onetrack

The 12 month deadline has passed, and no new investigation results have been released. However, the Indian AAIB released a short statement, claiming they need more time to produce the final report. I saw an interview with the woman head of the Indian Air Cargo Federation, and she claims the final report is unlikely to be produced until September 2026 at the earliest - and even then, there will no doubt be claims that the investigation is deficient, and it will lead to renewed and further lawsuits. Here is the IAAIB statement, released on 12th June 2026 - https://aaib.gov.in/What's New Assets/AAIB Interim Statement.pdf One of the interesting points that came out of the interview with the IACF head, was that over 300 new airports will be opened in India this year and the Indians are very focussed on ensuring that their aviation safety standards are kept up to a high level. That is a staggering upsurge in Indian aviation activity.

No, I'm not implying that at all, and I stated I don't believe that the crash was a deliberate suicide, and I believe more likely to be a simple human error.

The NTSB preliminary report is out, and Blanco Lirio has done a good job as regards examining all the details. The crew simply got behind the aircraft, and failed to apply adequate throttle to counter decaying airspeed and altitude. The preliminary problems were multiple changes of flight plans, which started even before the crew took off. There were three runway changes by ATC just prior to landing. This was likely to be a fatigue/crew workload issue. The aircraft didn't hit the semi-trailer, but hit a light pole, which then fell on the truck, smashing the windscreen. The light pole impact caused "substantial" damage to the aircraft and one tyre. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YI8c4sVqT4

Of course, the bottom line is - a crash-proof cockpit camera would eliminate all uncertainty around the crash, and tens of millions spent in the investigation, and all the "reputation protection" that is currently going on. We have cameras recording movements of people, both travellers and employees, in public transport vehicles, buses and trains - we have cameras everywhere in public areas, along roads and highways - we have airports full of cameras recording the movements of air travellers and flight crew - yet we cannot install cameras in aircraft cockpits, because vocal and powerful pilots unions, claim the footage will be used against them for relatively minor employment infractions, and to consistently lay blame on them? This is warped decision-making at the highest levels, corrupted by one powerful group. Flight crew hold hundreds of people lives in their hands and actions. Simply install cockpit cameras, and to hell with pilots unreasonable arguments. And address the mental health problems that pilots face with better treatment procedures, and a more enlightened and humane approach. Serious levels of depression affects many people, even when they don't hold high pressure job positions.

PMC - There is mediation by the onboard computerisation in the fuel cutoff switch operation. The fuel valves are spring loaded to the shutoff position to stop fuel-fed fires in the case of a crash. Placing the fuel cutoff switches in RUN closes the 28V circuit to the fuel valve solenoids, which then overcome the spring-loaded pressure to keep the fuel valves open. There is mediation in the circuitry by the aircrafts engine EEC's. The systems are exceedingly complex, with the aircrafts Common Core System being the major system that controls all flight parameters. The following info is useful. https://aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/110989/does-the-fuel-switch-directly-control-the-fuel-valve https://aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/110972/are-cockpit-switches-directly-connected-to-the-fdr-or-are-there-software-hardwa

If that can be proven, then the possibility of the fuel cutoffs being activated without physical movement of the switches in the cockpit increases. But there's two engines, two separate fuel systems, two fuel cutoff switches, and the electrics and hydraulics on each side operate largely independently. It doesn't seem possible that any electrical fault in the aircraft would actuate both fuel cutoff switches. Unless it was a short-circuit that closed both cutoff switch circuits at once. Something crushing the cutoff switch wiring to both switches, so bare wires were shorted, seems the only likely scenario. But that would have to be an intermittent crush, for the cutoff switches to be able to be switched back on again, as the initial report says they were.

A better photo below. It's not AI slop, the 4 wheeled undercarriage is what its fitted with. https://www.airhistory.net/photo/191449/F-AZVC The correct registration number of the surviving Croses EC-9 is F-AZVC. The registration of F-PYBC has been transferred to another aircraft, a Zenair CH-200 Zenith, and it is not clear whether the first Croses EC-9 has survived.

