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With its human-proof computer systems, it is the most technically advanced aircraft in the world. So why has the Airbus 330's gleaming new fleet been so dogged by technical problems... and disturbing evidence of flawed cabling been so comprehensively ignored?
Click on the link to read the whole story.
Read more: LIVE SPECIAL INVESTIGATION: The series of mysterious Airbus 330 accidents culminating in tragic loss of Air France Flight 447 | Mail Online
The press loves drama and conspiracy. Now remind me, what sort of aircraft was N387SW?
Exactly what does that have to do with this topic?
The topic seems to be about rubbishing the Airbus A330 with the information coming from a newspaper. I would be far more impressed with information from the regulatory authorities, or the users and maintainers.
Long experience has taught me not to believe everything the dailies tell us. The bit about the A 340 had nothing to do with the A 330. It was all to do with the unbelievable stupidity of the airlines ground staff who disregarded regulations and accepted procedures.
It wouldn't take a towering genius to find a catalogue of incidents and problems suffered by any aircraft type. The airline industry is forever sending out preventative advice to its users - and rightly so, but if it all got into the hands of the press to misinterpret there would be far fewer bums on seats as the public would stay away in droves! I mentioned the Boeing 737 N387SW that was fortunate to escape from a decompression caused by the skin structure failing. Just think how that might have been reported by the media.
He's got a point actually. The only thing I'd believe written in the Daily Mail is the sports results. And I'd check them afterwards too.
It's known as the "Daily Bigot" in the UK due to its rather parochial right wing viewpoint.
That may be true, but the thread was not written as an attack on Airbus.
'On an Airbus, nothing in the cockpit is real. Everything is electronic. The throttles, rudder and brake pedals and the side-stick are hooked to rheostats that talk to a computer, which talks to an electric hydraulic servo valve, which in turn – hopefully – moves something.'
also consider flight hoursI wonder if it's safety record is better that the 737... seems like a bunch of those have crashed but there are a lot more in service..
also consider flight hours
With a title like "The Airbus 330 - an accident waiting to happen"
I think it is... that's not my definition of non-biased.
I wonder if it's safety record is better that the 737... seems like a bunch of those have crashed but there are a lot more in service..
The Mail?Like max said, I wouldn't believe a word the Mail prints. They are probably having a pop at airbus precisely becaus it is a European comsortium - they hate that kind of thing with a passion.
LOS ANGELES -- U.S. aviation safety watchdogs, concerned about severe electrical problems that have blacked out cockpit displays on dozens of Airbus jetliners over the years, urged regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to mandate aircraft fixes and enhanced pilot training to alleviate such hazards.
Recommendations released by the National Transportation Safety Board Wednesday cite 49 incidents over the years in which electrical problems caused various cockpit displays on widely-used Airbus A319 and A320 to suddenly stop functioning and temporarily go blank during flight. According to the board, seven of those incidents resulted in the simultaneous loss of all six electric cockpit displays -- something that safety experts originally believed was virtually impossible.
The recommendations stem from an investigation of a United Airlines A320 that had to return shortly after takeoff from Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey in January, because half of its electronic cockpit displays went blank and several aircraft systems became inoperative. All radios stopped functioning, along with collision-avoidance systems and landing-gear position indicators.
The United plane landed safely, but the incident prompted heightened scrutiny of electrical problems in Airbus aircraft. Three years earlier, a British Airways A319 en route from London to Budapest suffered a failure of five out of six cockpit displays at 20,000 feet. The cockpit went dark and air-traffic controllers lost track of the flight. Most of the systems returned in about 90 seconds.
Based on Airbus data cited by the U.S. safety board, 16 other aircraft lost at least five of their onboard displays over the years in separate incidents.
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NTSB ADVISORY
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National Transportation Safety Board
Washington, DC 20594
June 25, 2009
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NTSB INVESTIGATING TWO RECENT INCIDENTS INVOLVING POSSIBLE A-330 SPEED AND ALTITUDE INDICATION ANOMALIES
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The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating two recent incidents in which airspeed and altitude indications in the cockpits of Airbus A-330 aircraft may have malfunctioned.
The first incident occurred May 21, 2009, when TAM Airlines flight 8091 (Brazilian registration PT-MVB) flying from Miami, Florida to Sao Paulo, Brazil, experienced a loss of primary speed and altitude information while in cruise flight. Initial reports indicate that the flight crew noted an abrupt drop in indicated outside air temperature, followed by the loss of the Air Data Reference System and disconnections of the autopilot and autothrust, along with the loss of speed and altitude information. The flight crew used backup instruments and primary data was restored in about 5 minutes. The flight landed at Sao Paulo with no further incident and there were no injuries and damage.
The Safety Board has become aware of another possibly similar incident that occurred on June 23 on a Northwest Airlines A-330 (registration unknown) flying between Hong Kong and Tokyo. The aircraft landed safely in Tokyo; no injuries or damage was reported. Data recorder information, Aircraft Condition Monitoring System messages, crew statements and weather information are being collected by NTSB investigators.
Further information on both incidents will be released when it becomes available.