4 ms·

It appears that he actually made a ton of effort to prevent a fire from erupting from the crashed plane, which is really, ironically, the smoking gun that this

It appears that he actually made a ton of effort to prevent a fire from erupting from the crashed plane, which is really, ironically, the smoking gun that this was a planned crash. For instance, the apparent reason why the engine stopped working isn't due to mechanical failure of the engine (very common in old ass prop planes, just as your Hyundai might blow up, due to oil starvation, spun bearings, rods grenading itself, etc), but rather running out of fuel. He purposefully brought not enough fuel to kill the engine, and secondarily prevent a fire. It was also strongly speculated that he filled one of the fuel tanks with water, probably in an attempt to prevent a fire from erupting.

withinboredom 5y ago
An empty tank is a more dangerous tank. An empty tank is full of vapor, which is the bit that explodes, not liquid.
- hutzlibu 5y ago
  But after that, there is no more gasoline left for burning.
  - withinboredom 5y ago
    A tank full of gas won't explode if punctured, but there might be a fire if it leaks near something hot enough. An empty tank will explode with just the slightest spark. A half tank just depends on where it gets punctured, but with gravity and all, it's likely to be the bottom half that gets punctured.
    - throwaway0a5e 5y ago
      Cars use in-tank pumps turned by brushed electric motors. Why don't they blow up when empty? Even in an empty fuel tank the vapors are way to rich to ignite. You might get a good flash if you introduce air and ignition at the same time but odds are you won't get any sort of sustained fire.
      - mannykannot 5y ago
        On the other hand, TWA 800. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TWA_Flight_800 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TWA_Flight_800
mannykannot 5y ago
> ...isn't due to mechanical failure of the engine (very common in old ass prop planes, just as your Hyundai might blow up, due to oil starvation, spun bearings, rods grenading itself, etc) Unlike cars, even old aviation engines have strict rules for inspection, and for replacement of parts after a certain number of hours, rather than when they wear out or fail. You could get away with circumventing these for a while, but it is simply not true that it is "very common" for "old ass prop planes" to have engine failures, comparably to old cars. > It was also strongly speculated that he filled one of the fuel tanks with water... I would be interested in seeing how strong the evidence behind this speculation is, but if it were the case, it would be yet further evidence of his incompetence, as water is no help, and sometimes a problem, in preventing, containing and extinguishing a gasoline fire.

withinboredom 5y ago

An empty tank is a more dangerous tank. An empty tank is full of vapor, which is the bit that explodes, not liquid.

hutzlibu 5y ago
But after that, there is no more gasoline left for burning.
- withinboredom 5y ago
  A tank full of gas won't explode if punctured, but there might be a fire if it leaks near something hot enough. An empty tank will explode with just the slightest spark. A half tank just depends on where it gets punctured, but with gravity and all, it's likely to be the bottom half that gets punctured.
  - throwaway0a5e 5y ago
    Cars use in-tank pumps turned by brushed electric motors. Why don't they blow up when empty? Even in an empty fuel tank the vapors are way to rich to ignite. You might get a good flash if you introduce air and ignition at the same time but odds are you won't get any sort of sustained fire.
    - mannykannot 5y ago
      On the other hand, TWA 800. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TWA_Flight_800 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TWA_Flight_800

mannykannot 5y ago

> ...isn't due to mechanical failure of the engine (very common in old ass prop planes, just as your Hyundai might blow up, due to oil starvation, spun bearings, rods grenading itself, etc) Unlike cars, even old aviation engines have strict rules for inspection, and for replacement of parts after a certain number of hours, rather than when they wear out or fail. You could get away with circumventing these for a while, but it is simply not true that it is "very common" for "old ass prop planes" to have engine failures, comparably to old cars. > It was also strongly speculated that he filled one of the fuel tanks with water... I would be interested in seeing how strong the evidence behind this speculation is, but if it were the case, it would be yet further evidence of his incompetence, as water is no help, and sometimes a problem, in preventing, containing and extinguishing a gasoline fire.