The Crash of Air France 447 Essay Example

The Crash of Air France 447 Essay I.Summary Air France Flight 447 is considered to be one of the worst crashes in aviation history. The flight went down in the mid-Atlantic on 1 June 2009 killing all 228 people aboard. The flight was on its way from Rio de Janeiro to Paris when it experienced auto-pilot and auto-thrust issues. Airbus A330’s pitot tubes, which provide data to auto-pilot and auto-thrust, became clogged with ice when the aircraft entered a thunderstorm. After many miscues by the pilots, the airliner crashed in the Atlantic, just off the coast of Brazil with no possibility of survival. II. Problem Just prior to entering the thunderstorm, the pilot left the cabin for a scheduled nap.The lack of data from the pitot tubes caused a loss of accurate airspeed information in the cockpit.Problems with the pitot tubes were known to Air France and the Airbus but this aircraft had not yet received modification to fix the issue. The altitude information then showed the two remain pilots they were in a climb instead of a cruise altitude of 35,000 feet.The pilots tried correcting this perceived climb and put the aircraft into a stall situation.The aircraft indicated multiple stall warnings and neither copilot seemed to acknowledge them or initiate the remedies from their training. The A330 is also equipped with fly-by-wire technology preventing aircraft from entering stalls in most cases but can be and was overridden by the pilots. We will write a custom essay sample on The Crash of Air France 447 specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Crash of Air France 447 specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Crash of Air France 447 specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer III. Significance of the Problem Pilot error was the overwhelming cause of this crash. Some factor were human based but others such as the poor weather and turbulence were unavoidable.The report, issued by the BEA – France’s aviation accident investigative authority – paints a picture of profound confusion and poor task sharing between the two copilots as events leading to the crash rapidly unfolded. (Whitfield, 2012)The accident wasn’t the result of single mistake but rather many that led to the final outcome.