Sirloin, if I may add a few comments to what you have written.
Well I find this whole incident interesting 'cause
1:The plane ran outta gas cause pilots were sleeping or routed gas to wrong engine.
The pilots were not sleeping, but tried to identify a problem and determine what
exactly was wrong on the plane, and how best to fix it. The problem was a leaking
fuel line between the fuel boost pump (in the tank) to the fuel feed filter (on
the engine).
The crew was alerted with a master caution and low fuel pressure alarm as soon as
the line developed a leak. That much they have said. All they knew at that time
was they had an alarm, but not how much fuel they were leaking.
All Airbus planes use fuel to keep the planes in trim when flying. The planes have
fuel tanks in the wings, and tanks in the nose and tail that fuel can be pumped in,
to trim out the weight. This is a design that is used to qet as much fuel economy
as possible out of a flight. Any time you have to trim a surface for a straight
and level flight, you create drag and less fuel economy.
The flight crew could have closed the fuel crossfeed valves, which would have stopped
the fuel flowing from the good tank to the leaking tank, or used the fuel scavenge
pumps to pump the remaining fuel from the leaking tank to the good tank. The crew
may have calculated they had enough fuel remaining to divert to Layes Airport, only
to come up around 90 miles short. Only the flight crew will be able to say what
happened that night.
2:An"Alert Service Bulletin" is just a weak manufacturer's warning when they not sure
of something.If they were truly concerned an "Air Worthyness Directive" would have been
issued mandating what parts are compatible.
"A 1999 Rolls-Royce service bulletin instructed operators on how to modify both pipes
to ensure adequate clearance between them. The modification involved swapping the pipes
for different part numbers that won't come in contact with each other.
The Air Transat A330's No 2. engine had a new-style fuel pipe, which the bulletin calls
for, but an old-style hydraulic pipe, according to information released by the manufacturers.
The plane's No. 1 engine had the modification done correctly, and its fuel and hydraulic
pipes showed no signs of wear or chafing.
When doing the bulletin modification, Rolls-Royce told operators in the post-incident
telex, both the new fuel pipe and new hydraulic pipe must be used "to avoid a hard contact."
Investigators are focusing on an engine change done five days before the incident as
the potential source of the problem. The No. 2 engine that Air Transat was putting on
the A330 needed a hydraulic pump, and the recommended service bulletin wasn't done.
In doing the work, mechanics apparently mixed the type of fuel pipe called for in the
bulletin with an old-style hydraulic pipe."
When the toejame hits the fan on this one, the mechanics will go down as the only ones
who did their job right. RR and Hero pilot will get reprimanded.
The flight crew did manage to save every life on that plane, and for that we're all grateful.
Events.
