Response to Airbus Pitot Tube Incidents Under Scrutiny

Aug 9, 2009

By Jens Flottau, AviationWeek.com

Is Europe's aviation safety system proactive enough to head off safety concerns? That has become a question in the wake of how regulators and other stakeholders have dealt with problems linked to Thales pitot tubes on Airbus aircraft.

Late last month, Airbus advised operators using Thales pitot probes on their A330/A340s to replace all but one of three on an aircraft and to switch to Goodrich devices, the only other supplier at the time. European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) regulators echoed the finding, with a July 31 notice that it intends to issue an airworthiness directive mandating replacement of the probes.

But the action comes only after at least two years in which repeated problems with the Thales devices had been reported. EASA officials were aware of those at least since 2007, having internally expressed concern about "a significant number of in-service events." Those events were described as "at least hazardous" in an EASA presentation in late 2007. According to its own definition, "a large reduction in safety margins or functional capabilities" of the aircraft is typical of hazardous events along with "physical distress" and a high workload for pilots who "cannot be relied upon to perform their tasks accurately and completely."