Mon, May 23, 2011
Ice Formation On Speed Sensors May Have Led To Deep Stall
Unofficial, and we stress unofficial, reports about the
analysis of the cockpit voice recorder recovered from Air France
Flight 447 indicate that the captain of the Airbus A330 was not in
the cockpit as the events leading to the accident began to
occur.
The German magazine Der Spiegel reports that the
recordings seem to indicate that Marc Dubois, the 58-year-old
captain of the aircraft, was not in the cockpit when the trouble
began. He reportedly rushed back into the cockpit "shouting
instructions" to the the co-pilots in an attempt to save the
aircraft. It is not clear why he was not in the cockpit, but he
would not be required to be at the controls for the entire duration
of the trans-Atlantic flight.
The magazine says that investigators close to the analysis say
the recovered Flight Data Recorder shows that the crew took a
course it thought would avoid the worst of the thunderstorms in the
area, and that they had initially been successful, in that they did
not encounter any additional severe turbulence.
The magazine reports that analysts believe the airplane may have
entered a deep stall from which the crew was unable to recover. The
A330 requires precise speed management at altitude to prevent such
a stall, and if the speed sensors were iced over, such speed
management would have been very difficult, they say.
The accident investigation is being led by the French Transport
Ministry’s Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis (BEA).
More News
Takeoff Roll The process whereby an aircraft is aligned with the runway centerline and the aircraft is moving with the intent to take off. For helicopters, this pertains to the act>[...]
“We’re proud of the hard work that went into receiving this validation, and it will be a welcome relief to our customers in the European Union. We couldn’t be mor>[...]
"Aircraft Spruce is pleased to announce the acquisition of the parts distribution operations of Wag-Aero. Wag-Aero was founded in the 1960’s by Dick and Bobbie Wagner in the >[...]
IDENT Feature The special feature in the Air Traffic Control Radar Beacon System (ATCRBS) equipment. It is used to immediately distinguish one displayed beacon target from other be>[...]
Aero Linx: Pararescue Air Force Pararescuemen, also known as PJs, are the only DoD elite combat forces specifically organized, trained, equipped, and postured to conduct full spect>[...]