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Preliminary report into Air India crash released

(www.bbc.co.uk)
341 points cjr | 5 comments | 11 Jul 25 20:23 UTC | HN request time: 0.622s | source
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fsckboy ◴[11 Jul 25 23:07 UTC] No.44537714[source]▶
it makes sense to me that the pilot who said "I did not do it" actually did do it without realizing it, was supposed to be putting the landing gear up when he committed a muscle memory mistake. it happened around the time the landing gear should be up, and this explanation matches what was said in the cockpit, and the fact that the landing gear wasn't retracted. I think this idea was even floated initially by the youtube pilot/analysts I watch but dismissed as unlikely.
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briandear ◴[12 Jul 25 12:51 UTC] No.44541712[source]▶
Landing gear controls are nothing like the fuel shutoffs. And they are in completely different locations. Landing gear controls are in front of the throttle, fuel shutoffs are aft of the throttles.
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1. 1over137 ◴[12 Jul 25 12:57 UTC] No.44541742[source]▶
Is that "nothing like" though? You are saying they are in different places, ok, but are they similar in other ways? Are both controls the same shape? size? colour? texture?
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2. inoop ◴[12 Jul 25 13:02 UTC] No.44541770[source]▶
Respectfully, it's not up to other people to disprove your toy theory. The question you're asking here can very easily be answered with a quick Google search.

The short answer is that they are _very_ different controls, that looks and operate in a completely different way, located in a different place, and it's completely unrealistic to think a pilot could have mistaken one for the other.

3. TylerE ◴[12 Jul 25 13:10 UTC] No.44541827[source]▶
No, no, and no.

Different controls with different t shapes, operated in different ways, of different number, different size, and very different positions. One is down almost on the floor, and well rearward, the other is at stomach height and well forward.

The fuel cutoffs also require pulling the control out and over a guard.

4. seedless-sensat ◴[12 Jul 25 13:10 UTC] No.44541829[source]▶
The landing great lever is shaped like a wheel as a design affordance. It would be VERY hard to confuse
5. Rastonbury ◴[12 Jul 25 16:13 UTC] No.44543039[source]▶
God knows the number of times I confused my num lock key for my caps lock key, they are both keys after all!