H. Circuit Breaker Operation
Almost all flight crew members have experienced recovery from malfunctions through the
operation of the circuit breakers. When trouble occurs, the circuit breaker is the first
item to be checked and when it is discovered to have tripped, it is reset. In the three
man crew complement, the flight engineer is responsible for this operation, in the two man
crew, one pilot must leave his seat to operate a circuit breaker.
In a questionnaire regarding circuit breaker use conducted by EUROPILOT, there were
opinions that circuit breaker panel should be in a position that could be accessed by a
member of the flight crew. Another questioned whether an aircraft with a circuit breaker
panel out of the flight crew's reach satisfied the type rating certificate.
| "Aboard a Boeing 767 after taking off from Hong Kong, the pitot heater circuit breaker tripped and the related instrument warnings were issued. The pilots could not identify the source of the problem but after contacting the company maintenance staff in Hong Kong, were advised to check the circuit breaker panel. The related breaker had tripped and after it was reset, everything returned to normal." |
(a report from an active crew)