SBSP AIRBUS ACCIDENT - comments

[Guest Bpilot]

Captains,As many of you may know, there was a terrible accident at Congonhas Airport in Sao Paulo, Brazil on July 17. 199 passengers, crew and people in the streets were killed, practically immediately. The flight was TAM 3054, from SBPA to SBSP.The initial readings from the voice-recorder and the black box indicate the following:RW 35L - ILS 110.10 - RW conditions: rainy and sllipery. Ceiling 3000 ft (Congonhas is at 2,400), wind 360/08.The plane was an Airbus 320, about 7 years old and both Captain and FO were well experienced pilots. Both had more than 15.000 hours of flying. The same airplane landed twice at Congonhas that same day.HOWEVER: one of the reverses (the right engine one), was deffective and, according to Airbus Instructions Manual, was manually made "inactive" (locked) by ground crew. The Pilots knew of the condition. According to Airbus, the effect of the reverse thrust is only about 8% of the brake potential; thus, landing is allowed with only one reverse functioning.HOWEVER 2: In such a situation, in final approach, the throttle levers should be in "idle" position and, after touch down, only the "working" lever is to be put into the reverse condition. The other lever should stay at "idle". The plane touched-down in the proper distance of the RW.HOWEVER 3: The Airbus had the spoilers lever on "arm" position; auto-brakes were "on" (level 2) but the right throttle lever was left on the UP position!!CONSEQUENCE: At touch down - so say the especialists - the plane's computers went berserk: with one throttle lever at full forward position - although the other was in reverse mode - neither of the braking systems worked: no spoilers, no auto-brake, nothing. The plane rushed through the RW like going to take off, but without enough power to do so... Worst, when the Captain saw the problem, he could not move the right lever anymore...Although the final investigation will take about 10 months to complete, everything indicates a Pilot error. Three days later, Airbus issued a Warning, reinforcing it's instructions on how to operate with only one reverse functioning.Similar cases had occurred in Taipei, Taiwan, and Manila, Phillipines, but the impact was less severe (fewer deaths), because there are no great obstacles after the RW. Not the case of Congonhas, where the RW (3,900 ft) is already small, and ends in a busy avenue and buildings.Ironically, the building hit was TAM Express, the cargo division of the company).Comments on the proper handling of throttle levers are welcomed, only for FS reasons...BPilot

[FLEX1978 373]

Not sure if this is the right forum for this kinda stuff. They have a 20+ page thread over on pprune. I too was shocked to here they left 1 thrust lever in the CLB gate but it's one thing sitting in the comfort of my home with hours to think about it, compared to the 15-20 seconds of pure confusion on the flight deck that night. May they rest in peace. Rob Prest

[Guest Bpilot]

Rob,This was not intended as any kind of mourning or putting in this forum some kind of grievance. Just a note to Airbus FS pilots...Being a pilot myself, and considering that are thousands of articles all over the real world, I just wanted to pass instructions.Sorry if I have offended you. It was never my intention.Regards,BPilot

[Tabs 2,790]

Since it involves an aircraft we're developing, I'll allow the thread... just please don't turn it into an argument or anything like that. I'll lock it if that happens...

[FLEX1978 373]

Hi Sergio, Sorry if i came across abrupt. I guess the FDR will eventually reveal all. Rob Prest

[G7USL 117]

>Since it involves an aircraft we're developing, I'll allow>the thread... just please don't turn it into an argument or>anything like that. I'll lock it if that happens...Maybe it should have been moved to 'Hangar Chat'? That way it would not be in the 'Support Forum'.