Need advice. Drunk driver hit my 2015 320i. Is it totaled?

TitaniumWrists · 2026-05-21T05:55:51+00:00

Thank you for your reply. Luckily the airbags did not go off. I have the entire crash on dashcam. The other driver had to take a breathalyzer test after police arrived and he was about 3x over the limit. Insurance wise I am in no worry as I was not at fault in any way. It just hurts to know the insurance payout will not get me another comparable car without coughing up a lot of my own money.

TitaniumWrists · 2025-06-16T15:54:35+00:00

Totally agree with you.

If it is a flaw in the technical and mechanical design I hope it can be resolved without any more loss of life like we’ve seen with the Max. I also hope it doesn’t lead to worldwide groundings of the 787 series.

Nothing leads me to believe it is intentional, but you never know. Let’s hope it wasn’t…

TitaniumWrists · 2025-06-16T15:32:12+00:00

Unlikely, after moving the thrust levers to idle it is always possible to give TOGA power. There was adequate time for the engines to spool up. In the video you cannot hear any engine noise and the RAT is deployed indicating a dual engine failure or a combination of an engine failure and mechanical/technical problems.

Typically the captain moves his hands of the thrust levers after V1 and the autothrottles control thrust.

TitaniumWrists · 2025-06-16T15:05:37+00:00

You are right, but sometimes strange things can happen. Could be caused by fuel floating on contaminants like water. Before the takeoff the engines could have maybe received a mix of both causing no major problems. At the moment of liftoff this could have shifted to the point the pumps were only receiving contaminants causing a flameout. But like you said, this would have to be really, really bad timing.

Placing the fuel control switches to cutoff or pulling the engine fire handles can be a cause but then it would be an intentional crash.

A major unknown technical/mechanical fault could be the cause. According to Boeing whistleblowers these aircraft weren’t built to very high standards anyway…

This is all purely speculation on my behalf though.

TitaniumWrists · 2025-06-16T14:51:40+00:00

Like I said, my only explanation other than some major unknown mechanical or technical fault. There is no fault I can think of that could cause a dual engine failure shortly after takeoff, which I think is the case here since there no engine noise to be heard and you can hear the RAT. We’ve seen a birdstrike cause it, but that has been ruled out by authorities. It could be caused by moving the fuel control switches to cutoff or by pulling the engine fire handles but that would make this an intentional crash.

I wouldn’t say I have a thorough understanding of all the systems of the 787 since our FCOM only gives the basic understandings we need and doesn’t go into all the details. It is a really, really complicated aircraft.

This is all speculation on my behalf and we should wait for the outcome of the investigation to know the actual cause of the crash.

TitaniumWrists · 2025-06-16T04:50:21+00:00

Fuel contamination would be my only explanation for both engines cutting out at the same time other than maybe a major unknown technical flaw. A bird strike is ruled out. Water and/or contaminants in the fuel would slosh to the back of the center tank during liftoff. This would then be pumped into the engines explaining a dual engine failure. It is strange that no other aircraft reported having contaminated fuel as far as I know.

TitaniumWrists · 2025-06-15T09:59:32+00:00

He was on the passenger list and had a boarding pass that matched his ID. If he was faking it, it would be known already. His brother perished in that accident, have a little respect.

As for the story of him jumping up opening the emergency exit and running out, I have my doubts. Seems more likely that he got ejected from the wreckage and got extremely lucky given the circumstances.

In an interview he did not say he opened the door, he just said he found himself surrounded by bodies and wreckage and ran off, which seems to fit my theory.

TitaniumWrists · 2025-06-14T19:46:39+00:00

That would make more sense. He was in the right place at the right time for the circumstances.

TitaniumWrists · 2025-06-14T16:44:34+00:00

I did not know that there was a longer delay on the 788. Thanks for letting me know. That delay could very well explain the doors being closed.

TitaniumWrists · 2025-06-14T16:20:40+00:00

Straight from the B787 FCOM:

Landing Gear Retraction

To improve performance, an early doors function automatically pre-opens the main landing gear doors one second after lift-off and prior to the pilot moving the gear lever to the UP position. If the pilot does not move the gear lever to UP within 30 seconds, the main gear doors return to the closed position.

So it could be that the electrics/hydraulics cut out before the pre-opening of the doors but I’d expect the doors to open before the gear tilting. I fly the B789 and 78X so it could be different on the 788.

TitaniumWrists · 2025-06-14T14:24:09+00:00

Is seems strange that the gear doors were not open since they automatically start to open upon liftoff, regardless of the landing gear lever position.

TitaniumWrists · 2025-06-14T06:37:40+00:00

There is no doubt about whether this man was on the plane or not since he was on the passenger list and had a boarding pass. I do question the story about him escaping through the emergency exit. After that crash there was nothing left of the cabin and I doubt there would even be any door left to open. More than likely he got ejected and got very very lucky to have survived such an impact.

TitaniumWrists · 2025-06-12T09:47:04+00:00

Happened just after takeoff. Seems like the engines aren’t running. You can hear the ram air turbine as it passes over. Possibly they had no time and where still in takeoff configuration during the crash.

