Virgin auto throttle - notepad - fuel control switch oopsie
 

How has this not made it on here yet?

Picture the throttle quadrant on a 737. Thrust levers, and fuel control switches (the newer penis-y style). But also with a stiff notepad sitting behind the thrust levers in cruise.

Top of descent, thrust reduces, auto throttle moves back. Notepad pushed back by Thrust levers and contacts a fuel control switch. MOVING 1 TO THE CUTOFF POSITION. OOOPS!

When I saw the company notice, it did give me a damn good laugh!!

Clowns.

Kind of similar to the A350 engine shutdown issue a few years back, caused by pilots spilling their coffee over the centre console:

EASA Instructs A350 Operators To Install Cockpit Coffee Protection

Surprised that could happen, never flew the 737 but the 757 and 767 fuel switches could not easily be shut off in that manner

They had to be positively lifted up and over a very rugged latch to turn the fuel off

Reminded me of the RAF Voyager

https://www.flightglobal.com/camera-...112702.article

Never flew it but surprised?
Well there ya go

It's all very poorly designed.

I'm reasonably sure the 737 uses a similar device. However the little lugs that prevent inadvertent movement do get damaged/broken, such that it's no longer necessary to pull the lever out to move it. The switch should be replaced when that sort of damage occurs, but I bet a lot of them don't...

Then there was the B732 crew who decided to 're rack' a radar screen which in those old clunkers lived between the throttles and centre panel. They were on descent with the throttles at near idle. They got the radar box jammed half way & couldn't get the throttles forward for approach. Somewhat panicked, they demolished the stuck radar box with the crash axe to get it free.
Worth a DCM, that one.

Happened on the 717 in WA circa 2006? Remember doing your jepp amendments at work?? A few minutes later they realised during the restart a fuel control switch was off.. bloggs or renurpp may clear up my foggy details...

Yeah I've seen multiple writeups for start levers that 'bounce' out of position
'for crew info checked within limits'

Objects in the cockpit can certainly cause you trouble, even the seemingly most innoxious.

Chap flying a Bell 212 helicopter had placed his pencil on the centre console, upon lowering the collective it caught the pencil which had vibrated so a portion was hanging over the edge of the console, the console edge acted as a fulcrum and the pencil was caught under the fuel governor switch (a latched switch that had to be lifted to move past a detent), lifting it out of AUTO into MANual, which of course then lead to a massive overspeed and hence trashed engine.

The following video accident was caused by an IPad that was dropped and jammed the pedals, fatal to the crew.


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....c48c9cd235.jpg

Speaking of choppers... one of our ringers got his chopper licence. Whilst having smoko with it idling, swag strapped in pax seat of the R22, it vibrated itself on to something and away she went. Airborne then inverted into Terra firma.

Twelve responses and no one has commented on the poor discipline and rank stupidity of someone placing anything on the quadrant, for any reason any time.
mutter mutter

Maui

Well, common sense / good airmanship is in short supply these days - as long as we’re ticking the inclusivity / quota boxes, everything else is just noise. :ugh:

What is most surprising here, nothing in the media. Surely a passenger would have noticed at least. If this was a QF aircraft it be plastered everywhere.

If the tail doesn’t have a Roo to Star on the tail, then nobody cares. I’m not joking, Virgin do a good job keeping out of the bad press, they must have a good PR dept!

Even Bonza who have been pretty ordinary lately on the performance front, seems to have escaped any media whipping. Perhaps they need to slap an orange star on the back.

I doubt the pax would have noticed if it occurred at top of descent and the thrust was reducing anyway. One engine reduced thrust a bit more than the other!

They are exactly the same design as the 75/767 on this model.

It twasn't me but I do know the captain and he is still shocked to this day that it happened. He was a very prof operator. IIRC all that could be assumed was that the fuel switch was left sitting on the gate lug and eventually was bumped off an hour or so into the flight. We were reminded that the FCOM said "jiggle it to make sure it is locked on".

There was also the case of the AFM (now that is studying!) taking a swan dive off the coaming panel, bumping off (I think) one of TDRacer's worn-out fuel switches. Switch guards were designed and fitted pronto after that. :D