IN the context of ever more ...

[Michael Grove]

 COMPLEX SYSTEMS, it would appear that NOT only does the Airbus A380

 suffer from machine-controlled over-complexity, as well as the problems

 that were allowed to pertain at a Rolls Royce engine manufacturing facility,

 prior to the Qantas QF32 incident - so also does the Boeing 777 equally

 suffer from not dissimilar problems, including it would seem, with their

 own General Electric engine manufacturing issues.

Following the Boeing 777 engine explosion on take off situation, which British Airways recently experienced in Las Vegas, David Millward wrote in his opening statement of his recent report in The Telegraph ...

"It was supposed to be one of his final flights, a 10-hour trip from Las Vegas to London before celebrating his retirement from a 42-year career with a holiday in Barbados. But Capt Chris Henkey was thrust into action when a “catastrophic failure” on his BA Boeing 777-220 generated a massive fire that threatened the lives of more than 150 passengers. Travelling at 90mph and just moments from take-off, he had seconds to avert disaster, stopping the plane and calling for help in a near-perfect execution of emergency protocol. Within a few minutes, Mr Henkey and the 13-strong crew of BA flight 2276 had evacuated all 159 passengers on board, with 14 of those on board suffering minor injuries."

The Telegraph can disclose that the machinery had been the subject of two Airworthiness Directives from American safety regulators. Although it will take months for a definitive explanation for the fire to emerge, experts have suggested that the blaze was due to what is known as an uncontained engine failure. “The GE90, including this -85B variant has been subject to various Airworthiness Directives, due to safety concerns about uncontained engine failures – which are a real danger to flight safety ” said James Healy-Pratt, an aviation lawyer and qualified pilot. British Airways said: “This incident is being investigated by the NTSB {the US National Transportation Safety Board] and we therefore cannot speculate as to the causes of what happened.”

Never forgetting that both of these incidents, could have quite easily turned into disasters, had it not been for the "actions of experience" which both Captain Richard de Crespigny of Qantus and Captain Chris Henkey of British Airways, took to avert potentially catastrophically disastrous consequences. BUT these Captains are the last of a breed and since neither Qantus, British Airways or any other the other A380/777 carriers, have spent any of their own money training pilots for as long as I can remember - one has to ask; where are these airlines going to find such pilots who can continue to avert potentially catastrophically disastrous consequences? ... and even then, as has been alluded to in this      Aircrash Confidential"Systems Failure" episode • IF pilots are increasingly encouraged to put their trust and faith in

on-board computer systems, can they cope when the systems fail, because when an aircraft looses its on-board flying control capability, it can potentially become unflyable?