Airbus could be asked to ground all long-range airliners – Times Online
The European Aviation Safety Agency EASA is likely to be asked why it had never taken action to remedy trouble that was well known with the Airbus 330 and 340 series. Nearly 1,000 of the aircraft are flying and until AF447, no passenger had been killed in one.
“EASA has a legal and moral obligation to get to the bottom of this problem now. If there is a defective system and the aircraft is unsafe then it should be grounded,” said James Healy-Pratt of Stewarts Law in London. The firm, which specialises in aviation, is representing the families of 20 of the victims of flight 447.
#29 we aim to please
Definitely doesn’t seem like one should feel comfortable with Airbus going to or flying from France.
This is just going to be a boom for Boeing in the ongoing market share for these large jumbo jets.
Starting to believe that “No Agenda” nonsense. I guess it is not bs anymore.
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Nice responses from pilots.
But surely, a TomTom (TM) powered by simple AA batteries, wouldn’t that kinda help when all else fails?
If I was a commercial airline pilot, I’d carry one in my carry-on (just in case).
#33 We could have used the model’s name…
Am I the only one who remembers the first Airbus crash, during the DEMONSTRATION FLIGHT! As I recall, the computer didn’t know what a touch and go was, and proceeded to land off the end of the runway. The plane and the crew were lost. Apparently the crew was unable to regain control of the aircraft.
I’ve worked with computers since the 70’s and I am pretty comfortable with them. But there are two places I’m not: airplanes and elevators!
C
# 34 I didn’t know you had such a gift for words.
#33..The Airbus philosophy is a very modern idea of how flight should be handled. And Yes Normal Law/Alternate Law/Direct Law are all fine concepts. Espcially in normal flight regime. And The Best part about Flying the A3x0 is no trimming is required by the Pilot to control the aircraft in stable flight….I will endeavour to say, that the GPS input is NOT the Primay consideration to the FMS to calculate Best know Position. It is one of several inputs that are run thru a piece of software that is referred to as a Kolsman Filter and the Best known/calculated position is a summation of these positions. Auto-Tuned DME Known possition ground DME Stations are the Highest priority in the FMS Calculation.Over water and out of range of DME then the INS/GPS are used. Also Rememeber that GPS was NOT used in the A320 FMS until version -208 or higher. And remember, the GPS system can be detuned for accuracy at any time by the US Government. The Honeywell-or Thales Versions of FM2 are the latest FMS renditions to the A320’s currently coming out of germany or (Now China!!) If GPS was so accepted then we woild see more GPS Precsion approaches, at the end of the day the Ground stations are controlled locally and more reliable. I thnk GPS is a wonderful thing, and can ou remember how to navigate without a ND? It seesm those days are long gone, and thankfully, life is easier now than previously relying on Fixed positions and radar. Trangulating Tuned stations etc… A picture is literally worth a 1000 words, but we had those before GPS in the Airplane. As for the B777, the Engine Flameouts have been attributed to Rolls Royce Powered Aircraft only and (approx 30% of all Flying) and an Engineering solution is underway to correct a problem on the Engine. i Too am tired of the Boeing / Airbus debate, its getting Old… I wil ask you however… have you tried to perform a mechanical backup approach in the simulator? Including a turn to final… it can be hair raising!!! 🙂 Happy Flyng!!
The latest (newer) Aircraft do have a GPS Primary active option that can be de-activated… So in this respect It appears you are correct(ish). As seen in FCOM-4 (Navigation)
As taken from another site: see below
Brand new, state of the art systems use VOR and DME inputs, as well as INS, IRS, GPS, and even LORAN to come up with what some manufacturers call “Best Computed Position”. I’m out on a trip, so I don’t have my manuals handy, but I believe the FMS computer uses a “Kollsman” filter to do this. Bottom line is it usually works very well, with accuracy that can be measured in meters.
🙂