Posted on 12/30/2014 12:29:43 AM PST by tcrlaf
Hard knock life lesson of this and likely other Airbus events: live by the computer... die by the computer. Whoops!
There’s a reason tail-dragger pilots are, by and large, considered better pilots than their tricycle gear counterparts. A: They don’t use training wheels. B: They use their innate learned skills which are honed by their peculiar developed talents associated with control of something akin to a Tasmanian devil .
Pilots capable of controlling an aircraft via inputs of a physical nature, otherwise known as flying by the seat of their pants, versus- the fly by wire technique, AND, wherein in this instance means TOTAL fly by wire mode, with little to no physical counter measure, results in- said catastrophe.
Not that a pilot with 20,000 plus flying hours wouldn’t be trying to fly the damn thing all the way in... an object quite literally weighing something like 400,000lbs but (NOW) configured into an aerodynamic shape resembling a wood burning locomotive.
A-wood-burning-lo-co-mo-tive. (for emphasis)
Great explanation, thank you!
Thank you too for another great explanation and your personal insights on the operation of the planes we all fly in!
Would an abacus be more to your liking? This threads always bring out the Luddites.
It was more than 10 years ago, and the A310 is no longer used by any US passenger airlines.
When was the last time an abacus crashed and killed 150 people?
Yep, as long as it’s slow, memory- and CPU intense, with bonus points for using an interpretor...
I have no idea what you are talking about.
I think you are misreading my posts.
I don’t think what you think I think. :-)
Yes.
However, I think new studies have shown that in rare conditions, ice buildup can overwhelm the heaters.
Holding hands? Were they alive in the water?
Skip the C++. Even it can be a pain to tread through the object code as required for DO-178C Level ‘A’ & ‘B’ systems. Plain ol’ Assembly Language works just fine.
“suggested “
Only suggested, no proof to it. I still say they will find it within 20 miles of the last transponder return.
Very true. That’d put it somewhere in the Northern Malaccan Strait (~175 ft deep) and still on the continental shelf.
Yes, the state of the bodies indicates the aircraft broke up in flight, probably at high altitude, indicating more than just a stall leading to the crash (AF447 hit the water intact after an extended stall).
Absolutely, there is nothing about this accident that would be good for the reputation of Airbus. The best investigation result for Airbus would be if the captain flew a perfectly good airplane directly into a thunderstorm. If the captain did that, the crash would be totally attributed to poor decision-making by the crew, with no blame on Airbus. No transport-category airplane could be expected to survive the extreme turbulence of a high-altitude thunderstorm.
The facts of this crash are likely to be less straightforward. If the autopilot disconnected because of pitot tube icing issues (as with AF447, an A330) or if the airplane pitched down uncontrollably because of angle of attack vane issues (similar to the Paris air show video -- an emergency tech order was issued about this on 9 Dec) then Airbus will be facing a huge backlash and endless lawsuits. Even an experienced pilot would be challenged by a high-altitude upset without reliable airpeed, especially in turbulence near deadly thunderstorms. Not to mention the fly-by-wire/sidestick configuration of Airbus jets is, well, to say the least, problematic.
Not to defend Airbus, but that was not "one quick movement" in the NY crash.
The first officer put in full rudder one way, then when the vertical fin swung all the way past the aerodynamic balance point with full rudder (compounded by inertia when it swung back), he abruptly reversed the rudder in the other direction, causing an aerodynamic exceedance of the design structural limit of the airplane.
American implemented a new training program for their pilots after that crash -- to remedy the previous training that taught their pilots to manipulate the rudder too aggressively during wake turbulence encounters.
If you don’t fly, you won’t crash. Wrap yourself in bubble wrap and stay home.
That does make sense. I am used to flying in military a/c (Prowler) that does not have a FAC and the AOA probe sends data only to the AOA gauge inside the cockpit. The Hornet has something similar to what you are describing and cna cause some PIP (Pilot Induced Panic) in situations where the AOA probe is inop.
Was there not a similar situation with an Air France 320 that took out half of a forest a while ago?
Call me old fashioned but I prefer that hired help actually knows how to use the equipment for their given task.
L
We do. Stay home.
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