New Book Praises A320 Engineers For Aircraft Design

In his new book "Fly by Wire", author William Langewiesche says the Airbus A320 has a level of automation that "will intervene to keep people alive," But Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, the pilot in command of flight 1549, said its impact on the outcome of the incident was "minor".

Capt. Chesley Sullenberger

Sullenberger and his co-pilot Jeff Skiles have played down the "hero" aspect of the flight, saying that they simply did what they were trained to do. But in responding to the book, Sullenberger says whether it was the highly-automated A320 or a more conventionally-controlled Boeing, the outcome would have been the same.

The New York Times reports that Sullenberger said there is plenty of credit to go around for saving all 155 people onboard the aircraft, but that the automation systems on the aircraft were not primarily responsible for their safety. He said Langewiesche "greatly overstates how much it mattered," and that “(o)thers in the industry knowledgeable about these technical issues know there are misstatements of fact in ‘Fly by Wire’.”

“There are some situations where the automation will protect a pilot, but at the same time a highly automated airplane makes possible other types of errors, so it’s a mixed blessing,” Sullenberger told the Times. “And greater knowledge is required to fly a highly automated aircraft.”

Photo Credit Gregory Lam

The NTSB has yet to rule on the cause of the accident, but Dan Sicchio, a US Airways pilot who represented the pilots’ union in the investigation, said when it does, it is likely to point to "flaws in this design," some of which may have made the landing more difficult for Sullenberger.

Langewiesche, for his part, said he was "mystified" by Sullenberger's reaction to the book.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov