Posted on 07/31/2011 9:31:55 AM PDT by lbryce
MArk to watch that whole movie later. That was great! Thanks for posting
Legend has it that Boeing is built for pilots, while Airbus is built for those that want to be pilots. In Boeing jets, the pilot can override onboard computers and their built-in soft limits should they choose to do so. Boeing planes are designed to put the ultimate control of the aircraft into the hands of the pilot while Airbus prefers to leave control to software, automation.
What is not being said about where the blame lies is the hubris in which Airbus places its trust in automation, software over that of human/pilot intervention.
I am unsure who was in charge during the stall - the computer, or the doomed pilots?
What flight control commands were executed, and which were ignored?
You're right! He's totally in the clear!
He's dead, of course, but he's in the clear.
Please see post #43.
I’ll bet he thought, “What the duck. I was just up there! I leave and the plane starts falling from the sky???”
When I was in flight training many years ago in a piper cherokee, we used to practice power on (agrivated stalls) and power off stalls. I remember power off stalls you would get almost no break and a slight wing-over. With power on the break was much more pronounced and the wing over as well. If you didn’t lower the nose NOW and I mean NOW, the airplane would eventually spin. It was great training and we would see how little altitude we could lose by taking quick stall recovery action.
Don’t know how the Airbus would repond so it’s hard to put yourself in their shoes and be critical of their actions (or lack thereof).
I’m glad you liked it. It’s a great 2-part movie. The first part is called Jean de Florette. If you’re going to watch it (presuming you’ve never seen it before), you should start with Jean de Florette and perhaps make a 2-night film festival of it.
On Airbus the computer is ALWAYS in control. The pilot inputs are merely suggestions for the 'puter.
My understanding is there weren’t any analog flight instruments. Boeing always has them as backup. If they just had an attitude indicator, perhaps a VSI too - but it was a dark and stormy night (as the saying goes) - they lost situational awareness in panic mode.
It was a dark and stormy night (as the saying goes) and the data recorders had the plane hitting almost flat.
Pretty much close to that.
Yet, not of of these articles mentions “Systemic failure of software caused the deaths of ...”
Funny how they avoid that. Might affect Airbus sales or something.
This AVmail letter of the week is very enlightening. The pilot (with 4500 A330 hours) concludes with:
. . . Lest anyone think I am blaming the Air France pilots for this accident, let me be clear. Despite all of my experience in the aircraft, I am not the least bit certain that I would have been able to maintain control under the same circumstances. I do feel certain that were you to spring this scenario on pilots in a simulator without warning less than half of them would have a successful outcome. Safely flying the 320, 330 and 340-series Airbus requires something of a non-pilot mindset.
And here is a page of several articles on AF 447.
Dunno, systemic software failures don’t seem to affect Microsoft’s sales...
I guess by the time they figured it out it was all too late. Outside sensors should have heat. In some planes it comes on automatically when the temperature drops a certain degree or water plus temp. drop is sensed. With that all-electronic Airbus you would think they’d design that in. Or - better yet - over rides - which apparently they didn’t have or use.
When the first results of the black box was released I could swear that it was said they were getting wildly varying airspeed/rate of climb indications. Like zero to 400 kts, up/down Plus many of their other instruments weren’t acting right.
Some pilot FReepers came on and said SOP is to set angle of attack and throttle and let the plane fly out of the situation.
If they did that and the airspeed was warning you of overspeed, you would pull back on the stick.
I won’t airchair quarterback these guys. I wasn’t there and I have no idea what was going on in that cockpit on a 4 minute/ten mile plunge from cruise. But I have a feeling they were going by the book and the plane was telling them something different.
RIP crew and passengers.
It sounds like they left the inexperienced pilot at the controls way too long. He’s gotta learn, but that was a fatal decision.
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