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Air France Flight 447 Crash 'Didn't Have to Happen,' Expert Says
ABC News ^ | July 5, 2012 | Matt Hosford, Lauren Effron and Nikki Batiste

Posted on 07/06/2012 9:19:28 AM PDT by Olog-hai

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To: dmz
"EgyptAir Flight 990 (MS990/MSR990) was a regularly scheduled flight from Los Angeles International Airport, United States to Cairo International Airport, Egypt, with a stop at John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City.

On 31 October 1999, the Boeing 767 operating the route crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, about 60 miles (97 km) south of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, killing all 217 people on board"

No error here.

21 posted on 07/06/2012 10:00:02 AM PDT by Paladin2
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To: Olog-hai
I believe it was the great Confucius who observed:

"If two air-speed sensors on same aircraft give different readings, the prudent master will hastily investigate."

22 posted on 07/06/2012 10:00:53 AM PDT by Steely Tom (If the Constitution can be a living document, I guess a corporation can be a person.)
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Comment #23 Removed by Moderator

To: Ronald_Magnus
Sorry,I've fixed the link Blocked Pitot Tube
24 posted on 07/06/2012 10:06:21 AM PDT by Gay State Conservative (Bill Ayers Was *Not* "Just Some Guy In The Neighborhood")
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To: F15Eagle
Was on an approach into SFO in a storm a few years ago riding towards the front of a United Airlines Bombardier. I knew it was a rough ride but didn't know until later how bad.

Learned later from someone I knew who was on the flight, and sitting in the back, that the tail was slewing back and forth violently. Some passengers were barfing and others were literally praying aloud.

25 posted on 07/06/2012 10:06:29 AM PDT by BenLurkin (This is not a statement of fact. It is either opinion or satire; or both)
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Comment #26 Removed by Moderator

To: Vinnie

Hey that happened to me once in a complex Piper - wasps!
We were in IMC but I did have a pilot in the right seat so we figured the pitot was non functional and ignored those indications.
I can’t believe they ignored stall warnings - kind of a clue that the AC is falling out of the sky


27 posted on 07/06/2012 10:12:55 AM PDT by bill1952 (Choice is an illusion created between those with power - and those without)
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To: C210N

I’ve done that a few times but I don’t think I would try that in an Airbus!

I would request a different runway :)


28 posted on 07/06/2012 10:17:02 AM PDT by bill1952 (Choice is an illusion created between those with power - and those without)
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To: HerrBlucher

Correct about pitot heat. You may be surprised, however, to know that pitot heat can be deferred on aircraft, provided temps and visible moisture do not conspire to create icing conditions. In fact on some aircraft (part 121 certified) all of the anti-icing equipment can be deferred..


29 posted on 07/06/2012 10:17:57 AM PDT by cardinal4 (Do I really need a /s tag?)
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To: Right Wing Assault

I’m not a pilot, but in other threads that have discussed this issue, those in the know say that GPS will only give you ground speed. And ground speed is very much different than airspeed. Airspeed is the key. It lets you know how much air you got passing over the wings. With a strong tailwind, your GPS will show great ground speed, but if you’re not passing enough air over the wings to create lift (airspeed), you’ll stall.


30 posted on 07/06/2012 10:24:00 AM PDT by AFreeBird
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To: bill1952

Stupid question but why didn’t they just keep the plane level and not change airspeed?

Been on one of those flights where the plane is going, “I think I can”, the passengers are going, “I hope you can” and the pilots are going, “I got 10 bucks that says the lady in 12C throws up.”


31 posted on 07/06/2012 10:25:47 AM PDT by EQAndyBuzz (ABO 2012)
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To: EQAndyBuzz

In gusty conditions the airspeed will change whether the pilot wants it to or not.


32 posted on 07/06/2012 10:35:37 AM PDT by DuncanWaring (The Lord uses the good ones; the bad ones use the Lord.)
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To: HerrBlucher

2 out of 3 pitot systems on this Airbus do not have pitot heat IIRC. Poor design is being adressed aledgedly. Not the first time for this scenario. Pitot system is interpreted by computer making the aircraft do strange stuff.


33 posted on 07/06/2012 10:44:14 AM PDT by VTenigma
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To: bill1952
I don’t think I would try that in an Airbus!

Watch this 747 landing in Hong Kong, and this one here

34 posted on 07/06/2012 11:01:01 AM PDT by C210N ("ask not what the candidate can do for you, ask what you can do for the candidate" (Breitbart, 2012))
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To: Olog-hai

***...called a pitot tube, stopped functioning after becoming clogged with ice at high-altitude***

Those on our B-52s KC-135s in the military were electrically heated.


35 posted on 07/06/2012 11:05:08 AM PDT by Ruy Dias de Bivar (I LIKE ART! Click my name. See my web page.)
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To: Paladin2

“No error here.”

I thought that was intentional. Unless that’s what you meant.


36 posted on 07/06/2012 11:13:56 AM PDT by PLMerite (Shut the Beyotch Down! Burn, baby, burn!)
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To: Gay State Conservative

“Sorry,I’ve fixed the link Blocked Pitot Tube”

Thanks for the link

From the article:

” Experts believe the most likely culprit is a species called the black and yellow mud dauber wasp, well known by pilots flying in the Dominican Republic. The aircraft had not flown in 25 days during which time the pitot tubes were not covered, giving the wasps an opportunity to build nests in the tubes. “

Like I always say, you leave a pitot tube uncovered for 25 days in a place infested with black and yellow mud dauber wasps,...well, you’re just asking for trouble.


37 posted on 07/06/2012 11:14:15 AM PDT by Ronald_Magnus
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To: Ronald_Magnus

The tail was found 30 miles from the rest of the airframe. This means it broke off first. Fully composite tails without metal clips to strengthen stress points (a Boeing feature!) is a design flaw with some Airbus planes. I believe 5 planes have gone down in this way. Remember the Airbus that went down in NYC about ten years ago in the draft of a 747? The tail broke off. Air France pilots are offered extra pay for flying these planes but generally they won’t. I worked as a contract engineer for both companies (Airbus and Boeing) for over 20 years and have watched this drama carefully. Solution: sell the planes to third world countries (I am not sure of this but I highly suspect).


38 posted on 07/06/2012 11:47:11 AM PDT by tbd108
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To: Olog-hai

during the summer of 1959, I was taught to fly without the airspeed indicator....


39 posted on 07/06/2012 11:55:01 AM PDT by B212
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To: Olog-hai

It had to be MORE than one bad speed sensor, because the Triple Modular Redundancy could handle one failure without problems.


40 posted on 07/06/2012 12:05:07 PM PDT by expat2
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