Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Air France flight 447 : missing plane
What we learned from this tragic event?
There is no GPS on Modern jets that can automatically talk back to traffic control.
That is both shocking and surprising: Apparently traffic control do not have much idea WHERE most of the planes flying most of the time: what coordinates, what speed and what height.
Why satellites failed to find missing plane
Another disturbing information is about Airbus A330-200 and it flight computer:
From "Qantas emergency landing" :
"The air data computer, which is supposed to correct mistakes by the pilot, sent the A330 into a very steep dive. The computer mistakenly thought that the pilot was trying to climb too fast. In fact the aircraft was level and cruising normally.
The pilot managed to regain control and pull out of the dive but not before all those not strapped in had been thrown around the aircraft."
Some attributes it to bug in algorithm/software that interprets "spikes" from 3 probably also faulty ADIRU sensors.
If some thing similar happened on flight 447 during a very bad weather and potential lighting strike, it may not be enough time for pilot to "regain control" before plane breaks apart by violent forces.
It is not very cool, but as they say, it will take a lot of time and money before it will be sorted out.
There is no GPS on Modern jets that can automatically talk back to traffic control.
That is both shocking and surprising: Apparently traffic control do not have much idea WHERE most of the planes flying most of the time: what coordinates, what speed and what height.
Why satellites failed to find missing plane
Another disturbing information is about Airbus A330-200 and it flight computer:
From "Qantas emergency landing" :
"The air data computer, which is supposed to correct mistakes by the pilot, sent the A330 into a very steep dive. The computer mistakenly thought that the pilot was trying to climb too fast. In fact the aircraft was level and cruising normally.
The pilot managed to regain control and pull out of the dive but not before all those not strapped in had been thrown around the aircraft."
Some attributes it to bug in algorithm/software that interprets "spikes" from 3 probably also faulty ADIRU sensors.
If some thing similar happened on flight 447 during a very bad weather and potential lighting strike, it may not be enough time for pilot to "regain control" before plane breaks apart by violent forces.
It is not very cool, but as they say, it will take a lot of time and money before it will be sorted out.
Labels: No active GPS tracking on modern jets just yet
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