Preliminary Findings Suggest Pilot Error in Air France Crash

Wall Stret Journal ^

[Sub-Driver]

Preliminary Findings Suggest Pilot Error in Air France Crash By ANDY PASZTOR And DANIEL MICHAELS

The pilots of an Air France jet that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean two years ago apparently became distracted with faulty airspeed indicators and failed to properly deal with other vital systems, including adjusting engine thrust, according to people familiar with preliminary findings from the plane's recorders.

The final moments inside the cockpit of the twin-engine Airbus A330, these people said, indicates the pilots seemingly were confused by alarms they received from various automated flight-control systems as the plane bucked through some turbulence expected on the route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris but also faced unexpectedly heavy icing at 35,000 feet. Such icing is renowned for making airspeed-indicators and other external sensors unreliable.

Ultimately, the crew failed to follow standard procedures to maintain or increase thrust and keep the aircraft's nose level, while trouble-shooting and waiting for the airspeed sensors and related functions to return to normal, according to these people.

Slated to be disclosed by investigators on Friday, the sequence of events captured on the recorders is expected to highlight that the twin-engine jet slowed dangerously shortly after the autopilot disconnected. The pilots almost immediately faced the beginning of what became a series of automation failures or disconnects related to problems with the plane's airspeed sensors, these people said. The crew apparently had difficulty sorting out the warning messages, chimes and other cues, while monitoring essential displays showing engine power and aircraft trajectory.

[Perdogg]

You heard it first from me.

[Bean Counter]

Aviate, Navigate, Communicate...

[The KG9 Kid]

"... The pilots of an Air France jet that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean two years ago apparently became distracted with faulty airspeed indicators and failed to properly deal with other vital systems, including adjusting engine thrust."

"Divide The Attention"

[I cannot think of a name]

Ever notice how few “pilot error” accidents when the pilots survive?

Dead pilots are much convenient. No arguments, rebuttals, pesky questions, etc.?

[Grut]

Having seen more than a few pitot tube covers immolated during preflight, I have trouble believing that ice, by itself, caused the airspeed indicator to fail. There had to be a problem with pitot heat.

[Grut]

‘Crew error’ is good. Crew error you can watch out for. Otherwise, you’re just flying around waiting for the airplane to kill you.

[null and void]

Ever notice how few “pilot error” accidents when the pilots survive?

Dead pilots are much convenient. No arguments, rebuttals, pesky questions, etc.?

*Gaelic shrug* A remarkable coincidence, no?

[rawhide]

These were the two co-pilots. The main pilot was not even on the flight deack when this first started happening. He rushed in and started telling the co-pilots what to do. Makes you wonder what would have been the outcome, if he was sitting at the controls on the flight deck at the first?

[null and void]

Otherwise, you’re just flying around waiting for the airplane to kill you.

It was an Airbus...

[Parley Baer]

The Pilot “Marc Dubois, appears to have been out of the cockpit for a routine rest”

Hmmmmm, maybe in the back checking out the stewardess.

[oldenuff2no]

When the automation failed they forgot how to fly the damn plane. It is simple keep enough speed to keep you nose up, keeps your wings level, keep enough air under you so you don't run into things, and watch your compass. Forget the book and the checklists, fly the plane.
It took a few minutes to come down from 35K. All of this didn't happen in an instant.
After reading this I do believe it was pilot error.
I am not a commercial pilot, I am a private pilot. If any of the three pilots would have flown that plane in the same manner as the plane they learned to fly with they would have all made it home. The on-board GPS system would have given then a pretty good indication of their air speed within a few minutes if they would have kept it in the air.
This is one of those accidents that just didn't need to happen.

[True Republican Patriot]

AMEN!!!Pitots would scorch anything on Boeings to Cessnas!!
But then, this was an AIRBUST! Maybe they will retrofit their Airbusted’s with Pitot Heat now?

[oh8eleven]

When the automation failed they forgot how to fly the damn plane.
Maybe a year ago, I saw a documentary about this flight and the conclusion was the same as yours.
They had been so enamored by (and trustworthy of) the technology, they forgot how to fly a plane.

[EQAndyBuzz]

He was away and the copilots were sleeping it off?

[JoeFromSidney]

This may be a dumb question, but what ever happened to doppler radar? Back in the 1950s I was working on doppler radar for determining aircraft speed. It was installed on bombers and transport aircraft. After a big fight, the airlines got doppler radar declassified so they could use it. Have they quit using it? For that matter, why couldn't the Air France crew get speed information (ground speed, of course, not air speed) from their inertial navigation system? Having a pitot tube ice over shouldn't lead to complete disaster. Any airline pilots with answers?

[SeeSac]

It is simple keep enough speed to keep you nose up,

Please cite max, cruise and stall speeds for the plane at 35,000 feet and also max rate of climb .... Thank you.

[SuziQ]

Hubby and I watched a show on TV a few weeks ago about this crash. The show put forth the idea that the pilots got caught in a HUGE thunderstorm, which had been masked by a smaller one. They didn't try to go around the little one, and by the time they saw the bigger one, it was too late to try to go around it. While they were trying to navigate through it, all four pitot tubes failed, the pilots had no operable airspeed indicators, and ultimately, flew the plane right into the ocean.

They only found the black boxes from the plane a few weeks ago, which would have shown that failure.

[bt_dooftlook]

“Gaelic” = “Gallic”?

[Moonman62]

There is an extra pilot on long haul flights. It’s normal for the captain to take a break during that stage of flight.