Air France Crew Warned - Should I Worry?
Jun 10, 2009 | 3:04 am
#1
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Air France Crew Warned - Should I Worry?
The union for Air France crews has warned them to to fly the Airbus 330 because of safety reasons. I'm due to fly this aircraft later in the summer and it brings terror to my soul. I'm sure it's a silly thing to worry about... or is it?
zuriga
zuriga
Jun 10, 2009 | 3:13 am
#2
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The union exists for no other purpose than to protect its members. Call me cynical, but I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if this is being seized upon as a bargaining chip to influence heretofore-unseen negotiations of some sort or another.
The government regulatory bodies, however, exist to protect your life and believe me, if these planes were in any way dangerous, there is no way they would ever be allowed to take to the sky. Don't forget - there are several dozen A330s in the air at this very minute and none of them are having problems.
The government regulatory bodies, however, exist to protect your life and believe me, if these planes were in any way dangerous, there is no way they would ever be allowed to take to the sky. Don't forget - there are several dozen A330s in the air at this very minute and none of them are having problems.
Jun 10, 2009 | 3:46 am
#3
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The A330 has an outstanding safety track record. As of March 2009, 600 A330s have been built (Wikipedia), as of now only 5 hulls have been lost (Aviation Safety). 2 hulls have been lost due to terrorism, 1 due to wrong declaration of dangerous cargo and 1 due to pilot error.
I would fly the A330 any time and with (almost) any airline. There is hardly any airplane around with a higher safety record.
More of concern is the usage of the airline. Which airline are you flying?
I would fly the A330 any time and with (almost) any airline. There is hardly any airplane around with a higher safety record.
More of concern is the usage of the airline. Which airline are you flying?
Jun 10, 2009 | 7:39 am
#6
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as of now only 5 hulls have been lost (Aviation Safety). 2 hulls have been lost due to terrorism, 1 due to wrong declaration of dangerous cargo and 1 due to pilot error.
Jun 10, 2009 | 8:00 am
#7
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with a little 
Jun 10, 2009 | 8:25 am
#8
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There's some folks questioning the use of carbon composites used in control surfaces and susceptibility to damage caused by lightning strikes. This isn't an issue on older, all metal construction. Right now this is just a bunch of folks talking since the flight recorders haven't been recovered.
Jun 10, 2009 | 8:55 am
#9
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Mike
Jun 10, 2009 | 11:46 am
#11
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Who is saying that? The FAA, NTSB, trade journals such as Aviation Week?
There's some folks questioning the use of carbon composites used in control surfaces and susceptibility to damage caused by lightning strikes. This isn't an issue on older, all metal construction. Right now this is just a bunch of folks talking since the flight recorders haven't been recovered.
Jun 10, 2009 | 11:50 am
#12
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This was a good starting place.
Last edited by AngryMiller; Jun 10, 2009 at 11:55 am Reason: Added more information.
Jun 10, 2009 | 12:47 pm
#13
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Theres no shortage of armchair aerospace engineers posting away on teh interwebz, but the news media have also been guilty of sensationalizing the facts. There are self-appointed experts trotted in by the talking heads that have no idea what theyre talking about. Mary Schiavo is a perfect example; the only thing she should be allowed to say in a microphone is Thank you, that will be $5.39, please pull around to the first window.
As an aside, it appears that from forensic meteorological data lightning may not have been a strong factor.
Theres no shortage of armchair aerospace engineers posting away on teh interwebz, but the news media have also been guilty of sensationalizing the facts. There are self-appointed experts trotted in by the talking heads that have no idea what theyre talking about. Mary Schiavo is a perfect example; the only thing she should be allowed to say in a microphone is Thank you, that will be $5.39, please pull around to the first window.
As an aside, it appears that from forensic meteorological data lightning may not have been a strong factor.
Jun 10, 2009 | 12:57 pm
#14
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Wirelessly posted (Motorola DynaTAC 8000X / NCSA Mosaic v 1.0)
Theres no shortage of armchair aerospace engineers posting away on teh interwebz, but the news media have also been guilty of sensationalizing the facts. There are self-appointed experts trotted in by the talking heads that have no idea what theyre talking about. Mary Schiavo is a perfect example; the only thing she should be allowed to say in a microphone is Thank you, that will be $5.39, please pull around to the first window.
As an aside, it appears that from forensic meteorological data lightning may not have been a strong factor.
Theres no shortage of armchair aerospace engineers posting away on teh interwebz, but the news media have also been guilty of sensationalizing the facts. There are self-appointed experts trotted in by the talking heads that have no idea what theyre talking about. Mary Schiavo is a perfect example; the only thing she should be allowed to say in a microphone is Thank you, that will be $5.39, please pull around to the first window.
As an aside, it appears that from forensic meteorological data lightning may not have been a strong factor.
Right now it is all conjecture. Even if we do the the flight recorders, it will take some time to figure out what went wrong on that flight.