The Indian Air Accident Investigation Bureau is obliged to hand down a report on Friday 12th June. It will not be the final report. It will still only be an interim report. This is because the examinations of the engines and electronic systems of the crashed aircraft are still not complete. It will take much longer for a final report - and perhaps even then, there will still be doubt over the conclusions of the investigation. Essentially, the crash boils down to one of two scenarios. One, the Capt threw the fuel cutoff switches to off and then returned them to on, too late to recover. Tim Atkinson, a former British air crash investigator is convinced there is no other cause, but that the Capt threw the engine fuel switches to off - and blames his actions as a homicide-suicide. Another Indian investigative journalist is pursuing a line that the switches in the cockpit were never moved, and the engine shutdown was a result of some kind of short circuit in the electronics that shut the fuel off, without the switches in the cockpit being activated. Aircraft manufacturers and designers state the 787 design, absolutely precludes any such possibility. My take is that because around 90% of aircraft accidents are caused by errors on the part of the crew, the law of averages would support the cause of the crash being physical action on the part of the Captain, in throwing the fuel switches to off. To say he did that, in a suicidal moment, is taking things too far, IMO. I would suggest he threw the fuel switches to off, in a moment of mental confusion/stress/work overload/absentmindedness, without even being aware of doing so, for several seconds. Then when he realised what he'd done, he threw the switches back to on, in a desperate attempt to recover adequate flight speed. The very best of highly trained people have "Oh, sh**!!" moments, when they make a serious error in equipment operation, especially at critical times. In this case, I believe it was a mental distraction error at the worst possible time, and it was one that was unrecoverable from, due to engine response lag. I believe it's unlikely we'll see a final report, for possibly at least another 12 months.

I don't know why an aircaft accident where several people were injured, a couple of them quite seriously, rates as a joke. The event could easily have incurred fatalities and I trust the investigation finds out how this happened. They are supposed to have lock pins inserted to prevent accidental retraction, and if it was retracted by maintenance workers in the cabin as part of testing procedures, then the maintenance procedures for ensuring lock pin insertion is correct and has been carried out, are deficient.

If vibration is the problem causing regulator failures, then it's easy enough to acquire small rubber vibration isolation mounts (you can even get them from eBay Aerospace), and to install them between regulator and the aircraft frame. I do this with lead-acid batteries on generating sets where vibration can cause battery plate failure.

.......involved AI and installing gender selection software into the Cat-O-Lactor, which solved the problem promptly, as the AI software rapidly identified the gender and attitude of each particular cat, and dealt with them according to the latest U.N. proclamation and rulings on how trans-cats, straight cats, and non-binary cats, should be treated. Then came that dreadful day, when Turbo, in the process of overseeing the Cat-O-Lactor operations, accidentally fell into the machines claws (yes, it had claws, so the cats would recognise its authority), and the claws grabbed Turbo in a death-like grip, felt for his gender, became confused, and..............

The unfortunate part about our manufacturing regime today, is that "brand names" get vast amounts of their "premium products" made in China - they often try to hide that fact - and they don't necessarily have major oversight into, or control of, the Chinese manufacturing processes and QC.

Kind of reminds one of Mawson preparing to step back into his hut, after an Antarctic expedition! 😄

You might want to rethink using a standard household CO alarm in an aircraft. Household or travel CO alarms are calibrated for standard atmospheric pressures at ground level. The varying air pressures and altitudes experienced during flight can make them highly unreliable, causing false alarms, or they fail to detect dangerous gas levels altogether. You should be purchasing a CO alarm that is designed for aircraft. The units designed for aircraft have inbuilt altitude compensation, detect lower levels of CO, so pilots can be warned in advance of being poisoned, to the extent that their reactions and responses are being affected - and they have more audible alarms, that can be heard over engine and wind noise. Some worthwhile information in this link - https://www.sportys.com/blog/carbon-monoxide-pilots-need-know/?srsltid=AfmBOopmnwuQxMOcVJ8MAFbs5kXEq1JGxKJhZaGI2hB_-v6Q9N5qJSj4

....fting the furniture, pretending to look for the source of the foul odour? Cappy replied. "It's easy. You blame it on the dog". "But what if there's no dog around?", said OT. "Well, you pretend you found some dog poop on the sole of your shoe, then", said Cappy. OT replied, "I tried that line, but...........

......said, in a barely audible voice, "I never thought anyone would get a photo of me sticking a phone on a selfie stick into the rear fuselage of a J230, in an attempt to find contraband. How did you manage that? I'm normally very discreet and ultra-careful". "You don't even know half what I've got on you, by way of secret photos", said Cappy - and Lyall went a deep shade of plum colour, gritted his teeth and said, "Let's go somewhere quiet, away from this crowd, so we can have........

