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Preliminary report into Air India crash released

(www.bbc.co.uk)
314 points cjr | 3 comments | 11 Jul 25 20:23 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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comrade1234 ◴[11 Jul 25 23:49 UTC] No.44537976[source]▶
Why can the pilot shut off the fuel during takeoff?
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baseballdork ◴[12 Jul 25 00:06 UTC] No.44538072[source]▶
Fire, probably. But also, how complicated would you make the system if you needed to prevent certain switches from working during certain times of flight? At some point... we're all just in the hands of the people in the cockpit.
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dboreham ◴[12 Jul 25 01:04 UTC] No.44538393[source]▶
I can't put my car into reverse gear while driving down the freeway.
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sgentle ◴[12 Jul 25 02:02 UTC] No.44538674[source]▶
Sure, but you can open the door, pull the handbrake, or turn the wheel so hard you lose control of the vehicle. These are all similarly preventable, but maybe not worth the risk of being unable to open the door, brake or steer if the safety mechanism fails closed, or if your situation is outside the foresight of its designer.

Also, you don't need multiple certifications and 1500 hours of experience to drive a car.

replies(1): >>44539569 #
1. emmelaich ◴[12 Jul 25 05:31 UTC] No.44539569[source]▶
On a Tesla (and presumably other cars) opening the door engages Park.

There's no handbrake to pull, and turning the wheel so hard to lose control is next to impossible. Maybe on an oily wet or loose surface.

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2. ExoticPearTree ◴[12 Jul 25 06:37 UTC] No.44539858[source]▶
There are very few failure scenarios that are life threatening in a car.
3. ojosilva ◴[12 Jul 25 08:17 UTC] No.44540256[source]▶
On my Tesla Model Y there's a hand brake on the push button of the right lever. On the left hand lever there's another push button, the windshield wiper liquid. Guess what have I mistakenly, and scarely, done twice already when driving at highway speeds when my windshield was a little dusty?

New designs are prone to ill decision-making from engineers, drivers and pilots alike. Every pathway of let's do it differently is the beginning of a journey of fine-tuning loops until stability.