Terrifying that a malfunctioning automated system can in fact shut off fuel switches, as happened on an All Nippon Airways Boeing 787 flight in 2019:
"Investigators later found that the aircraft’s software had mistakenly interpreted the plane as being on the ground, triggering the thrust control malfunction accommodation system, which automatically moved the fuel switch from “run” to “cutoff” without any action from the pilots."
aljazeera.com/news/2025/7/17/w…
What happened to the fuel-control switches on doomed Air India flight 171?
A US media report shifts focus onto the actions of the captain of the aircraft, which crashed in Ahmedabad.Al Jazeera Staff (Al Jazeera)
Luis Villa
in reply to Aaron • • •Aaron
in reply to Luis Villa • • •@luis_in_brief Yep, and it's mentioned that the pilot and co-pilot had an exchange where one asked why the other moved the fuel switch, and the other said they hadn't done so.
And as we recall, Boeing's malfunctioning MCAS system prevented pilots from overriding the automated system that pushed the nose down on two other flights, resulting in 346 people.
pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article…
So although it's not yet known what happened, it does look a certain way...
As Boeing Agrees to Plead Guilty to Fraud, a Look Back at What Led Up to the 737 Max Crashes That Killed 346 People | FRONTLINE
Patrice Taddonio (FRONTLINE | PBS)Aaron
in reply to Aaron • • •@luis_in_brief
I am curious how networked the systems of these new dreamliners are, including sensor systems specifically.
I've seen Battlestar Galactica, I know what to be afraid of 😛
John Timaeus
in reply to Aaron • • •I saw this. I'm wondering what inputs are required to trigger this behavior, and what checks are in place to prevent it.
From what we saw with MCAS, I'm wondering if it's a single sensor with no sanity checks.
Aaron
in reply to John Timaeus • • •