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When an engine catches fire, you need to extinguish it. These are usually very large overhead red handles (or black handles with red illumination) that, when pu
by aaronmdjones 3y ago
When an engine catches fire, you need to extinguish it. These are usually very large overhead red handles (or black handles with red illumination) that, when pulled, will shut off the fuel supply to that engine and flood it with extinguishing agents. This reliably kills the engine, with the hope of preventing the spread of fire.
- phendrenad2 3y agoSeems like it should be a "insert two keys" kind of thing then. And/or just one button plus some kind of automated system that won't let you do it unless there's some sensor confirmation that it's necessary. Also, I wonder why we don't have electric planes. Sure, batteries aren't there yet. But we could have a jet turbine used as a generator (actually done quite often as a portable ground-based power source, it's really cool), a series of batteries to store the power temporarily, and electric fans to move the plane forward.
- pdonis 3y ago> Seems like it should be a "insert two keys" kind of thing then. So if the plane's engine is actually on fire, you want to lengthen the process the flight crew has to go through to extinguish it? Remember that "engine fire" actually means "plane could be seconds away from a jet fuel explosion".
- phendrenad2 3y agoPossibly, or possibly it would have a tiny effect in the event of a real emergency, and would completely stop what was attempted here. I'm sure I'm not the first to think of it, so I assume that it was dismissed for good reason.
- aaronmdjones 3y agoOr just an engine explosion. These happen more often than you'd think, but they are usually contained; engines are built to try their best to withstand such events. A notable recent exception was QF32. This incident came very close to ruining Qantas' zero-passenger-fatalities-on-a-jet-aircraft-ever streak. It started as an oil leak in engine #2, due to an oil pipe that was manufactured incorrectly. This then lead to an engine fire, and shortly after that, a turbine disc explosively disintegrated, launching three high-velocity fragments radially outward from the engine, severely damaging the aircraft, before the crew could even react to the fire.
- paulddraper 3y agoI hereby nominate this comment for the HN hall of fame. * Prescribing dangerous alternatives? Check. * Suggesting technologies that don't work? Check. * Using "just" to underscore to the simply nature of the topic? Check.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- tantalor 3y agoHa, my trap has been sprung
- some_random 3y agoThe whole point is that pilots are highly trusted and assumed to be good actors, re engineering this would be next to impossible. As for electric planes, there's work going on but there are a bunch of issues.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- blantonl 3y agoAlso, I wonder why we don't have electric planes. You know, you're right. Electrical fires have NEVER brought down an aircraft. :/
- phendrenad2 3y agoElectric planes would come with their own set of problems, but if it's an improvement, a win is a win.
- rconti 3y agoThere are two handles. One over the shoulder of the captain, and one over the shoulder of the first officer.