Posts by user "EDML" [Posts: 38 Total up-votes: 120 Pages: 2]

EDML
2025-06-12T22:56:00
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Post: 11899813
Regarding the dust visible on rotation: It has nothing to do with a near overrun. The ground next to the runway is dry earth. On rotation the plane turns a bit to the right (into the wind) and the jet blast of the L/H engine hits the dirt on the left side of the runway.

Subjects: None

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EDML
2025-06-13T19:45:00
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Post: 11900847
Originally Posted by sTeamTraen
SLF question... how difficult would it be to accidentally knock the fuel control switches to "Cutoff", say if your hand slipped from the throttle levers?
Impossible. The switches are guarded. You need to pull them out to move them to Cutoff.

Subjects: Fuel (All)  Fuel Cutoff

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EDML
2025-06-15T22:23:00
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Post: 11902905
Originally Posted by The Ancient Geek
+
My personal theory FWIW is that the tank pumps never ran due to some fault and the aircraft made it to V2 on fuel in the system (possibly involving the centre tank).
1. The engines will run fine without the tank pumps - at least until FL200. That has been discussed in detail already.
2. The tank pumps are redundant. There are 2 (one per engine) in the center tank and one in each wing tank. Due to the pressure the fuel in the center tank will be used first.
3. There was more than 15t of fuel in the center tank
4. Any fuel in the system would be used up during taxi

Subjects: Centre Tank  V2

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EDML
2025-06-15T22:27:00
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Post: 11902909
Originally Posted by FrequentSLF
FLS here with engineering background, a simple question, how the TCMA software is coded, multiple designers, on different hardware and redundant? Can be a bug on that system definetevely impossible?
Most of these systems are very simple. They are not running on a fancy OS. Mostly we are talking about a couple Kilobytes of code.

The TCMA doesn't do a lot. That makes it a lot easier to make sure that it works correclty.

That is how most embedded systems work.

Subjects: TCMA (All)

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EDML
2025-06-15T22:56:00
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Post: 11902933
Originally Posted by sevenfive
Correct procedure after enginefailure is to tilt the wings about 3 degrees toward the engine that is still running.
While you are still on the ground or on lift-off? In the air yes, to be able to use slightly less rudder but not while on the ground.

Originally Posted by sevenfive
If - and I say if - they in this stressed situation managed to shot down the wrong engine following the engineout procedures the RAT would come out.
Who would start the engine out procedure at just 100-200ft AGL? No airline teaches that and it doesn't have any advantage. You would only get the gear up. The shutdown can wait until at least 400ft AGL and once in a stable OEI climb.

Also there is no asymmetry visible in any of the videos.

Subjects: Engine Failure (All)  MLG Tilt  RAT (All)  Wrong Engine

EDML
2025-06-17T10:13:00
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Post: 11904168
Originally Posted by JPI33600
Not an avionics specialist, but electronics / software engineer here, with extensive experience in hardware fault tracking, protocol monitoring and software debugging in embedded systems : mods, feel free to delete this post if I am completely out of track (and thank you for the huge amount of work you've done trying to keep this discussion clean).

After I have read the whole thread, I think most of the community agrees about a lack of engine thrust being the cause of the crash. Searching in that direction, I'm trying to "think out of the box", discarding the usual suspects (birds ingestion, TCMA, human mistake...), and to find a plausible single point of failure among the various subsystems involved. I was thinking of reversing the causality of the event, i.e. exploring a case where the engines would have behaved unexpectedly because of a major electrical failure, instead of the already explored case where both powerplants went AWOL first.

Therefore, I have a couple questions for tdracer / fdr / other informed contributors (BTW, fantastic contribution guys, please keep the good info coming):

1. From the scarce info available, is it reasonable to conclude that the engines were totally shut down? Could they have just been set to idle or reduced thrust instead?

2. In the second case, if (and that's a big IF) a major electrical failure happened first (which could have triggered RAT deployment), and considering this plane is a FBW aircraft, could there exist a case where the FADECs would command idle thrust -- or significant thrust reduction -- because they receive invalid input data from the throttle controls? Kind of a garbage in-garbage out case?

The associated scenario would be: major electrical fault (with subsequent RAT deployment) -> major protocol disturbance on ARINC/AFDX buses -> FADECs detect invalid data from the controls -> FADECS enter some kinf of safe mode and command reduced or idle thrust.

Does it make sense or is it pure fantasy?
No. The throttle position sensors (dual per engine) are part of the FADEC. The throttle position data is not transmitted through the ARINC busses of the aircraft.

Subjects: ARINC  Electrical Failure  FADEC  FBW  RAT (All)  RAT (Deployment)  TCMA (All)

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EDML
2025-06-17T11:26:00
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Post: 11904222
Originally Posted by syseng68k
EDML: "No. The throttle position sensors (dual per engine) are part of the FADEC. The throttle position data is not transmitted through the ARINC busses of the aircraft".

