LATAM B773 complete electrical failure?
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 125
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From: UK
IF the AV Herald report is correct, and circuit breakers had tripped, I would be interested to learn whether or not the crew attempted to reset them. Back in the dark ages that was a standard troubleshooting procedure, but these days it is greatly frowned upon; so greatly in fact, that at my employer we are supposed to first contact maintenance, which for this crew obviously would have been impossible. Great job landing this crippled airplane.
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 863
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From: HERE AND THERE
It looks like HAL 9000 took control of this airplane electrical system...Probably this is the second incident like this on a tripple. The first was MH370.
Just think about something like this in mid Atlantic.
Just think about something like this in mid Atlantic.
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 863
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From: HERE AND THERE
I humbly disagree: imagine something like this happen by night, in mid Ocean, beyond VHF reach, no HF, no SATCOM, no nav and ONLY BATT as electrical source. Recent developments show that even RAT wasn’t available on this LATAM event. It landed at SBCF on battery power alone.
Last edited by fullforward; 22nd December 2018 at 20:19.
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 2,342
Likes: 821
From: Tring, UK
The fault list reads like a printout of the DDG!
Given that synoptic display, I think I would be erring on the side of getting it on the ground ASAP as at the back of my mind would be the possibility of battery power only, which doesn’t give you that long before you’re in a cockpit with no instrumentation at night. I can’t find it in the manuals but I think the backup batteries in the flight controls are only guaranteed for 20mins...
There isn’t a MAIN BATTERY DISCH advisory in that list so maybe power was getting through to the battery charger, although I wouldn’t like to depend on it! Top marks to the guys for a rapid and successful diversion.
Given that synoptic display, I think I would be erring on the side of getting it on the ground ASAP as at the back of my mind would be the possibility of battery power only, which doesn’t give you that long before you’re in a cockpit with no instrumentation at night. I can’t find it in the manuals but I think the backup batteries in the flight controls are only guaranteed for 20mins...
There isn’t a MAIN BATTERY DISCH advisory in that list so maybe power was getting through to the battery charger, although I wouldn’t like to depend on it! Top marks to the guys for a rapid and successful diversion.
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 2,342
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From: Tring, UK
The 777 RAT includes a generator that provides electrical power - you're not dependent on the battery.
Joined: Feb 2018
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From: Canberra
If indeed those lines connecting the various components should be green where power is being fed, there are indeed some serious questions to be answered, including if its truly un-powered, or if its just a sensor/signalling error, or a computer/programming bug!
I found this diagram, but it just begs more questions that it answers, especially around the SATCOM being depowered..... and in this case the jettison fuel pumps being INOP.
Last edited by Dee Vee; 22nd December 2018 at 22:37.
Joined: Jul 2013
Aviation Qualifications: Non-Aircrew
Posts: 5,677
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From: Everett, WA
DeeVee - again, a couple decades since I was involved, but based on what I remember, the only way they could have lost all main bus electrical power (with both engines running) would have been either:
latent failures in the electrical bus isolation system (there are regular maintenance checks to confirm such failures are not present), or
the crew didn't correctly follow the QRH procedures after the initiating failure.
(or possibly some combination of the two)
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 472
Likes: 1
From: Potomac Heights
Sorry FF. but your conspiracy theories don't hold water. Unless you can prove that the customer airphone is one of those few systems that is powered by the battery system in the event of generator or APU power interruption (when even cockpit satcom is not), your attempt to suggest that MH370 suffered a full power interruption is unavailing.
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,269
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From: Denver
It is certainly true that a RAT, as the name says, runs off ram-air pressure (airspeed) and will need some minimum airspeed (130 knots in a 767) to produce useful output. So they would have lost the RAT power at some point in the final approach or roll-out, even if it was deployed and functioning for most of the event. And been on battery power alone from that point on.