Posted on 11/12/2001 5:30:38 AM PST by Attila_the_Hun
And if one had, you wouldn't be here to tell us.
They do. The rudder and horizontal stabilizer still maintain the old "conventional" rigging in addition to fly-by-wire. In full manual reversion, with all computers lost, it is still possible to fly the aircraft to a safe landing.
There is a heck of a lot of redundancy in the FBW system on the Airbus. No single computer controls any flight control surface, and the redundant computers use different processors running different software to prevent a single glitch from disabling the entire FBW system.
The computers are far from being bleeding edge tech. For instance, the Flight Management and Guidance computers use 8088 processors - old, slow, but well-tested technology. FBW software is about as debugged and reliable as you can get. Not perfect, nothing ever is... but dang close.
The mystery would be why the Concorde was "returning to JFK" all the way from Paris. Ignore him.
President Bush met with advisers Monday seeking details of an American Airlines plane crash in New York.
Bush postponed a scheduled interview with Russian and American reporters so he could monitor the investigation into the crash of Flight 587, which had just taken off from John F. Kennedy International Airport en route to the Dominican Republic. He meets Tuesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, opening three days of talks in Washington and Texas.
Intelligence agencies, the FBI and the Federal Aviation Administration were reviewing all recent intelligence for any signs that terrorism was involved but an hour after the crash there was no evidence pointing to an attack, said a U.S. official speaking only on condition of anonymity.
"They are comparing information to see if it provides any insight into what transpired. At this point, there's no indication of a terrorist attack, but it certainly can't be ruled out in current environment," the official said.
BTW: this puts the kabosh on the stupid media Gore recount. Drudge said last night he figured it'd be over with by 1 or 2 p.m. today.
The fly-by-wire method doesn't really make provisions for the passengers.
I can definitely feel the difference...the Airbus models bank hard. It takes me two days to recover from a flight on that type of plane.
BTW: this puts the kabosh on the stupid media Gore recount. Drudge said last night he figured it'd be over with by 1 or 2 p.m. today.
PRAYERS FOR THE FAMILIES OF THE VICTIMS.
Plane parts were coming off (wing) before impact according to witnesses.
"We're being tested one more time" ~ Guilliani
I couldn't beat the posters around here to breaking news if I tried. Never ceases to amaze me how many think they've got a shot in this regard around this place ... =)
Hmmmm...worth pondering. Also, two month anniversary of 9/11...Veterans' Day...American Airlines...sure, it may be a run-of-the-mill plane wreck, but the knee-jerk reaction that this is a terrorist act will most likely prove to be right.
MUD
Okay, taking off my tin foil hat to believe...it was only an accident..it was only an accident..it was only an accident...repeat after me :-)
An American Airlines jetliner on its way to the Dominican Republic crashed moments after takeoff Monday in a residential neighborhood five miles from Kennedy Airport, authorities said. There was no immediate word on deaths or injuries.
The city was put on high alert, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said. Fighter jets were seen flying over the area.
Bill Schumann of the Federal Aviation Administration said there was no immediate indication of what caused the crash, which came two months after two hijacked airliners brought down the World Trade Center.
All metropolitan area airports -- Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark, N.J. -- were closed after the crash, which took place in the Rockaway section of Queens. All bridges and tunnels into the city were closed except to emergency vehicles.
Flight 587, an Airbus A300 that can hold 275 people, went down shortly after 9 a.m in the waterfront neighborhood 15 miles from Manhattan, setting buildings on fire. A plume of thick, black smoke could be seen miles away. There was no immediate word on the number of people aboard the plane.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said intelligence agencies, the FBI and the Federal Aviation Administration were reviewing all recent intelligence for any signs that terrorism was involved, but an hour after the crash there was no evidence pointing to an attack.
"They are comparing information to see if it provides any insight into what transpired. At this point, there's no indication of a terrorist attack, but it certainly can't be ruled out in the current environment," the official said.
Giuliani canceled his morning events and headed to the scene.
"Now we should focus all ourt efforts on finding survivors," the mayor said. Asked what he thought when he heard about the crash, he said: "Oh my God, Oh my God, and I just passed a church where I attended 10 funerals."
Triage centers were set up a high school and an elementary school, both of which were closed for the Veterans Day holiday.
Planes were being diverted to other airports, and Delta Air Lines spokeswoman Peggy Estes said the airline was working to account for all its planes.
The plane had been scheduled to leave at 8 a.m. and arrive in Santo Domingo at 12:48 p.m.
One witness reported debris falling from sky and told the Fox News Channel four homes were on fire.
"All of the sudden, I see an engine fall off, and it went to the side, and in 10, 15 seconds it went down," witness Kevin O'Rourke told WABC-TV. "An engine fell off."
Witness Phyllis Paul heard the engine. "It was very, very loud. Because of what happened Sept. 11, it gave me a chill," she told CNN. "It was getting louder and louder and I looked out the window. I saw a piece of metal falling from the sky."
The World Trade Center was destroyed by two Boeing 767s hijacked out of Boston's Logan Airport. One of the planes was operated by American, the other by United.
Airbus said American Airlines has a fleet of 35 A300s.
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