To clarify, you are saying that the throttle position sensors are wired directly to the FADEC, and nothng else ?.
Yes. Other aircraft systems get the information through the FADECs (including the DFDRs) but the FADECs itself are isolated including independent alternators (PMG). There are two FADECs per engine and each has it's own throttle position sensor. That was explained by tdracer at some point in the old thread.

Subjects: ARINC  EDML  FADEC  Generators/Alternators

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EDML
2025-06-17T11:34:00
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Post: 11904225
Originally Posted by compressor stall
I'd be interested in any history or understanding as to why Boeing went with the common tank approach on takeoff?
Actually the engines are fed by all tanks during take off. (L engine: L wing tank + Center tank (if filled) / R engine: R wing tank + Center tank (if filled)).

Due to the fuel pressures of the feed pumps (that are all running) the center tank fuel is used first. In case the pump in the center tank fails or the center tank is empty the fuel from the wing will be used w/o any switch over taking place as the wing feed pumps are already running.

Subjects: Centre Tank  Fuel (All)  Fuel Pumps

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EDML
2025-06-17T12:25:00
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Post: 11904255
Originally Posted by artee
Surely that's not quite right? If the center tank has fuel, both engines will be fed from the center tank. Only once/if the center tank doesn't have fuel, will the engines be fed from their respective wing tanks.
Well, thats what I wrote. Or not?

All pumps are running but the fuel from the center tank will be used first due to the higher fuel pressure delivered by the center tank feed pumps.

Subjects: Centre Tank

EDML
2025-06-17T14:47:00
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Post: 11904364
Originally Posted by Cury Lamb
Here’s what went down:

CP as PF (hands on the thrust levers), accidentally retards thrust levers just after lift-off, due to low level turbulence (hot, dry, 40\xb0C).

FO as PM (being trigger happy) sees this as DUAL ENG failure, does memory items (at the speed of light), without confirmation from the PF.

The rest is history…
Stop posting that rubbish. Once and for all!

While I deleted the offending post, I am leaving this objection to it and the text being objected to, up since this response was warranted.
T28B

Last edited by T28B; 17th Jun 2025 at 15:53 . Reason: advice of my mod edit

Subjects: None

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EDML
2025-06-17T20:04:00
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Post: 11904610
Originally Posted by ettore
I believe they're native speakers professional pilots on Pprune who might have read or could find the original piece. Could they help to clarify Aryan's statements in English?
I don't see the point here. We've got the video. It shows what happened without any bias or interpretation by someone telling his story. - And there is no "wobbling" visible in the video...

Subjects: None

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EDML
2025-06-17T22:43:00
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Post: 11904732
Originally Posted by D Bru
Uncommanded high trust on (at least one of) the engines during the TO-roll, in particular past V1, resulting in a discrepancy with the actual (likely derated)thrust settings, could have triggered TMCA on or just before lift-off.
That is not what the TCMA logic is supposed to do. Only high thrust with the thrust lever idle should trigger the TCMA.

Subjects: TCMA (All)  TCMA (Logic)  V1

EDML
2025-06-17T23:37:00
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Post: 11904770
Originally Posted by Lead Balloon
I was struck by a comment in this or the earlier thread that I cannot now find. It was to the effect – I’m paraphrasing – that fuel shut off results in an almost immediate cessation of thrust. (Please correct my paraphrasing if I’m off track.) I was also struck by how quiet the aircraft was in the original video, except for the RAT. (Or was it a motorcycle? Sorry couldn’t resist. Just joking…)

Someone earlier asked how the aircraft could have kept climbing if both engines stopped very late in the take-off roll or shortly after take-off. My answer: Momentum.
tdracer explained that earlier: T/O power to sub idle on fuel shutoff only takes 1s, at most 2s.

Slamming the throttles back is a lot slower as the FCU (on a traditional engine)/FADEC spins down the engine slowly - I suppose to make sure that the airflow through the engine remains stable.

Regarding the momentum: As the first few seconds of the climb were normal compared to previous T/Os of the same flight (speed & altitude, confirmed by comparison of the RAW ADS-B data) I don't believe the engine failure happened before or on lift-off.

