A310 cpt seven yrs in the tropics. We had several ex-air india birds. Pratt engines as I recall. Real bad about compressor stalling/flameout in reverse with crosswind or standing water. Typical scenario: Third World ATC has too many diversions and can't handle the traffic (meaning more than one target at a time.) Everybody winds up high for the approach, low on gas. In my case a virtual lake was standing on the runway in the dark after a typhoon. Atis said CAVOK and no rekmarks. But the truth was no visable runway lights at all since they were submerged. We never knew it was there. After two bad vectors inside the marker for us, and Polar went around complaining that his machine "wasn't built to do that" told ATC never mind we'll do a 360 to the left and vector ourselves. Splashdown; brakes useless, number two started barking fire against the FADEC-type reverse limit because gentlemen: It is not a boat motor; it cannot compress water. Number two flamed out abruptly a few thousand feet later, and we slid the length of the runway. Witnesses were sure we had caught fire on the rollout. Massive yaw occurred when one stayed in max reverse and the other quit. Due to nothing but superior f***ing airman-ship on my part, only crew under-shorts were ruined: I slammed both reversers to idle to regain runway alignment and then reapplied the good one about two thirds max against full rudder and was just barely able to stop. The A310 rudder has a crosswind limit of exactly 28kts. Not 29! Ten months later a company A310 did the same thing and went through the freeway injuring motorists.
Could this be what happened to the above A310? These are the usual suspects for what is otherwise a great airplane. The post accident fire might have happened independently and been due to overun damage off the pavement. Fuel tanks leak when trunion gears punch up into the intregal tanks. I've seen overrun 310's. The damage is incredible. Usually the Nose gear is ripped backwards and shoved up into the e and e compartment.
The moral of this story: The devil with the company automation policy, click the thing off every chance you get and hand fly it.
Even if they make fun of you and call you "Hand Job." At least you'll be used to planning the vertical nav while you're saturated with stick and rudder skills that, I dare say, most modern day aviators no longer possess.
Not something the bus salesman likes to tell flight departments when he's peddling his "flys itself" products for lease to low time flight crews!
pac - out