I'm not surprised he was successful (in pulling the fire handle -- not in taking down the aircraft). They are designed to be quick (but deliberate), because, if

I'm not surprised he was successful (in pulling the fire handle -- not in taking down the aircraft). They are designed to be quick (but deliberate), because, if you're pulling one (or god forbid two) you're already in a serious situation where you have 50 other things going on. He probably was done before they even realized what he was doing. Fortunate that they were able to restore fuel flow before the engine was starved for fuel, but, it would have very unlikely been a catastrophic situation had they lost both engines. Modern airliners are designed to restart their engines in flight through various means and can glide for many many miles from cruise altitude giving the crew ample time to do an orderly restart. See: Gimli Glider. I say this not to excuse or minimize his actions but to emphasize to nervous flyers (like myself) exactly how redundant and safe modern aircraft are and how well trained modern crews are. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZWjSUDTpOg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZWjSUDTpOg