Spanner Turner,
thanks, that's very interesting.
That also means that chocks are no safety measure for engine run-ups, but merely to secure a parked aircraft. They're only designed to keep an unbraked aircraft from rolling away by gravity (downhill) or (perhaps) idle thrust, if the parking brake fails.
Since apparently high power was still applied on all engines, it follows that chocks would not have prevented this accident. If they reduce friction when pushed against, they might even have exacerbated it.
Makes me wonder if there are specially designed chocks (perhaps with rubber "feet") made to hold an aircraft against high engine power?
As to the parking brake: istr that for (at least CFM-equipped) A320 it is not advised to power up the engines beyond 75% N1 with the parking brake on. I imagine there's a similar limit for A340.
Bernd
Last edited by bsieker; 22nd Nov 2007 at 10:03.
Reason: grammar