How one confused pilot killed over 200 people..

[Steve1968LS2]

Wow.. just wow..

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/aviation/crashes/what-really-happened-aboard-air-france-447-6611877


Talk about suspensful reading.. too bad it was a real tragedy.. all because one co-pilot somehow forgot the basics of flying.. what a cluster fk and none of those people needed to die in a perfectly functioning aircraft :(

[Chad-1stGen]

Wow that was an insane read!!! I had adrenaline pumping at the end of that article. Sad indeed.

[Steve1968LS2]

Wow that was an insane read!!! I had adrenaline pumping at the end of that article. Sad indeed.

Yea, it would be entertaining, if not real..

Imagine the horror once the Captain figured it out at the last moment (a moment too late). I now have an appreciation of linked controls.

[DartorDemon]

I feel like that's enough to make me never want to fly.

[79-TA]

That was really frustrating to read. Just pull down a bit!!!

Does the averaged control inputs configuration sound like an absolutely terrible idea to anyone else?

[Blown73]

When we get on board these air planes, we assume that the pilots know what they are doing and we put our lives in their hands.

How many times have you flown with that same thought?

[Steve1968LS2]

That was really frustrating to read. Just pull down a bit!!!

Does the averaged control inputs configuration sound like an absolutely terrible idea to anyone else?

Not to me.. lets just say a pilot has a seizure and pulls back on the stick.. well the other guy could only average the effect. I'm sure there are safeguards but it didn't help in this case.

[LeighP]

I'm in the airline industry.....and I'm not a fan of Airbus aircraft...never have been.
The way their software switches itself around and does things.....if the pilots aren't completely on top of the set of parameters that control the aircraft's computers, then this is the sort of thing that happens.
An Indian airline flew one of their Airbus aircraft into the ground in a high rate of descent without ever figuring out something was wrong...same sort of deal.
And the idea that the controls are no cross connected....insanity.

[mc84_zz4]

Merde!
What a shame.

[Happyfunballs]

What an insane read. Thanks for posting.

[John Wright]

Geez...that is a frustrating read. One pilot wondering why the plane won't descend and do what it's supposed to do, and the other is causing his confusion by keeping the nose up(stick back).

[moreHP]

That made me tense reading that. Unbelievable. Scary too as most of us have flown before and know it could have been us onboard.

[rfalker1]

Crazy, just crazy...

[southernfriedcj]

Give me an old, gray headed, ex U.S. military piolt ANY day of the week.
When I had a plane(King Air 200) my primary pilot was an ex USAF General.

I used to think pilots were over paid. I can recall complaining that Delta Pilots were crazy wanting to go on strike. Then I flew an Air Tran flight and the pilot looked like he was 25 years old and his hair was over his collar. All of the sudden it occured to me that those stuffy, squared away Delta pilots that I saw all over the ATL Airport were worth every penny.

[EFI69Cam]

Give me an old, gray headed, ex U.S. military piolt ANY day of the week.
When I had a plane(King Air 200) my primary pilot was an ex USAF General.

I used to think pilots were over paid. I can recall complaining that Delta Pilots were crazy wanting to go on strike. Then I flew an Air Tran flight and the pilot looked like he was 25 years old and his hair was over his collar. All of the sudden it occured to me that those stuffy, squared away Delta pilots that I saw all over the ATL Airport were worth every penny.

So true. When I board a plane and see the old, gray headed ex. U.S. military looking pilot I feel much more confident.

I can see the book learned pilots being told that the new planes are smarter than them. The guys who learned to actually fly would never had made the mistakes that cost these people their lives.

[LUACE]

ive kept up with this story for a long time... after learning what really occurred it was shocking. i feel so bad for the people who lost their life and their family, including the pilot that made the mistakes. Just a terrible way to go out... 2+ minutes of free fall...i get the chills just thinking about it.

[analyte]

Very sad indeed. It's amazing that the co-pilot's weren't aware of the each other's actions. I would have expected a light would be flashing signifying that one was pulling back on the stick the entire time...

[CarlC]

No communication between pilots about how they are controlling the aircraft.

No training for when an instrument fails (airspeed indicator)

No common sense for when a plane enters a stall. At 90 knots that plane must have been shaking like an old Maytag.

No listening for when the plane is telling you it is entering a stall (75 times?)

No ability for the PIC to know he has singular control of the aircraft.

I fly a lot. I'm sitting in an airport right now (delayed for two hours.) I'll still fly, but my hope is that there are a whole lot of new training proceedures put into place to cover this scenario.

[MattG]

Wow.. just wow..

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/aviation/crashes/what-really-happened-aboard-air-france-447-6611877


Talk about suspensful reading.. too bad it was a real tragedy.. all because one co-pilot somehow forgot the basics of flying.. what a cluster fk and none of those people needed to die in a perfectly functioning aircraft :(

Well put Steve. With over 13,000 hrs of flight time and over 4,000 in an airbus, this is one of the most outrageous events I have ever heard of in my profession. It makes me sad and angry to see such a terrible event unfold. Even the most basic airmanship could have prevented this event...not the planes fault, not Airbus' fault, just an extremely poor pilot doing everything wrong.

I have equal time in Boeing and Airbus, and I always compair them as Ford and Chevy. They both do the job equally as well, just with different approaches.

I can assure all of you that if you get on a mainline flight with any major airline in the U.S. that you will have highly experienced pilots that have earned the right year after year to get you where you need to go safely. The regionals are full of hightly competent grossly underpaid pilots that are safe as well. Sometimes a bad apple slips through the cracks, it happens in every profession, and unfortunately in aviation, it kills people as in this case.

Don't let this change how you feel about flying. Get on the plane, say thanks to the pilot when you get to your destination, and let's all go safely drive the crap out of our cars!

Matt

[parsonsj]

Wow. Thanks for sharing that story. I'm sure we'll see some revised software and flight procedures, along with better regulations.

[CarlC]

Make that delayed for nine hours. The plane needed new brakes. At least they found out before we took off.