No wiring to cockpit

Concerning electrical system safety, LanChile has installed new interactive in-flight entertainment systems (IFE) in its long-haul fleet of Boeing [BA] 767s and Airbus A340s. The installation avoids problems associated with the IFE systems installed in Swissair MD-11s, which were connected to a flight essential bus and could only be depowered by pulling circuit breakers (see ASW, Sept. 13, 1999).

LanChile's IFE system can be controlled from the cockpit without having to pull circuit breakers. A LanChile official explained that the IFE can be depowered in the cockpit by turning off the utility bus. In the video control center located in the cabin, a cutout switch also enables the IFE to be depowered.

No wires to the IFE system are routed to the cockpit. Rather, the IFE is connected to the left utility bus. This low priority bus, which does not handle critical systems, can be shedded. The IFE system is being retrofitted to the B767s and comes fitted from the factory for the Airbus A340 with the same installation arrangement (i.e., a low-priority bus that can be shedded).

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That article was from Air Safety Week.

Speaking of IFEs, I was visiting my sister this weekend who told me that one of her neighbors recently was arrested for installing video gambling machines at places where it wasn’t permitted. He was charged with a Federal crime and incarcerated for a year. It’s hard to miss the irony that those individuals involved in the installation and certification of a potentially deadly entertainment system (also a gambling machine), on the Swissair MD-11s have not so much as received a slap on the wrist despite the fact that it may have contributed to the deaths of 229 human lives (and one 6 month pregnant woman). What the heck kind of a justice system is that? I just find this totally absurd.