Originally Posted by
cornfedcowboy
I know an A330 pilot and asked him the same question as I was traveling on the A330 this past week. He said if it was a concern that no pilots would fly the plane. Remember, most pilots have families and none of them wear parachutes. If the pilot is willing to fly the plane, you shouldn't hve to worry about its safety.
I posted this issue over at TS/S so maybe the threads can be merged there since this is more than just a NW issue - but your pilot friend is putting on a brave face. There is a serious issue with these Thales systems, and with Airbus' approach to over-automating and over-computerizing aircraft systems in general.
As information about the wider impact of these problems gets out, rest assured there is debate among the pilots as to whether or not their aircraft systems are reliable and what operational measures they are adding for verification as well as emergency procedures to handle the loss of reliable airspeed information.
The risk is definitely there - but whether it's enough to warrant a flight change is really up to each person at this point.
The impact to Airbus is, however, quite negative and will potentially affect their order book.