Bafanguy-my sources tell me that yes, the -30, -40 and -50 all have the same brake selector, which is normally left in the "Both" position, allowing both hydraulic systems to supply all brake pressure needs. Only the -10s (now retired, and destroyed[?]
) had a different yellow lever, also above the captain's radar altimeter and standby ADI, requiring pilots to select one hydraulic source at a time. On some -10s, personnel noticed that after many years, due to infrequent use of the lever, it needed to be alternated quite often-once during cruise. How good are the cables to the brake selectors in the -30, -40, and -50? Are they checked often?
Did the DC-9 in question have an inop. (MEL) thrust reverser for the operating engine? Even the DC-9 thrust reversers have a hydraulic accumulator, and a 'reverser accum low light' should indicate inadequate pressure, which can be recharged by a circuit breaker-at least this is what my sources tell me.
I wonder how often such systems are checked, with so much financial pressure to outsource airlines' major maintenance? This is only the beginning of a very unfortunate accelerating trend
. Maybe this plane was at Dothan recently (...woops!...), or San Antonio? Maybe not. Nevertheless, only the supervisor at an outsourced facility must be FAA licensed-not the other workers, whether in the US or at the facility in El Salvador which overhauls about a fourth of JetBlues Airbus fleet-reportedly a rather complex aircraft.