Airline Updates Pitot Probe Info

The feeding frenzy and guess work over Air France 447 has reached a pretty high-pitch... so much so that we're loathe to add to the mix with anything more than a "just the facts" approach. While a number of media outlets are speculating wildly (including a few folks with some modest aviation knowledge who are rushing to judgment on an almost daily basis), the fact of the matter is simple... all of the data that is coming in so far points to a number of possibilities for what brought this airplane done... but there is NO specific cause that can be derived at this point from the info at hand... as much as the public would like for there to be an easy simple answer and an even easier, simpler fix.

That being said, we present the following PUBLISHED STATEMENT from Air France in an attempt to dampen a little of the rampant speculation and finger-pointing that is going on.

Update On Anemometric Sensors (from Air France)
 
Following the many questions which have appeared in the media on the issue of the Pitot probes in its fleet (the Pitot probe is one of the instrument which calculates the air speed of the aircraft), Air France wishes to make the following clarifications:

1) Malfunctions in the Pitot probes on the A 320 led the manufacturer to issue a recommendation in September 2007 to change the probes. This recommendation also applies to long-haul aircraft using the same probes and on which a very few incidents of a similar nature had occurred.

It should be noted that a recommendation from the manufacturer gives the operator total freedom to apply the corresponding guidelines fully, partially or not at all. Should flight safety be concerned, the manufacturer, together with the authorities, issues a mandatory service bulletin followed by an airworthiness directive (AD).

The recommendation to change the probes was implemented by Air France on its A320 fleet where this type of incident involving water ingress at low altitude had been observed. It was not implemented on the A340/330s as no such incidents had been noted.

2) Starting in May 2008 Air France experienced incidents involving a loss of airspeed data in flight, in cruise phase on A340s and A330s. These incidents were analysed with Airbus as resulting from pitot probe icing for a few minutes, after which the phenomenon disappeared. Discussions subsequently took place with the manufacturer. Air France asked for a solution which would reduce or eliminate the occurrence of these incidents. In response to these requests, the manufacturer indicated that the probe model recommended for the A320 was not designed to prevent such incidents which took place at high-altitude cruise levels, and reiterated the operational procedures well-known to the crews.

In the first quarter of 2009 laboratory tests suggested, however, that the new probe could represent a valuable improvement to reduce the incidence of high altitude airspeed discrepancy resulting from pitot probe icing, and an in service evaluation in real flight conditions was proposed by Airbus. Without waiting for the in service evaluation, Air France decided to replace all its probes and the programme was launched on 27 April 2009.

Without making any assumptions as to a possible link with the causes of the accident, Air France speeded up this programme and reminded its pilots of the current instructions issued by the manufacturer to cope with the potential loss of airspeed data.

FMI: www.airfrance.com