Subjects: ADSB  Engine Failure (All)  Fuel (All)  Fuel Cutoff  RAT (All)  Takeoff Roll

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EDML
2025-06-18T13:23:00
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Post: 11905243
Originally Posted by Someone Somewhere
I (and I think everyone else here) have been assuming that the FADEC does in fact have a dedicated permanent-magnet alternator, as is the case on the Airbuses (confirmed by FCOM) and surely the 737.
Once again tdracer confirmed the PMGs for the FADECs in the first AI171 thread. He even explained the logic behind it and the connections with the onboard electronics:
- Each engine has a PMG for the FADECs
- Only for engine start the FADECs are powered by the aircraft
- Once the engines are running, this connection is opened
- It is verified, that the FADECs are then no longer connected to the aircraft electrical system. A failure to open the connection triggers a "No dispatch" message
- In case the PMG fails, the FADECs are once again powered by the aircraft electrical system

Subjects: AI171  FADEC  FCOM  Generators/Alternators

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EDML
2025-06-18T14:00:00
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Post: 11905273
Originally Posted by Someone Somewhere
Yes. That is what I have read here, that is my assumption, that is how Airbus does it, that is what makes sense .

But I am being told elsewhere by someone with an A&P badge that that is not quite the whole story, and that the FADEC PMGs do double-duty as the flight control PMGs.

I am hoping for some documentation to confirm/refute that.
Well, tdracer worked on engine/airframe integration for Boeing. He did that for the GEnx on the B747-8. I would guess he knows more about those systems than some guy with an A&P badge.

Subjects: FADEC  GEnx (ALL)

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EDML
2025-06-18T14:02:00
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Post: 11905276
Originally Posted by mechpowi
There\x92s at least N2 overspeed protection that actually uses the same hardware as TCMA to stop the noise. There might exists crosstalk and inhibit for the N2 overspeed protection if the N2 overspeed protection has shut down the other engine. In fact it\x92s not confirmed that no such crosstalk exists in 787 TCMA system. It would complie with \x94no single fault should cause\x85\x94 certification requirements. Other than that I see no practical difference in the propability of TCMA and N2 overspeed protection to shut down both engine during take-off.
That is how it's done on the EC-135 helicopter (also FADEC controlled). One failed engine will disable the overspeed protection for the remaining engine. Of course a helicopter is a whole different story, though.

Subjects: FADEC  TCMA (All)  TCMA (Shutdown)

EDML
2025-06-18T19:31:00
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Post: 11905497
Originally Posted by Util BUS


Based on my previous speculation regarding a BTB short, I wonder how aircraft engines might react in a situation where initially a transient power fault is followed by only battery power being available? As I understand it, there are no longer cable connections to the engines, given no valid inputs from the.thrust levers, what thrust mode would the FADEC's revert to?
The FADECs won\x92t loose power in this scenario. The T/L resolvers are powered by the FADECs and would still work.

Subjects: None

EDML
2025-06-18T22:20:00
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Post: 11905586
Originally Posted by Sailvi767
Correct. If the flights involved needed less than 128,000 lbs of fuel the center tank would not be used. There is a scavenge system to insure the center tank remains empty when burning from the wing tanks. On the flight in question 128,000 lbs of fuel would in fact likely be close to the fuel required. The center tank might have been empty or contained a small amount of fuel. It’s quite possible the aircraft could have been transitioning from center tank to wing tank fuel at liftoff. With the design of the fuel system I can’t really see how that could be significant but I am sure it will be looked at in the investigation.
Block fuel should have been around 50t. Each wing holds 16.9t. That means at least around 16t would have been in the center fuel tank.

Sorry for the metric values ;-)

Subjects: Centre Tank

EDML
2025-06-18T23:41:00
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Post: 11905623
Originally Posted by Squawk7700
I haven't read anywhere where the yaw to the right was noticed not that long after takeoff? I'm assuming this was due to the roll-back.

About 9 seconds after wheels-up it's clear that power is well and truly deminishing.
17 seconds after wheels-up, there's a defined yaw to the right.

It looks like the right engine power is lost, a yaw to the right occurs and immediately after, the aircraft pitches up, potentially due to elevator input and subsequently some left rudder. It gives some credit to the theory that one engine was lost.

I can only assume that the associated yaw from a lost engine would be significant, so on the face of it, it doesn't look severe enough, but it does look somewhat upset.
Maybe both engines didn't shut down absolutely sychronously. In the fly-by video a bit later not even a little bit asymmetry is visible. The rudder is straight and no bank whatsoever. That would also explain why the yaw is very small - a second later the other engine had failed as well.

Subjects: None

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EDML
2025-06-19T10:22:00
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Post: 11905894
Originally Posted by Aerospace101
The evidence is the spoiler pair deflection behind the engines prior to impact. See earlier post . . That specific spoiler pairing is only controlled by electrical power (directly connected to pilot control column). We should see other flight control deflections if the RAT was powering hydraulics. In the final moments I would speculate the flight controls had only emergency electric power from the battery.
I still think that the small black area is the back of the engines visible through the small gap of the extended flaps.

Furthermore: The small hydraulik pump of the RAT only powers some of the flight controls that are powered by the center hydraulic system. The ones powered by the engine driven pumps will not work once the engine(s) failed.

Subjects: Engine Failure (All)  Engine Shutdown  RAT (All)

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