Aviation > Aviation Accidents/Incidents
BLACK BOX points to pilot error - re: air france crash
joeyb747:
...fly the airplane first...
ORD Don:
--- Quote from: toeknee25 on May 25, 2011, 12:37:53 PM ---I was really surprised when this NOVA special came out back in February
They nailed the cause of the crash without having any CVR/FDR data
--- End quote ---
I agree. A VERY interesting Nova if you're able to find it somewhere. It always amazes me how few accidents there
are when you consider the thousands and thousands of flights every day. And then, a high percentage of the accidents
that do occur should never have happened. I'm thinking of the Eastern Airlines L1011 that crashed in the Florida everglades
years ago. The pilots literally flew the plane into the ground because they were distracted with a faulty indicator light.
I guess the human factor will always be there...
joeyb747:
--- Quote from: ORD Don on June 03, 2011, 09:58:34 AM ---
--- Quote from: toeknee25 on May 25, 2011, 12:37:53 PM ---I was really surprised when this NOVA special came out back in February
They nailed the cause of the crash without having any CVR/FDR data
--- End quote ---
I agree. A VERY interesting Nova if you're able to find it somewhere. It always amazes me how few accidents there
are when you consider the thousands and thousands of flights every day. And then, a high percentage of the accidents
that do occur should never have happened. I'm thinking of the Eastern Airlines L1011 that crashed in the Florida everglades
years ago. The pilots literally flew the plane into the ground because they were distracted with a faulty indicator light.
I guess the human factor will always be there...
--- End quote ---
Right on point. Eastern 401. December 29, 1972. 101 people died in that incident over a burned out 10 cent light bulb. The crew was distracted by the failure of the nose gear light that indicates it's down and locked. The captain and copilot were messing with the lens cover, while the engineer went to the avionics bay to visually look at the nose gear. The L-1011 had a porthole in the avionics bay that let a person see the nose gear itself and the down-lock. Either the captain or the copilot bumped the yoke, and in those days, that's all it took to disconnect the autopilot. No audible disconnect warning was used either. The airplane began a slow descent, all the way to the Everglades. Miami Tower called the airplane for an altitude check, and it was at that point, the captain looked up to see saw grass going by his window...too late...
FLY THE AIRPLANE FIRST.
sacex250:
--- Quote from: StrongDreams on May 24, 2011, 11:42:30 AM ---One of the documentaries I saw about the crash made the point that even if the pilots lost all airspeed indications, there is a specific procedure to follow that will keep the plane in the air without stalling. Something like, apply 85% power and a certain amount of nose-up pitch. And that in several other pitot tube failure incidents, pilots had failed to do this and made the problems much worse than they would have been. (I'm not a pilot so tell me if that's bogus.) So I think there was always going to be a significant amount of pilot contribution to the crash. But it remains to be seen how much other factors contributed, such as the flight control software.
--- End quote ---
That procedure only works if the aircraft isn't already stalled. From what I've read of the accident so far, it appears the flight crew didn't realize the aircraft had already stalled which would have required a huge pitch down which would have seemed suicidal without airspeed information. The AOA during the stall was around 30 degrees so it would have taken quite a dive to recover from the stall.
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