18A, can you turn my light on?

[shybird]

QF6 Singapore to Sydney, last Monday the 26th.

Wifey reports her light was operated by a button at another seat, and some were crossed from upper to lower deck.

Do I believe it? Does this happen often?

[Keg]

Yes. Define 'often'. :E

[shybird]

Often - from the pissed off passenger's point of view, anything over 15% would cause me to seek a different airline (but let me guess, they would have a similar frequency?). Does it vary across airplane manufacturers?

What is the mechanical rational of having a button wired to a switch board rather than the actual light which is only a few feet away? I can see why communications devices would go to a central point, but the fan and light? Isn't that a lot of extra wire, additional complexity, and, therefore, a frequent problem (did I just answer my own question?)

[aircabbie]

Thats abit scary when you start thinking , Hydralic hoses ,Control cables , Fuel cables !!!!!!!!!! I can just see you flushing the toliet( not the one the hostee is doing celebs in ) and throwing out 40 deg flap.

:eek:

[shybird]

Apparently a couple of passengers and the hostie did not find it all amusing when someone asked how the cabling up front was performing during the 'raise your hand if your light goes on' exercise.

[aircabbie]

" Ladies and Gentleman pls sit back and relax and lets figure out what button on this ACFT does what " :confused:

Would not do alot for your conviedence would it .

[virgindriver]

I have seen it a couple times where the lights in a row of 2 or 3 seats are simply directed the wrong way. All they need is the ball socket to be focused the right way. Maybe that was it???

[fixa24]

I'm assuming it was a 747-400 here..
The seat wiring runs from seat to seat, then to a disconnect at the wall where it interfaces with various boxes that do different things, like pax lights, hostie call, IFE etc. its possible that the whole system went haywire and assigned the wrong "address" to each seat, therefore switching on the wrong light when the button was pushed. It's been a few years since i worked on these, so please forgive any errors. It's usually solved by doing a master reboot on the system.. i haven't heard of all zones being affected before though, usually it's a problem with the one group of seats that are hooked together (typically around 8 or so). Maybe the hostie dislodged the PSUD controller from the lav with her heel?:E :ok:

[Cool banana]

Doesnt all QF 747-400 have the r0ck***l IFE system similar to that on the ill-fated swissair 111 aircraft???

[shybird]

Still, I have to wonder why use the patch point system but I suppose the overhead and seat arms are pretty far apart. Thanks for sharing the info, I suppose I can go 'fess up to the wife that it is in fact believable.

Virgindriver, do give her some credit, lights pointed in the wrong direction do not lead to hostie led matching exercises. But thanks for trying.

[DickyPearse]

Doesnt all QF 747-400 have the r0ckwell IFE system similar to that on the ill-fated swissair 111 aircraft???


Wasn't the likely cause of the Swissair incident faulty wiring in the cockpit? I know the IFE system is thought to have overheated, but this didn't directly trigger the fire.

[PW1830]

Qantas does not have the same IFE as Swissair.
The Swissair report is available - take the time to read it before posting idle speculation.

[brisbane observer]

The -400 doesn't have 40 deg flap, but funny re the hostie otherwise

[lowerlobe]

The problem is called software and anyone who has a computer will know what I mean.

The biggest problem is when the lights will not go out on night sectors or worse still turn on and off at random intervals.

The office dwellars will say give them eye shades but that does not work with babies and children and when they start giving you the good news everyone is awake.Try that on any night sector....:yuk:

[aircabbie]

Thanks mate , good to know . :ok:

[gimmesumvalium]

Was a passenger once, pressed the call button and her gear went down (in my dreams!!!)

[Capt Wally]

.........brissy obs...with all the 'extra' activities going on in some airlines Loo's these days it's possible to have 'flaps' that extend beyond the wing !........never lone 40 deg's:ugh: .......the old "what's it doing now" syndrome me thinks !

Capt Wally:-)

p.s............Reg (ANA fame for the 'new breed' here )would turn over in his grave if he knew what 'the old boilers' where up to these days onboard !:-)

[Pinky the pilot]

............Reg (ANA fame for the 'new breed' here )would turn over in his grave if he knew what 'the old boilers' where up to these days onboard !:-)

I was wondering what that spinning sound was!!:E

[noip]

On my first -400 sector, the both of us spent the time wondering what all the buttons did ......

The pressure mounted when the ground started to get close, but it worked out OK in the end .....


N

[Pathie]

Dicky
If my memory does serve me right i believe it was the in flight entertainment system that started the fire as it was hard wired in so it had power to it constantly. As a result the heat generated, the insulation in the roof just behind the cockpit caught fire.
Anyone else rember what it was?
pathie