Moneybox, it's due largely to vapourisation and spraying. Larger aircraft are essentially flying fuel tanks - when the fuel tank is ruptured, it happens at speed, and the rupture is huge. Jet A-1 is kerosene-based, and it's optimised for combustion at low temperatures. When the tanks are ruptured, the fuel sprays out in a mist, just like the injector in a diesel - aiding immediate combustion. Add in a constant ignition source from hot engine parts, or from metals sliding on concrete or asphalt, creating a massive shower of sparks from aluminium and magnesium, and these flying small metal particles add "fuel to the fire". There were no passengers on the Gulfstream, only the two pilots. Both are deceased due to injuries received in the crash. They were Americans, and they are identified as pilot Erick Javier Diago and co-pilot Rudy Ghazal. The aircraft was registered in Puerto Rico and was bound for Austin, Texas. Immediately after takeoff, the crew radioed they had an in-flight emergency and were returning to the airport. There are reports of an engine failure. Whilst attempting the emergency landing, the aircraft veered off the runway. One video from a long distance shows the aircraft landing on its gear successfully, but then veering off the pavement. It's hard to see if it was lined up with the centreline, it doesn't look like it was, and it either landed on the grass, or left the pavement very quickly. It appears the aircraft hit something solid in the runway drain, possibly a concrete drain headwall that's not visible. It was going O.K. until that major impact with something that tore the fuel tanks open. One commenter on Reddit says he used to fly Gulfstreams, and they were difficult to land at the best of times, with high landing speed due to small wing area. Then he goes on to say, you need full weight on all the wheels before the thrust reversers deploy. Then, when they do deploy, they blast huge amounts of air onto the rudder, so you end up fighting the rudder pedals. Maybe there was a faulty thrust reverser deployment that led to a landing roll deviation. I guess we'll find out later. RIP to those poor unlucky men. https://xcancel.com/Conradoaviacion/status/2063765635797074233#m

Well, that's one way to get back on an aviation track. Moneybox, did you notice if the flying fish were using flaps or sideslip, to land? 😄

You didn't read the W.A. Museum article, did you, Skippy? It's the marine scientists who set the official genus and official name. Yes, common names and marketing names are often at odds with the official scientific names. Don't get us started on Jewfish or Dhufish, that could start another War! 😄

Skippy, even the W.A. Govt calls them Western Rock Lobster - because it's the scientific name for them. But all the locals call them crayfish - incorrectly, because scientifically, they aren't crayfish. Crayfish have big claws, lobsters don't have big claws. https://www.wa.gov.au/government/announcements/lobster-fishers-enjoy-the-coming-whites-run https://museum.wa.gov.au/explore/articles/lobsters-rock-lobsters-and-crayfish

......on in $10,000 bid jumps, leaving Capt Cook speechless as he tried to get in his $1 increase bid. However, the bidding faltered at $2,990,000, with the auctioneer desperately searching the room for the next sign of a lifted eyebrow, or a shake of a newspaper, or a lift of a finger. About then, Cappy swatted a fly and the auctioneer took that as a major advance, and said, "I have $3,500,000 from the left front corner!!" Cappy gasped - he only wanted to bid $2,990,000.50 - but the pace of the auction was getting beyond him. As he protested that he never bid $3,500,000, another person gave a slight newspaper shake, and the auctioneer exclaimed - "$3,750,000!!". Cappy heaved a sigh of relief as there was no longer any need to protest his claimed bid, that didn't match what he wanted to bid, so he...........

What's the fish species, Mike? Looks like a tasty feed. The marine experts over here on the left coast are saying the Western rock lobster spawning levels this season are the highest in a decade and the increased levels of juveniles holds great promise for a bumper lobster harvest in 4-5 years.

......planets aligned for CASA to give immediate approval for all the outstanding airspace and aircraft changes of regulations, thereby bringing to fruition the Mayan Long Count Calendar prediction of December 2012, which prediction was out by a just a few years, but the Mayans didn't allow for CASA bureacracy, of course. This led to a rush of aviators producing some of the wackiest aviation designs ever seen, most of which had previously been destined for the rubbish skips, and Bernie produced his version, which was based on the patterns found on a cuneiform tablet, which he soon realised was the ultimate......

You can acquire big bags of moisture-absorbent chemicals that hang off the hooks inside sea containers. These are used to ensure the inside of the containers stay dry in transit. I get them regularly from a huge glass merchant, they throw them out when they empty the containers. I'll get a photo of them next week in one of my containers. If the bikes went rusty inside the sea container, then the sea container was leaking and allowing water inside. Yes, the containers get very hot inside if they're not ventilated properly. There's a big variation in ventilation between different containers, some have seriously inadequate ventilation, and some are good. I've perforated small areas of the upper walls in of some of my containers to improve ventilation. But you must only drill small holes, or insects will find their way in. You also need to install a cover over the holes, which stops rainwater getting in, in windy conditions.

Yeah, Wongan Hills is quite the decent-size town, and has a lot of industry, and a decent big pub. The price of land in the wheatbelt and wheatbelt towns has skyrocketed in the last few years, though. It was only 5-6 years ago they were struggling to sell those 10,000-20,000 sq m blocks in Wongan, they were going for under $50K, and a good brick/tile house there was $150K to $250K. Now I see houses there going between $350K and $650K. I guess it's a spin-off from ballistic housing/property prices in the cities. I couldn't afford industrial land in the city, and industrial rents in the city are stupid money. Watch out for the ripoffs from some of the businesses there, though. They're getting used to dealing with huge farming operations and miners, and think they can charge what they like. Wongan also has a good aerodrome, too, only 2 kms out of town, and it recently received major upgrades. Plus, it's at a good altitude, less chance of getting fogged in.