it does in the switching from the primary generators to backup power), and a visual check of thrust control positions was carried out, immediately after major thrust failure.

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Litespeed - No, the B787 has one FADEC for each engine, and each engine FADEC has totally separate electrical/electronic systems. On the B787, the primary engine control device is termed the EEC, Electronic Engine Control. If there's a B787 weakness anywhere, it could be in the electronic components that switch between the various signal formats, to the ARINC 664 electronic messaging format, that many Boeing aircraft operate on. "The Boeing 787-8 utilizes the Common Core System (CCS) to support the operation of multiple airplane systems, enhancing reliability, and reducing costs and weight. This system shifts from the traditional approach of dedicated units for each airplane system, to centralized processing. At the heart of the CCS (Common Core System) are software applications that calculate data for most airplane systems. Components of the CCS include: Two Common Computing Resource (CCR) cabinets, named left and right. Each houses: 2 Power Conditioning Modules (PCM) which provide power for other modules. 8 General Processor Modules (GPM) which run software applications, manage databases, and handle system calculations. 2 ARINC 664 network Cabinet Switches (ACS). 2 Fibre Optic translator Modules (FOX), vital for data conversion between electrical and fibre optic formats. 2 Graphics Generators (GG), not part of the CCS but rather the Primary Display System. Six ARINC 664 network Remote Switches (ARS) and 21 Remote Data Concentrators (RDC). The ARS and ACS switches ensure that data gets to the correct destinations, changing between fibre optic and electrical signal formats. RDCs act as intermediaries between the network switches and most airplane systems that don’t use ARINC 664. They convert data from various formats like analogue, ARINC 429, and CAN bus data to ARINC 664 format, and vice versa. The CCR cabinets are in the forward electronic equipment bay, with positions defined by program pins. The system powers up automatically when the airplane is powered, with two startup modes: Uninhibited, involving a full power-up built-in test, and inhibited, where the system is ready in about 50 seconds under specific conditions. The Common Data Network (CDN) facilitates data transfer between various aircraft systems and within the CCS. Many cockpit panel switches interface with the CDN through Panel Interface Pod (PIP) logic circuit card assemblies. The PIPs digitize panel switch position data, sending it to the CDN and receiving indication data from the CDN. In summary, the CCS and CDN are integral parts of the Boeing 787, centralizing data processing and communication among airplane systems to optimize functionality and efficiency." The B787 Thrust Management System graphics:

Gee, that must have been some decent sized bird. Poor bugger, how unlucky could you be? I can recall a pilot operating a Cessna twin from the W.A. mainland to Koolan Island, way back in the early 80's, or perhaps even the late 70's, hitting a Sea Eagle (Osprey) that came through the windscreen on him. It hit him smack in the face, knocked two of his front teeth out, and actually knocked him unconscious for a short period. The worst part was the bird carcass partly shredded and the cockpit filled with feathers and blood and guts. He managed to keep control of the aircraft, he then turned back to the mainland and landed it successfully. It must have been a very stressful experience.

The people who dream up these scenarios have obviously never studied up on the actual design and construction of the B787 systems. The HPSOV's are solenoid-actuated valves, held in their last-actuated position by spring-pressure detents. It's not possible for a "cracked solder joint" to shut off the fuel to the engines. It requires ELECTRICAL actuation for the HPSOV's to move from any one position to the other. If the electrical current flow ceases, the HPSOV stays in its previous position. This is what Roundsounds is talking about, the amount of "what-ifs" that go into the design of these systems, before they can be certified to be used in commercial, passenger transport aircraft. I would opine it's likely not even possible for a short-circuit in the fuel cutoff switching circuitry to activate a HPSOV from open to shut. The engine ECU logic would examine the electrical messaging and determine whether the signal was false or true, by matching the actual fuel cutoff switch position. Of course, if the circuitry close to the HPSOV was shorted (between the ECU and the HPSOV), then I would imagine there COULD be an unintended valve actuation. But I'll wager the Boeing engineers considered that angle as well, and have done all they could to prevent that happening. This is UNINTENDED, INSTANT engine shutdown we are talking here, it is something that the entire aircraft design would centre around, not happening. But an INTENDED, HPSOV actuation, is going to go through to the engine instantly, it is not designed to be intercepted by either the FADEC or the engine ECU.

There's a FB page called PNG Balus, which contains reels of film footage from the 1940's, including footage of the Junkers operating into Bulolo. I've got a old video (around 35 years old) at home, simply called "Balus", and it has good stories on aviation in PNG. I'm not at home at present (I'm in Broome, on holidays), so I can't dig out the fine details on it right now. https://www.facebook.com/PNGBalus

An Indian pilot demonstrates the operation of the B787 fuel cutoff switches.....

Yes, a wiring short circuit could possibly activate one of the HPSOV's - but not both, they are totally independent switches, circuits and engine ECU's.

If that were the case, the incorrect switch position would immediately be obvious to anyone in the cockpit - and the contacts for each position wouldn't be activated. In addition, how could BOTH switches be left incorrectly located on the locking ridge? One, perhaps, but not both. Just one switch left in an incorrect centre position would stand out even more than both being incorrectly positioned.

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If you're really worried about burns in a crash, wear a Nomex fire suit, as the race car drivers do. I'd have to opine the greatest threat from a fire breakout after or during a crash, is the high likelihood of lung damage, caused by ingesting flames, soot and smoke. No fire-resistant clothing can prevent that.

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.......evidence of Cappys ancestor, Capt Josiah Cooks visitation to the Island, with a pewter plaque nailed to a coconut tree, claiming the Island for ownership by the Cook family. Akamulakikaipo Duke Turbine became enraged at the pewter plate claim and tore it down, replacing with a pewter plate claiming the Island always was, always will be, a Turbine clan possession. From this small event, we can see how the Turbine and Cook clans have become engaged in constant bouts of one-upmanship over the centuries, and the chest-beating claims of each clan become more outrageous with each passing year, to the extent that................