Looking at this incident from another direction, every experienced car driver can recall a journey where they started off and arrived at their destination with no recollection of the journey itself due to being distracted by other thoughts.
Is it unreasonable to suggest that a very experienced helicopter pilot might not also be capable of going through the motions of flying a helicopter while not being totally focused on the job?
At the time the supply tank switches were switched off in response to a warning they were running dry, it would appear the pilot was reacting normally. At some point between then and when the low fuel messages appeared, something appears to have distracted the pilot to such an extent, he was effectively just going through the motions. The warnings were acknowledged but not actioned. Only when the first engine flamed out did the pilot snap out of his distracted state and was probably very confused as he struggled to catch up with what the helicopter was doing.
The second engine spooling down would just add to the confusion and possibly utter bewilderment as nothing appeared to be happening as described in the manuals.
So the question is, what event could happen in mid flight that would give rise to such a level of distraction in an experienced pilot? We can say with reasonable certainty that there was no significant equipment failures in the helicopter and it was basically airworthy and with enough fuel to return to base safely, although below the mandated safety limits. So what else could have occured during the trip back from Edinburgh towards Glasgow?
Would anyone on this forum admit to having been flying along in a soporiphic state only to be startled into awareness by the Nr horn sounding, or a sudden engine failure? I can't imagine it hasn't happened before.
Last edited by G0ULI; 26th Oct 2015 at 00:02.
Reason: Added question