Re Diesel contamination
Pinkman. Just to get it straight in my mind. We seem to have a suggestion of a type of fuel contamination that can raise the freeze point. So this allows high power for take-off climb and cruise, but also allows significant waxing after a long cold soak at altitude (and the temps were apparently rather low that day). From TOD to Lambourne engines may well have been idle all the way, if there were any restriction it wasn't enough to snuff them out at low power. But in 35 years of operating to Heathrow I don't think I ever did an idle descent from cruise level to finals, especially not on a windy day like Jan 17. As everyone knows, ATC can't maintain flow in headwinds, the rules don't allow them to (constant distance spacing = increased time separation); even if they didn't hold at LAM (and we don't seem to know that for sure), or even if they descended continuously in the hold, I can't believe they didn't do the obligatory shuffle 270 deg off LAM level at FL 70. That would have required modest EPR, similar to final approach. But the engines responded then. Is it the suggestion that the higher fuel flow then dislodged a 'plug' of wax (?) from wherever it was sitting happily to somewhere closer to the engines, to then move fatally somewhere else when the final power demand was made (rather like a deep vein thrombosis moves from the legs to the heart or lungs, as I understand it)? I might even buy it.