5 ms·
Why can the pilot shut off the fuel during takeoff?
by comrade1234 1y ago
Why can the pilot shut off the fuel during takeoff?
- rhcom2 1y agoCompletely uneducated guess but if one engine bursts into flames you might want to kill the fuel.
- ExoticPearTree 1y ago> Why can the pilot shut off the fuel during takeoff? Engine failure during takeoff. Engine fire.
- aaronmdjones 1y agoEngine overheating even on idle thrust (if this happens after V1, you would idle it and continue the takeoff anyway; you are beyond the point at which you can safely abort). Engine oil leak has drained the oil completely and the engine is about to fail catastrophically (unlikely on takeoff but you never know). Engine is on fire (out of all of the things that can go wrong with an engine during takeoff, this is very likely). Engine has blown up (ditto). Engine is missing from the aircraft (not likely, but engines have fallen from planes on takeoff before). Debris / Ash / etc is in the engine (not likely). Severe fuel leak (not something I'd worry about during takeoff). Probably other reasons I can't think of.
- jeffbee 1y agoSuggest a system that would prevent this, but only this, without causing other risks.
- emmelaich 1y agoAt least an audible alert.
- anonzzzies 1y agoExactly
- wezdog1 1y agoYeah that would have completed prevented this scenario /s
- MaKey 1y agoAnother comment mentioned that with an Airbus you first have to move the thrust lever to idle before you're able to cutoff the fuel.
- jeffbee 1y agoThat seems sensible and relatively easy to implement without screwing it up.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- bob1029 1y agoDisable the fuel system cutoff controls during the takeoff climb phase of flight. Once the aircraft loses contact with the runway, these controls shouldn't function without tripping certain thresholds (speed & altitude), or following a two-man procedure that is physically impossible to execute solo. In any other flight regime, the controls function as originally designed. The danger of a burning engine is irrelevant if you are heading into terrain.
- ExoticPearTree 1y ago> The danger of a burning engine is irrelevant if you are heading into terrain. Not quite. When you hit the ground you do not want any fuel leaks or hot surfaces as much as possible. That is why for example engines are shutdown when doing an emergency belly landing, to try abd prevent the airplane from bursting into flames.
- ufmace 1y agoI don't think so. A moderately hard landing with an engine(s) smoldering because they were on fire but had their fuel cut off is probably survivable for most of the passengers. A moderately hard landing with the engine(s) a raging inferno pouring burning fuel all over the place because the fuel couldn't be cut off or took too long to do so is much less survivable. Putting complex and fallible restrictions on safety-critical controls like fuel cutoff is usually a bad idea overall.
- dboreham 1y agoSounds good, but I'm not sure I trust Boeing outsourced software developers to implement that absolutely correctly.
- yongjik 1y agoNow you created a fuel system cutoff control inhibition system which may malfunction in its own ways, e.g., refuse to cut off fuels from a burning engine because it thinks the plane is too low due to faulty altimeter reading.
- baseballdork 1y agoFire, probably. But also, how complicated would you make the system if you needed to prevent certain switches from working during certain times of flight? At some point... we're all just in the hands of the people in the cockpit.
- dboreham 1y agoI can't put my car into reverse gear while driving down the freeway.
- sgentle 1y agoSure, but you can open the door, pull the handbrake, or turn the wheel so hard you lose control of the vehicle. These are all similarly preventable, but maybe not worth the risk of being unable to open the door, brake or steer if the safety mechanism fails closed, or if your situation is outside the foresight of its designer. Also, you don't need multiple certifications and 1500 hours of experience to drive a car.
- emmelaich 1y agoOn a Tesla (and presumably other cars) opening the door engages Park. There's no handbrake to pull, and turning the wheel so hard to lose control is next to impossible. Maybe on an oily wet or loose surface.
- ExoticPearTree 1y agoThere are very few failure scenarios that are life threatening in a car.
- ojosilva 1y agoOn my Tesla Model Y there's a hand brake on the push button of the right lever. On the left hand lever there's another push button, the windshield wiper liquid. Guess what have I mistakenly, and scarely, done twice already when driving at highway speeds when my windshield was a little dusty? New designs are prone to ill decision-making from engineers, drivers and pilots alike. Every pathway of let's do it differently is the beginning of a journey of fine-tuning loops until stability.
- lysace 1y agoWhat you are really asking is: would we, the passengers, be safer without human pilots? Eventually, yes. Soon? Maybe.
- celticninja 1y agoDog and a pilot. The pilot is there to make sure everything is ok and the dog is there to bite the pilot if he tries touching anything
- bigbuppo 1y agoAs long as you also eliminate the possibility of maintenance problems and defects in automation, and have perfect microscale weather forecasts, and still have overrides for the human safety pilot that can still... wait a minute.