Whatever spin was put on the A320 accident
in France ( don’t believe it was at the Paris airshow itself), it was most likely a combination of
technology and the pilots not understanding what they were doing with
it.
The number of times I have seen pilots ask,
and wondered myself, “what the hell is it doing THAT for”, is innumerable when
it came to the early introduction of the A320.
It was built by computer whizzes, and
chucked at pilots saying – “go fly – you can’t crash
it”.
You choose interesting words, but I'm not sure I totally agree.
Technology, in itself, isn't bad and it does not lead to an accident. Again, it
comes to the person operating the technology improperly. Maybe I'm just tired of
the A320 getting a bad rap... It shouldn't...!
When the Bus went into the trees at the airshow, this is an easy
explanation to it... And in reality, the Airbus isn't different at all in theory
to any other airlpane. What happened with this particular accident was purely
pilot error. A320 technology and systems did not contribute to the airplane
turning into a tree eater.
The airshow pass was briefed at some higher altitude that the one that was
actually made below 100 feet. I don't know the exact altitude, but it was
supposed to be higher than 100 feet. Anyway, the pilot made the pass below 100
feet with the landning gear down and the flaps at either 3 or 4. This is the
landing condition for the airplane.
When the pass was coming to an end, the pilot PULLED BACK ON THE STICK TO
GO AROUND. That is *all* he did.
Ok, real airplane pilots... What is wrong with this picture?
That's right... Why didn't he add power? The Airbus test pilot improperly
thought the airplane would go into TOGA lock and go to full thrust. Nope. Alpha
floor activated and the airplane maintained the maximum angle of attack without
stalling. BECAUSE of the the airplane's technology and protections, it hit the
trees and ground at the slowest possible airspeed at the maximum angle of
attack. Because of this, the accident was survivable. The airplane hit the
ground in the best possible condition.
Now, if Super Pilot had simply added MCT or TOGA, the airplane would have
flown away like any other airplane in the world. If this accident had occurred
in a Boeing, McD airplane, it would have stalled and hit the ground uncontrolled
and nobody, likely, would have survived.
As for your "what the hell did it do that for? comment... That's an old
Airbus joke. New Airbus pilots say "What's it doing now?" Seasoned Airbus pilots
say "It's doing it again!" While there might be truth to the comments, it still
comes down to understanding the flight management automation. The A320 series,
and the A330, A340 and upcoming A350 and A380 are no different. The automation
in the current 737, 747, 757, 767 and other current jets is not that different,
either. These jets aren't magic. They are designed by the same structural,
aerodynamic and systems engineers... Simply being conversant in computer
integration in aircraft design doesn't mean you can actually design an
airplane.
And you can always crash any airplane... We've never been told otherwise
with the A320, and the America West accident tally supports this.
Sigh... Rant over... I'm gonna go fly my Lancair tomorrow!
;>)
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