Re: First time in 6.5 million flying hours for Boeing 777

The Todal wrote:
"Palindrome" <me9@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:22awk.659992$3p2.640519@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The Todal wrote:
"Cynic" <cynic_999@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:m082c4p11r09i011lrq2gittaqhcu520um@xxxxxxxxxx
On Fri, 5 Sep 2008 08:57:18 +0100, "The Todal" <deadmailbox@xxxxxxxx>
wrote:

Having worked in the aviation industry, The Air Accident Investigation
Branch is one of the few Government organisations that I would trust, and
they certainly would have made it clear if the plane had run out of fuel.
Indeed they noted that " levels of water found in fuel recovered after the
17 January crash were very low for a Boeing 777."
Does that mean - as I supposed it might mean - that the water normally to be
expected in the fuel had in fact frozen and passed into the engine?
Smallish quantities of water or ice would do no harm if ingested by
the engine. The suspicion is that the accumulated ice particles
blocked a fuel inlet or filter, cutting off the suuply of fuel to the
engines.

Not an entirely satisfactory explanation because it would mean that it
would have to have occured in two different places at virtually the
same time in order to to stop both engines. Which is not necessarily
a huge coincidence - the situation might occur only at a particular
angle of the aircraft or a particular rate of flow of the fuel.
I remember speculating about whether the pilots were in fact to blame for the incident. Clearly, all the evidence seems to confirm that they were in no way to blame, and were in fact the heroes that they were portrayed to be.



Highly professional, yes. Heroes? Well, I suppose in these days when anyone who survives something unpleasant is automatically a hero..

So what word are we to use to describe those who choose to put themselves in harm's way, for the benefit of others?

"Criminals", perhaps, if the Health and Safety Elves get their way...

In truth, there are indeed few examples of true heroism.

I beg to differ. The Hope lifeboat crew putting to sea in an unsafe boat to go to the aid of a stranger, being a recent example. A driver steering his runaway lorry over a cliff edge, rather than continue on into a market square full of people being another.

As you say, doing your job and doing it well, shouldn't be regarded as heroism. I suppose bringing your car to a halt after the brakes have failed is much the same sort of thing as landing an aircraft after the engines have lost power.

Military pilots have, IIUC, chosen to stay with their stricken plane and hence gone to their deaths, rather than eject and let the plane crash onto a densely populated area. Unless, of course, those tales all come from Boys Own Magazines.

Ejecting is not an option for most car occupants. Although I can think of a few passengers....


Still, it's always nice to have an upbeat story about how disaster was averted by a quick thinking crew. It is gratifying that they didn't rush to the back of the plane and hide in the toilets.


Just as with the first military aircraft, crews of commercial aeroplanes aren't given an option other than to "do or die". "Merely doing their job" or "True hero" does rather depend on having a *realistic* alternative.

--
Sue








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