AirFrance A330 missing

[ZachLW 37]

Let's all go back to Airbus school or like me for the first time:http://www.airbusdriver.net/airbus_fltlaws.htmCheers,MAB

Let's go back to why it broke. :( If indeed that is the problem.

[Guest belga1]

Hello,A PDF of interest :http://www.ntsb.gov/events/2009/Weehawken-...resentation.pdfSully was there .......

In the stress that is known, he said that his vision was too troubled to handle a single second of "ECAM actions" and that, had he not had the reflex to start the APU It would probably gone to speak. EXIT therefore ECAM procedures ... ... In doing so, apart from the fact that the APU on her and hydraulic power generation, it ensured to maintain full protection of the flight envelope and there was "large angles with minimal power, with just forgot 'button ditching (without much result, as we have seen). He and his highly experienced co-pilot (ex-B737 CBD) which was the first day of its release next flight online after qualification Airbus, have still made the C / L Evacuation (true), not without in humor them. Anyone who listened to the soundtrack, will remember the look FH / CRM ... ..., to fly the airplane.

Sully word:The single most important piece of safety equipment is an experienced, well-trained pilot.Regards.Gus.

[ZachLW 37]

Hello,A PDF of interest :http://www.ntsb.gov/events/2009/Weehawken-...resentation.pdfSully was there .......Sully word:The single most important piece of safety equipment is an experienced, well-trained pilot.Regards.Gus.

AGREED!

[Geofa 108]

AGREED!

As a side note-I was at breakfast with a bunch of my pilot friends and a story was told of a pilot who was ferrying a brand new GA aircraft across the Atlantic with a G1000. Extra fuel tanks had been added for the trip. The G1000 however freaked out when the plane "ran out of fuel" as it had no parameters to take into account the extra fuel tanks. It simply shut the whole system down with a big red x and the pilot lost all his systems in solid ifr conditions and had to rely on the backups for the remainder of the flight-as the programers hadn't thought of this situation. Scary stuff..

[ZachLW 37]

As a side note-I was at breakfast with a bunch of my pilot friends and a story was told of a pilot who was ferrying a brand new GA aircraft across the Atlantic with a G1000. Extra fuel tanks had been added for the trip. The G1000 however freaked out when the plane "ran out of fuel" as it had no parameters to take into account the extra fuel tanks. It simply shut the whole system down with a big red x and the pilot lost all his systems in solid ifr conditions and had to rely on the backups for the remainder of the flight-as the programers hadn't thought of this situation. Scary stuff..

Terrifying. I've got a little time in a G36 Bonanza, of course with the G1000. Have to say I love it, but leaning over to view the back ups if primary displays are lost is near to impossible.These systems (FBW, Glass avionics) will or have had their growing pains. It is, however, unacceptable that the cost of change is loss of life.

[Guest belga1]

Hello,Sully word:The single most important piece of safety equipment is an experienced, well-trained pilot.From a other place:http://www.lefigaro.fr/actualite-france/20...a-securite-.php

Newspaper article in the french press today:"AF 447 : The pilots demand safety measures""A letter addressed to the boss of Air France by four pilot unions demands an improvement in the safety of the company."I haven't the time to translate it all, but their key damands are:- Re-organisation to create a new job of "Head of Flight Safety" reporting directly to the boss of AF;- Pitot tube maintenance regime to be increased to every 6 months rather than every 18 months as is currently the case;- Specific simulator sessions for pilots covering actions to take in the event of IAS failure.Pretty clear what they think happened.....

Regards.Gus.

[mabe54 17]

http://www.examiner.com/a-2146592~Euro_reg...s_replaced.htmlCheers,MAB

[mabe54 17]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090807/ap_on_...eed_malfunctionCheers,MAB

[Guest belga1]

Hello,Interesting this news coming from the USA (NTSB)Methink BEA (the like NTSB french) will becoming a little nervous.Regards.Gus.

[mabe54 17]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8212569.stmNot that surprising when since from day two the BEA Head honcho stated doubts of ever finding the boxes.Let's see if they really go for stage three in an International Boxes Hunt. :( MAB

[mabe54 17]

http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2009/...af447-hunt.htmlCheers,MAB

[gman! 1]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2005/ma...ternationalnewshttp://www.netcomposites.com/news.asp?1063http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-0...htm?POE=NEWISVAThis raises my eyebrow a bit, and I don't think I will be flying airbus anymore, at least in real life. Flight Simulator Airbus is fine, although I don't like to fly it that much. I don't like how it intervenes with the pilots control, and what air manufacturing company only allows the COMPUTER to turn ITSELF off, instead of the pilot? ...and no I'm not talking about FBW, I know that you can turn the logic off...

"John Lauber, Airbus' vice president of safety and technical affairs, said the design and tests of the tail took into account that they would not be inspected for hidden flaw"

...What kind of company doesn't test for a hidden flaw, that sickens me, they are putting precious lives at risk. No wonder some Airbus pilots have gone to Boeing.

"Airbus, together with aviation authorities on both sides of the Atlantic, insists that any deterioration of a composite part can be detected by external, visual inspection, a regular feature of Airbus maintenance programmes, but other experts disagree.In an article published after the flight 587 crash, Professor James Williams of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, one of the world's leading authorities in this field, said that to rely on visual inspection was 'a lamentably naive policy. It is analogous to assessing whether a woman has breast cancer by simply looking at her family portrait.Williams and other scientists have stated that composite parts in any aircraft should be tested frequently by methods such as ultrasound, allowing engineers to 'see' beneath their surface. His research suggests that repeated journeys to and from the sub-zero temperatures found at cruising altitude causes a build-up of condensation inside composites, and separation of the carbon fibre layers as this moisture freezes and thaws. According to Williams, 'like a pothole in a roadway in winter, over time these gaps may grow'.'"

This guy has common sense.

[RobertVA 0]

When I was a civilian aviation maintenence worker for the US Navy laminated components were X-rayed for moisture pockets before being routed to the actual repair shops. Delamination of non-metalic components like radomes, antenna covers and a few aerodynamic components wasn't realy detectable visually unless the paint had been stripped off, a process that also degraded the surface of the laminate. The X-rays were supplemented by systematicaly tapping the laminate with a special lightweight sounding "hammer" that had a spring between the handle and the head. Points over a delaminated area had a duller sound than points where the layers were still bonded together.

[Smoky942 1]

Oh wow, I wish I'd never read this thread now. I've crossed the Atlantic some 30 times on either Boeing 767 / 747. In a couple of weeks I'm due to make my 31st crossing on an Airbus A340-600. For the first time in my life, I'm going to be an anxious passenger.Russell.

[EngineRoom 205]

Airbus aircraft are not unsafe. Fly-By-Wire is not unsafe. How many Airbus flights take place every day, and how many fall out of the sky? Quite a bit of silliness here.How many of you think twice before getting in your (or someone else's) car? Driving on the roads is a hell of a lot more dangerous than getting in a modern airliner! The fact is if you have got from your home to the airport you have already survived the most dangerous part of the journey!Now if you think an Airbus is the only type that will get into trouble with an IAS indication failure, read up on the Avianca 757 that crashed due to conflicting indications from the cockpit instruments - the exact cause is unknown but the leading theory is the pitot tube was blocked by a wasp nest. Are you afraid to get on a 757/767 because of this?Airbus and the dumb French airplanes! :(