Virgin Atlantic A340-600 fuel incident
Once more we have an incident towards the end of longhaul flight.
On the one hand I'm amazed that the crew failed to notice that the tanks feeding the engines were running dry (basic airmanship?), but on the other hand I know that I could make just the same mistake after many hours airborne, tired and jetlagged. I also know that the Big Bus (indeed any Bus) can confuse the most unflappable pilot.
The Qantas Bangkok accident happened at the end of a long duty and after nearly 24 hours without sleep. I can't believe that they did what they did but, again, maybe I would do just the same in their shoes.
The CAA wants the A340 fuel system modified. Fair enough, but isn't this incident more about the insidious effects of longhaul flying on crew performance? Particularly with the A380 arriving and sectors getting even longer.