EU orders Airbus A350 operators to install anti-coffee spillage covers in airliner cockpits
- Reference: 1595865667
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/07/27/a350_coffee_spillage_saga_continues/
- Source link:
Following “inadvertent liquid spillage” on engine control panels in the flight decks of Airbus A350 airliners, the Franco-German-Spanish multinational company has also waterproofed engine controls that are most likely to be in the firing line of an unintentional drenching.
The low-tech solution to the accidental destruction of hi-tech systems was revealed in a revised EU airworthiness directive (AD) [1]published last week.
Captain's coffee calamity causes transatlantic flight diversion [2]READ MORE
On top of banning pilots from bringing drinks anywhere near the central cockpit console housing the engine and radio controls, Airbus devoted considerable time and effort to making sure caffeine-addicted pilots ignoring the ban wouldn’t be able to short out vital aircraft components – by ordering airlines to install a cover over those controls.
“This cover allows to protect the [integrated control panel] completely, including engine master levers, thumbwheels and rotary knobs. This cover should be removed during critical flight phases (e.g. take-off, approach and landing, handling of ECAM procedures), but must be installed during other flight phases,” said the AD.
As well as the new lid, Airbus also developed a “water resistant” engine control panel to help guard against drinks spillages shorting out the engines and causing them to fail. Despite these measures, the EU Aviation Safety Agency remains unconvinced that clumsy humans are now prevented from flinging liquids at delicate electronics, warning: “Further AD action may follow.”
The move follows reports from earlier this year [3]that A350 cockpit electronics really cannot cope with being soaked in piping hot coffee . Two airliners operated by US and Asian carriers suffered uncommanded engine shutdowns while in flight as a result of drinks spillages. Both incidents happened because the master engine control switch short-circuited and began sending a rapid succession of “engine on”/“engine off” commands after being soaked in pilots’ drinks.
Short circuits caused by liquid spillages are not as uncommon as one would hope in the world of airlines: last year a Condor Airbus A330 was [4]forced to turn around halfway through a transatlantic flight after a clumsy captain spilled his coffee into the aircraft’s radios, melting two of them. An investigation found that the airline’s standard coffee cup size was too small to fit into dedicated cup holders in the flight deck.
Aviation sources suggested to El Reg that a simpler and cheaper solution to all this palaver would be to issue personalised [5]beverage containers to airline pilots. ®
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[1] https://ad.easa.europa.eu/ad/2020-0090R1
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2019/09/13/condor_a330_coffee_radio/
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2020/02/06/a350_cockpit_coffee_ban/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2019/09/13/condor_a330_coffee_radio/
[5] https://www.amazon.com/Airplane-Pilot-Toddler-Sippy-Personalized/dp/B00JQFXH9Q
[6] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Just how hot can coffee get?
a clumsy captain spilled his coffee into the aircraft’s radios, melting two of them. [My emphasis.]
Did someone mix up the coffee and the napalm?
Re: Just how hot can coffee get?
They probally downplayed the huge fireball that occured following the shorting.
Wouldn't a child's sippy cup be cheaper?
It totally ruins the flavor. How can you tell the difference between Sumatra medium dark roast and Kenya french roast?
Weird. American air carriers have required liquid-resistant designs
to "pass through" liquids to the floor through drain holes in the metal boxes for decades.. At least for the intercom panels that I worked on.
One US airline went through a "waterproofing" retrofit company-wide more than a decade ago. gaskets around the knobs. Plus, aircraft circuit boards are required to be "conformal coated" to also mitigate humidity and corrosion. Do a repair? Put more coating back on.
Audio control/intercom systems on single-aisle aircraft are sourced/customized by the airlines and installed by Boeing and others, like Bombardier. It's a lucrative racket if you can meet the documentation and testing requirements without losing your mind.
Re: Weird. American air carriers have required liquid-resistant designs
"It's a lucrative racket if you can meet the documentation and testing requirements"
Tick.
That's Boeings testing procedure done.
Amateur design and construction.
Surely, everyone who designs cockpit instrumentation has seen the film "Fate Is the Hunter"? A plane crash is caused by a coffee cup being tipped over the centre console? The spill produced an instrument error that resulted in the pilot making a fatal mistake.
Anyone involved in electronics must consider the operating environment. At the very least the PCB's would be coated in a conformal coating which ought to render them short circuit proof against liquids. And, I would have thought the control switches would be waterproof. Any other gaps in the panel for slider type controls would have brush seals too.
All in all an amazing "fix" to be applying after all these years.
Re: Amateur design and construction.
And all those years terrorists who wanted to down an airliner had to find ways to smuggle nefarious devices onboard an aircraft, when all they needed to do was once airborne, ask for a coffee and go and pour it over the cockpit instruments. I do of course mean pre 9/11
Re: Amateur design and construction.
While you're being logical, change your thinking to that of a bean counter. Conformal coating costs money...i.e.: profit. Conformal coating, etc. has been pretty much standard for military gear for decades.
As for the sippy cups, they work. I use one in my car. Solid plastic, have open the drinking hole to drink and then close and replace cup in cup holder. That would seem to be a good solution but then again, humans tend to bypass things when it's "inconvenient.
Wouldn't a child's sippy cup be cheaper?
Hey! That's demeaning of a wonderful technology suitable for people of all ages, not just children.
I regularly used to spill a quarter bottle of malt on my carpet before I bought an adult sippy glass. Paid for itself in a week, plus you can use it with a facemask on.
I've not went for adult diapers/nappies yet but I am wondering how much time I could save on nights out trailing to the toilet. Astronauts use them so they are literally space age tech.
How long before...
...one of the waterproof covers gets stuck??
SImpler solution?
I can't help but think that there has to be a simpler solution.
With other expensive pieces of machinery, there are usually big signs warning against eating/drinking in areas where spillage would be inadvisable.
Yet here you have a $100m+ piece of equipment (potentially with hundreds of passengers also on board) that they accept that the 2 key personnel could well slosh liquid all over the critical electrical controls....
I know that pilots have to eat/drink, but they also (generally) have to leave their seat to visit the toilet, leaving one pilot flying (and presumably during a quiet part of the flight).
From a flight operational perspective, what would be the downside of banning pilots from eating/drinking while seated at the controls?
Re: SImpler solution?
The down side? A sleepy pilot.
Great expense?
Sounds like using a hammer to crack a nut. Shirley there has to a simple, cheap way of stopping drinkies spillages into the flishy-flashy electronic gubbins?
Boeing
Presumably follow the American car model and have several 64oz drink holders per pilot.
Although spilling a McSlurpy on Boeing's electronics probably improves airworthiness