Re. the Puma accident at Aberdeen. The instructor had been flying them in excess of 3 years to my knowledge, and been an instructor for most of his career. The 'good' engine had what was then described as a thermal runaway during a rejected take-off, which meant there was nil or limited power available from it, with no opportunity to advance the retarded throttle.
The company policy was to top up the sponson tanks, unfortunately the crew suffered the consequences of those tanks splitting. The fuel policy was immediately changed.
Within days we were required to provide a third pilot, a Capt, to sit in the jump seat and operate the SSLs in the event of a catastrophic failure. It was to be the training Capt who would call for the SSL to be advanced, how long the third pilot would wait to act is open to conjecture. Within a week of the accident I had to sit in as safety pilot for a NVMCBC, and hated every second. The safety of the third pilot was compromised by being in a jump seat with only a lap strap.
Re. Engine fire post LDP, put it on the ground, then have a good look before letting your flailing hands start work.
