Do you want ice in that....?

[AllanL]

The next time a BA steward/ess asks you the above, perhaps the answer should be ,"Well, better than in the fuel."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7598267.stm

I never could understand our colonial cousins and their habit of burying drinks in ice, maybe they knew something we didn't.

[petermcleland]

Here is the full report:-

http://www.aaib.dft.gov.uk/cms_resource ... Report.pdf

[Techy111]

Are the pilots exonerated then...?

Tony

[Prop Jockey]

I would say so Tony - not much they could do about that one

Cheers

Rich

[petermcleland]

They were given medals so they must be

[Techy111]

Ahhh tea and medals.....bless em.....now we can say they did a good job and they can move on.....

Tony

[Prop Jockey]

In fact the only unkown is how Willie Walshes Marketing Machine will react to this news - and 'spin it' in order to put bums on seats. Its been several hours since the AAIB update, no TV ads, no radio ads ? Heads are gonna roll .................

[nigelb]

The next time a BA steward/ess asks you the above, perhaps the answer should be ,"Well, better than in the fuel."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7598267.stm

I never could understand our colonial cousins and their habit of burying drinks in ice, maybe they knew something we didn't.

Well if your a drink vendor and you fill the glass with ice that is less beverage you have to give the customer. Ice is cheaper than whatever your drinking! I don't mind the beer temp in the UK but I must say I have become used to drinking soft drinks with ice in the colonies. It is 91f (33c) here today so you can understand why.

Getting back to the topic, i have just heard on the news that the FAA are going to issue some regulations as a result of the AAIB report.

[Michael davies]

I know this might sound ignorant, but how do you get ice in fuel tanks ?, I know they get very cold at high altitudes but ice is a component of water so where is the water coming from ?, do they do fuel checks for water content any more ?.

Additionally after that horrible 747 accident due to a spark from the center tanks fuel level sensor, aren't all tanks now filled with an inert gas ?, eliminating oxygen and thus water borne elements.

Best

Michael

[ChrisHunt]

Michael, the report indicates that water enters the fuel via various means, from just being part of the fuel, e.g. as a suspended solution within the fuel, to being "ingested" during flight. There isn't much, and usually nowhere near sufficient to cause the kind of icing likely to block the fuel system... but in the absence of all other explanations the ice in fuel theory (because this does happen in practice) appears to be the only workable one. 'Tis a bit worrying though that the explanation has been arrived at through eliminating every other possible cause and being left with the only likely explanation remaining How does it go... "elementary my dear Watson".

Regards,
Chris