TC, Cattletruck & others - I quite agree that this should not happen, and there would have been gongs and RED CWP captions between both transfer pumps being turned off (with AMBER captions) and before the first engine flamed out, which would have pointed out the error of leaving both pumps off, in plenty of time to get one or other back on again, and re-fill the supply tanks. One transfer pump will supply enough for both engines, and a bit.
I don't think there's anything wrong with the fuel system at all and (Cattletruck) you are correct in that Police pilots will be used to turning a front pump off in the hover, and turning it on again as soon as they transition to forward flight - if they've forgotten, as soon as the aft pump runs dry, there's a caption "reminder" & the position of the switches will be swapped (front on, rear off) - it's pretty-much automatic.
Paull - the switches are both on/off, one for each pump and next to each other on the overhead panel. Experienced 135 pilots will know where they are by feel.
As I said, I hope it's a wild theory and can be sensibly discounted. In the meanwhile, if they actually had the fuel they accounted for on take-off, they were likely very close to, or below, MLA - which would easily have got them back to base. So still a mystery.
Last edited by Jetdriver; 10th Dec 2013 at 13:46.