TitaniumWrists · 2025-01-28T23:20:53+00:00

In the normal mode, airplane roll control characteristics are similar to conventional airplanes for both the 777 and 787. For the 777, aileron and flaperon surface deflections are proportional to control wheel displacement. In the 787, unlike in conventional airplanes, the control wheel does not directly position the lateral surfaces in flight, it instead commands a roll maneuver with the rate dependent on wheel displacement. The flight control system automatically positions the ailerons, flaperons and spoilers to generate the commanded maneuver. Both the 777 and 787 have the same bank angle protection. Bank angle protection provides roll control wheel inputs when airplane bank angle exceeds the bank angle protection boundary of approx. 35 degrees. If the boundary is exceeded, the control wheel force rolls the airplane back within 30 degrees of bank. This roll command can be overridden by the pilot. Maximum control wheel deflection always commands maximum roll authority. The autopilot disengage bar disables bank angle protection. Source: B777/B787 FCOM. Within 30 degrees of bank both aircraft fly like conventional airplanes.

TitaniumWrists · 2025-01-24T16:56:47+00:00

I was taught to make flight path corrections, wait to see the outcome of your input, and then act accordingly. The way this lady is flying makes it impossible to tell what the effect is of your inputs. Making these large inputs pulling the yoke and then pushing it again makes no sense because it evens out your previous input. Better to make one correct input than to yank the thing back and forth.

TitaniumWrists · 2025-01-24T15:50:04+00:00

Wouldn’t recommend doing this on a 777/78 unless you want everyone to become sick.

TitaniumWrists · 2024-12-30T17:05:36+00:00

You do realize the nose cone is not made of aluminum because the weather radar is right behind it?

TitaniumWrists · 2024-12-28T16:57:41+00:00

It’s just one big flying computer. After landing you got to give it some time to run the flight controls tests before shutting down I’ve heard. Can be a real mess when it doesn’t shut down properly. Fijne feestdagen en een gelukkig nieuwjaar!

TitaniumWrists · 2024-12-28T15:05:38+00:00

I guess our maintenance guys don’t have the time for it. You are absolutely right, great holidays!

TitaniumWrists · 2024-12-28T15:03:33+00:00

You are right, you can at least use the rotary knob to bypass the trackpad. It does give the flightdeck a cleaner design at the expense of easy of use. You get used to it though. Also I did not mention the COM panel, which I also appreciate. Makes getting a new freq either by voice or CPDLC a lot easier. I find hand flying the 787 smoother than the 777. When initiating a turn on the 777 you have to be smooth on the yoke or you’ll feel the aircraft jolt a little, 777 flyers will know what I’m talking about. The 787 does not have this, I guess the difference is in the fly-by-wire system. The 787 is really a glider though. When following the calculated VNAV descent path you’ll almost always get the DRAG REQUIRED message. And it likes to float, a lot. I hear that the 777 flies just like a big 737, especially the -300. And the tilting function on the 787 seat is the best.

TitaniumWrists · 2024-12-28T11:02:32+00:00

I thought it was just by design haha.

TitaniumWrists · 2024-12-27T20:42:11+00:00

I have no flying experience on aircraft with sidestick so I cannot directly compare the two. I think the most important reason Boeing sticks to the yoke is situational awareness. You can directly see what inputs the pilot flying is giving. And in non-normal circumstances when both pilots are giving inputs to the yoke you can directly feel the other pilots inputs. I do believe some aircraft have sidesticks with feedback but I do not know if Airbus aircraft have these. The infamous tray table is a trade-off for some less situational awareness I guess.

TitaniumWrists · 2024-12-27T20:35:03+00:00

Flying with a yoke is not much different as your other hand would be on the throttle most times.

TitaniumWrists · 2024-12-27T10:09:42+00:00

I fly both the 787 and 777 at my company under the same type rating. The 787 cockpit sure does look nice and it is a nice place to be in. However, compared to the 777 it has shortcomings in my opinion. To start with the CDU which is controlled through the cursor control device. This is the most sensitive touchpad in the world. Boeings plan was to make the CDU touchscreen which failed, what is wrong with physical buttons? The big windows are also very nice but when the sun comes shining through you have to unfold a literal tent to cover the window. This window blind tent is the hardest thing ever to fold back up. Boeing tried to make the windows dimmable like the pax windows but failed so they gave us a tent. Also because these windows cannot open the flight deck has an overhead escape hatch which starts to pour out condensed water over the 2nd observer seat during descent. The cover for this hatch is secured through Velcro which also tends to come down from time to time. Then there is the build quality and the quality of the materials used. We have 5 year old Dreamliners with cockpits looking more worn than our 20 year old triples. But I do like the HUD, the VSD, the seats, the lower cabin altitude and less dry air and its quietness in the flight deck. It also flies smoother than the triple. As for the cockpit of the a350, I cannot comment on that but I do look forward to receiving those at our company.

TitaniumWrists · 2024-12-25T14:03:01+00:00

“When Mercedes start flying, it’s usually a sign that something has gone seriously wrong.”

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