Loss of thrust (both engines) on 737/320
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 780
Likes: 89
From: Seattle
It's a judgement call in the cockpit. Why did the engines quit? Is there any chance of relighting them? Or should we save altitude (and gliding range) and try to make a nearby airfield?
I don't know how soon the crew of the Gimli Glider realized (if they ever did) that the fuel problem wasn't fixable. The FQIS was inop and they may never have realized that the dipstick and hand calculation backup method got the fuel quantity wrong. They were fortunate in that their attention turned rather quickly to the presence of a usable landing strip. And they got there in time.
There was an episode on that Air Disaster show which described a turboprop that ran out of fuel due to a maintenance screw-up with their FQIS. Over the Mediterranean (if recall correctly), they expended their altitude trying to re-light engines. Which was never going to happen. The conclusion on the show was that; had they given up on the engines, feathered the props and set up for an optimal glide, they could have made an airfield.
I don't know how soon the crew of the Gimli Glider realized (if they ever did) that the fuel problem wasn't fixable. The FQIS was inop and they may never have realized that the dipstick and hand calculation backup method got the fuel quantity wrong. They were fortunate in that their attention turned rather quickly to the presence of a usable landing strip. And they got there in time.
There was an episode on that Air Disaster show which described a turboprop that ran out of fuel due to a maintenance screw-up with their FQIS. Over the Mediterranean (if recall correctly), they expended their altitude trying to re-light engines. Which was never going to happen. The conclusion on the show was that; had they given up on the engines, feathered the props and set up for an optimal glide, they could have made an airfield.
