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[Evan]

How could you possibly not agree? This is a textbook lesson on rigorous adherence to procedure.

But many questions...

Did the ground maintenance think it was a 68 Camaro instead of a multimillion dollar airplane? Just ram a screwdriver in there?!

Doesn't the fire handle on the MD-80 cut off the fuel valve?

Isn't pulling the fire handle after getting an engine fire indication a MEMORY ITEM?

How can you have a gear extension failure and not immediately think to check the hydraulics?

Why, when going around, would you not retract the landing flaps as a MEMORY ITEM?

And who cares, at that point, about the cockpit door? Leave it! More important things to focus on, I would think......

[Evan]

What no FADEC?...

[Evan]

And........the Russian information pendulum swings back again.......

Diversion decided AFTER the hydraulic failure. I'm back to asking why? Maintenance facility at Novosibirsk? Didn't want the a/c stuck at Omsk?...

[Evan]

Waste not want not. I'll bet a ruble they actually attempt a soft field takeoff.

It has now become clear that that the hydraulic failure happened AFTER the go-around decision and had nothing to do with that decision. The gear retracted but the doors remained open. That tracks....

[Evan]

In Germany at least, you are mostly seeing doctors in private practices. They do not work for the government. They decide whether to accept public insurance or limit themselves to the privately insured. Many accept public insurance. That should tell you something. They don't make a king's ransom like in the US, nor should they. They do very well however. There is no lack of incentive to become a medical practitioner.

You are confusing health care with health insurance....

[Evan]

Facing a crisis of uninsured millions straining the healthcare system (and basic human rights impulses), Liberal lawmakers sought to provide Americans with the same dignity as that of modern social democracies around the world, modeling the plan on nations such as Germany. Critical to the success of such plans is a public option for those who cannot afford private insurance. The public option is not free to working people but remains affordable and—this is the important part—is mandatory. With more people paying in to the system, the system is better funded to cover those who need medical care. This is social democracy (not Marxism): sharing burdens and resources that are considered essential to civilized society.

Republicans in Congress we’re having none of this. They pledged to defeat any sort of public option. Despite the Dems having a simple majority in both houses, they managed to play the Dems by feigning a bipartisan effort, but in reality, is it the...

[Evan]

TeeVee, AHCA is a mess because Obama naively tried to make it bipartisan and the obstructionist Republicans decimated it, particularly in removing the public option. The Dems ultimately had to ram it through Congress even after compromising away the vital aspects. I’ll never forgive them for not ramming it through intact on day one. Then we would all be raving about it.

It’s nice that you were happy with your old, expensive plan that many could not afford. Do you realize that they had no health insurance options? A major part of the population? Or could you care less?

Taxes: calculate what the monthly tax increase would amount to for a working class earner if the US was at the German rates. Now compare that to what you pay monthly for healthcare and insurance. If you have any kind of health issues that need care, I guarantee that you end up with more money at the higher tax levels with German health insurance. And my New York City taxation levels (Federal,...

[Evan]

So either a malfunction in the fuel measurement system (after a malfunction in the hydraulics—very shoddy) or a fanciful story. And still wondering why they choose to divert with two good hydraulics systems, flaps, gear, #2 reverser and alternative braking available. More questions than answers....

[Evan]

You mean skeptics? Nothing wrong with skepticism if it is actually cautious skepticism and not knee-jerk cynicism....

[Evan]

And yet, some countries do pull it off very well. This is like saying very few airlines are top notch, so we shouldn't try to be a top notch airline. The United States could have the best universally affordable health care system in the world, if only the boogeymen and cynics would stand aside and let that happen (Remember how the Affordable Health Care Act was certain to bring about "death panels"?). Begin with pricing caps and accountability. Add a public/private health insurance market that subsidizes low-income people while pushing wealthier people into private insurance. Ban copays and limit deductibles to below $50. Require health insurance to be actual health insurance. Provide free public university for medical studies and expand the pool of medical resources to reduce wait times for procedures.

Few countries pull this off very well. But Germany and Northern Europe pull this off very well. Why can't the US do the same?

Oh, right, boogeymen and...

[Evan]

I went to a restaurant once. Their food was exceptional. But I couldn’t get served because it was prohibitively expensive. So, like many people just outside that restaurant, I had to go hungry (or eat in a tundra to the north). But, as an American, I’m proud to know that the food was exceptional....

[Evan]

Since when? Government tried to get involved in regulating private industry health care costs, but got stonewalled by an organized crime family known colloquially as the GOP.

Meanwhile, in Germany, where the government is involved in health care, it's basically free. Oh, the poor fools...

Meanwhile, in a special circle of hell, there's a new big pharma wing going up....

[Evan]

I doubt that. There was nothing reported that would prevent flaps operation. The report also says they were flying at 260kts, which is above all the flap placard speeds, and 20kts below VLE. So I'd guess they were flaps up and gear down.

There could also have been some malfunction in the fuel tank sensors that suddenly corrected itself. I mean, without proper maintenance, what can't be ruled out. I'd like to see the MEL status on this one....

[Evan]

I just saw today's updated information on Avherald. It only adds to the confusion.



A failure or severe loss of pressure in the green system would disable gear operation due to the priority valve. But even with a total failure, flaps and slats would still be available from the blue and yellow systems, as well as ground spoilers 2,3,4 and alternate braking. But, if the event occurred on final, they would already be configured anyway and on a normal approach speed. So why the go-around and diversion?

I guess one possible scenario is a crew that didn't understand the hydraulics distribution on the A320 erroneously assuming this would affect landing distance. If the green system pressure was still above the priority valve threshold, the gear would have been retractable in the go-around but then why not the doors as well?

More likely, the information coming out of Russia is unreliable....

[Evan]

Can you see the RAT deployed in any pictures?...

[Evan]

I was referring to the same Avherald report. But, as usual, the information coming from Russian authorities is fanciful. The reports indicate that the crew reported the loss of the green system. If true, then the PTU cross-feed wasn't useful, meaning the green circuit wasn't pressurizable. So, most likely a major leak, most likely a bad hose in the gear assembly, most likely due to a lack of quality spares and/or slack maintenance. It might have failed during the gear extension, which would explain why they had the gear down before diverting. But, if this were true, there is no way they retracted the gear in the go-around (as reported). My guess is that they had minimal reserves, roughly calculated a fuel burn with gear extended at 18,000 but neglected to factor in the open doors and headwinds, and just cut it way too close.

Certainly, it would have been wiser to land on the original field without flaps (they should still have had alt braking from the yellow system) and risk...

[Evan]

It might have been a "Special Landing Operation". If so, I'm impressed.

I tend to think, however, that it was a shabby A320 running on black market spares, losing green hydraulics and diverting to a longer airfield without factoring in heightened fuel burn. The report tells us that the diversion remained below 18,000ft with the main gear doors open. There's a drag penalty they seem to have overlooked.

[Evan]

Correct. Therefore, something is very wrong and regulations need to improve, because otherwise, it can and did and will happen. And it cannot happen....

[Evan]

Nothing a pilot can do to recover from this. Hence the need for very robust design. This cannot happen....

[Evan]

AAIB has released its final report (in two volumes) on this crash.

See if you can spot the trend:



Yes, 3WE, we do need more regulation. Especially regarding the robustness of oh-so-very-critical flight controls.

https://www.gov.uk/aaib-reports/airc...o-aw169-g-vskp
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