FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Pilots of the BA38 now face criticism from colleagues
Old Jan 27, 2008 | 4:56 am
  #49  
BOH
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I still believe it is too early to hail the crew as 100% heros and entirely blameless until the investigation findings are published.

What we don't know for sure yet is whether earlier actions by the crew contributed to the catastrophic problem that occurred seconds before touchdown, ie fuel mismanagement is one example or whether there had been any adverse engine indications earlier in the flight that should have made them consider a diversion en-route.

There is a precedent, the 1983 "Gimli Glider" incident where an AC 767 made an emergency landing at the disused RoCAF Gimli base in Manitoba when both engines flamed out at altitude. The cause was flight crew error in manually calculating the fuel required to be loaded at YUL as the electronic tank gauges were inoperative. Their calculation error resulted in less than 50% of the required fuel being loaded.

And the similarity with BA038 is? Well, whilst the AC767 flight crew were hailed as total heros for the way they miraculously glided the a/c into Gimli, they were rightly blamed for the original error that caused the fuel starvation. IIRC, AC originally fired them both but after an outcry reinstated them but with a demotion.

So I also agree it is way too early to be hailing the flight crew as 100% heros. They certainly seem to be for the way the a/c was landed but until the report is issued we can only speculate as to whether they were totally blameless.
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