automatic pilot | George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster

Air France 447 Revisited by Air France 471

GJHatcher — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 22:23:14 +0000

Satellite Image Jul 22nd 00:00Z : NASA

What: Air France Airbus A340-300 en route from Caracas Venezuela to Paris
Where: NW of Point A Pitre Guadeloupe
When: Jul 22nd 2011
Why: In an experience that is being compared to Air France Flight 447, in night/instrument conditions, the AF Airbus flew through turbulence (reported by pilots, not on METAR) at 35,000 feet, accelerated (to 0.66 mach), and autopilot quit. Pitch attitude increased to 11 degrees and decelerated. Turbulence reduced, and pilots were able to level off and return the flight to normal parameters.

Hopefully the events of this flight will inform us of what is going on in the Airbus at high altitude

In George’s Point of View

Perhaps this flight recapitulates the events of Air France 447. It certainly seems to. Because of what history shows us, I wonder if there was a repeat of faulty input from the pitot tubes. The pilots, in this case managed to regain control of the plane. (I doubt if there is an airbus pilot now who hasn’t studied the events of AF447 and worked out some kind emergency response.)

Pilots blame the equipment. The BEA blames the pilots. Air France blames the instruments.

When the dust settles and the finger-pointing stops, we want those involved to stop blaming, and start taking responsibility.

The post Air France 447 Revisited by Air France 471 first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

Faulty Autopilot Forces LAX Landing

GJHatcher — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 17:35:48 +0000

What: United Airlines en route to San Francisco
Where: LAX
When: April 17, 2011
Why: After takeoff, the autopilot took control and would not relinquish it. The pilot had no control over the plane, but then was able to turn off autopilot and return to the airport.

The news release of this event does not mention the type of plane; but I am not surprised at first research that it appears to have been an Airbus A320. Fortunately, the pilot regained control, and there were no injuries. But this kind of problem with an airbus could have significance relating to all fly by wire aircraft, which have the capacity to lock out the pilot.

We need more information about this event. It should be published heavily, and we should be hearing some alerts and safety directives from Airbus.

The post Faulty Autopilot Forces LAX Landing first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

Continental Emergency Landing in the Azores

GJHatcher — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 11:08:38 +0000

Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Joel Vogt

What: Continental Airlines Boeing 757-200 en route from Newark to Lisbon
Where: west of the Azores
When: Feb 27th 2010
Why: While en route, after experiencing unreliable airspeed and losing communication (briefly), the flight again made radio contact and diverted to Lajes on Terceira Island. With partial avionic functions, and no autopilot, they made a safe landing.

The post Continental Emergency Landing in the Azores first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.

Wonky Air France Airbus Autopilot Delays Flight

GJHatcher — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 16:13:57 +0000

Click to view full size photo at Airliners.net
Contact photographer Vincent Edlinger

What: Air France Airbus A380-800 en route from New York to Paris
Where: Long Island
When: Nov 27th 2009
Who: not available
Why: After takeoff, the plane indicated an autopilot problem. They returned to the airport where the plane landed, was repaired and took off again, arriving safely in Paris about 6 hours late-

The post Wonky Air France Airbus Autopilot Delays Flight first appeared on George Hatcher's Air Flight Disaster.