I do not wish to participate in the debate amongst all you armchair experts explaining how a rapidly evolving and dynamic situation should have been handled, especially as many, not all, have absolutely no perception of how difficult it is for the flight crew to know just exactly how bad things are in the cabin, how much time it takes to shut down any engines that may have been started, how much time it takes to communicate with ATC and ground crew and possibly ground staff to inform them of the problem and the initial desire to return to stand before being informed of the escalating seriousness of the problem. Therefore, I shall wait and see what the report reveals despite hearing first hand from one of the pilots what happened from his perspective.
What I do wish to comment upon, though, is the appalling (in my opinion) way in which IFE/and seat power is wired on the B744s of my experience. Anybody with any experience of wiring, electrical loads and good wiring practice would be very, very surprised at what is allowed. I was unaware of the different rules, which someone mentioned earlier, which apply to non-essential wiring aboard aeroplanes. I accept that power can be isolated and fire suppressed but the acrid fumes from electrical fires have to be experienced to truly understand how noxious and unpleasant they are.
Edited for an errant apostrophe!
Last edited by M.Mouse; 14th Jul 2009 at 23:37.