Part 6/11:

As their fuel reserves dwindled, and with only the Azores Islands as a diversion airport, the urgency intensified. Communication with maintenance control continued, but the pilots remained hesitant to initiate any emergency fuel procedures, a decision shaped by the framing bias that led them to prefer avoiding perceived guaranteed losses instead of confronting the risk of catastrophic failure.

A Catastrophic Failure: Engine Flame-out and Descent

At approximately 6:13 am, the right engine flamed out. The pilots promptly descended the aircraft as the reality of their grave predicament set in. They were still 240 kilometers away from the diversion airport, with just a fraction of fuel remaining—600 kilograms—leaving them with few options as they officially declared an emergency.