More Pitot Tube Incidents

Seems that the incidence of aircrews in Airbus planes are still running into problems with airspeed indicators. Digital fly-by-wire aircraft have been used for decades--how long have these pitot tubes been used in Airbus and are they used in other "non fly-by-wire" airplanes? .... lakotahope

Flight 'incident' puts speed sensors in spotlight

(AP) – 12 hours ago

PARIS — The pilot of an Air France plane flying from Rome to Paris this month spent a minute without information on the speed of the aircraft, which was equipped with new generation speed sensors installed after the June crash of another flight, the newspaper Le Figaro reported in an article for its Thursday edition.

The report said the lives of passengers on the July 13 flight were not in danger.

Deficient speed sensors, or Pitot tubes, were "a factor, but not the only one" in the June 1 of Air France Flight 447's crash into the Atlantic Ocean en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, chief crash investigator Alain Bouillard has said. That crash killed 228 people.

Air France had ordered the replacement of Pitot tubes on their Airbus aircraft and a new generation of sensors, located on the aircraft's exterior, are now being used. Both the old and new sensors are made by France's Thales Group.

Le Figaro cited an internal crew report on the Rome-Paris flight as saying there was a "brutal loss of speed indications," followed by the disappearance of information measuring wind force and other factors.

Telephone calls to Air France officials were not immediately answered. The airlines' offices were closed for the evening.

A spokesman for the main Air France pilots union confirmed the incident to The Associated Press, but said he did not have more information.

"We are aware of the incident. We are awaiting details," said Erick Derivry. If the problem is indeed with the Pitot tubes, the SNPL union will ask Air France "that planes be equipped with Goodrich sensors," he said.

The North Carolina-based Goodrich Corp. also makes Pitot tubes.

Le Figaro quoted an unnamed Air France official saying that "all necessary measures will be taken."

Investigators Say All Of Plane Will Not Be Recovered

With no direct knowledge of the cause of the Air France Flight 447 in the Atlantic, most speculation revolves around the intense storm system it was entering and the speed sensors on the aircraft. Known as pitot tubes, there are multiple pitot tube sensors located at different places on the front of the aircraft. Redundancy is the name of the game on jets and especially these electric jets. If a system fails, then the backups will pick up the work load. In cases of a failure, the primary master control system will weigh the difference between the suspected failure and its sister systems. After the comparison, it will disregard the errant system failure.

Always a perfect world, but never a perfect solution. With electrical failures occurring and other system meltdowns bringing a domino effect of problems to the pilots, they needed to be at the top of the pyramid when it comes to pilot skill. These guys had tons of experience and the crew was staffed with an extra pilot. Extra pilots are always on these long haul flights to spell the cockpit crew during breaks. At fours hours into the flight, AF 447 sent out emergency signals via computer to its maintenance facility on the ground. This was the last communications from this aircraft. No communication from the pilots.

Airbus is fly by wire and now some Boeing models are out with fly by wire. I haven't heard of any one pilot group dismissing the excellence of either type of aircraft. Sure, with fly by wire, a computer will have the final say of whether any pilot input will be performed--this is to prevent the aircraft from being subjected to forces by a pilot that would hurt the plane. Traditional systems, Boeing, the pilot may put the aircraft into any flight position he desires. His is the final word!

By the time AF 447 ran into critical problems and disappeared, the autopilot system had already disengaged. This could have been opted by the flight management system or by the pilots themselves. Until the black boxes are found, just about everything about this crash will be speculation. Except for the wreckage! The damage to the found pieces and to the recovered remains of the passengers will serve as a tool to help determine the cause of the loss of AF 447 and its 228 souls on board... lakotahope