airbus = scarebus?
 

Maybe I've read one too many articles of the airbus tails snapping off, but do any of you feel more secure in a particular make of airplane, be it boeing or airbus, tupolev, ilyushin, embrarer, etc.?

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8830/4.2.2 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)

I have no idea how much you have read but I'd say that your conclusions (or at least the thread title) are rather :rolleyes: there are thousands upon thousands of flights every day and the overwhelming majority operate just fine. Freak accidents will happen but the odds are such that worrying about it is silly.

Scarebus, Ridiculous. I love flying on the 330/340/380, and would tomorrow. Heck I even love flying the Boeing planes too.

Although, your are more likely to be in a crash than winning a major lottery. Says something about buying lottery tickets.

Use to really think of A340 as a great plane but both times I flew in one the cabin plastic and overhead baggage shook so bad that I dont think I ever want to do that again. Last time it was iberia in march, jfk - mad, lots of burn out lights, overhead baggage loose, lots of turbulance. not fun

Well I've flown on aircraft built by all the manufacturers listed by the OP (and more besides) and can't say I felt any more or less secure on any of them IME. Isn't this more of a kiddiestalkingaboutairliners.net thread? ;)

It's going to be partisan so best not to argue about. However, what attracted my attention is this report:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle6523467.ece

I've never been a fan of flight protection envelop and excessive automation.

I prefer Boeings, like how some people prefer Armani or Prada. But, what really matters is how well the aircraft is maintained and the competency of the crew.

Accidents do happen and are bound to happen, which could be beyond the control of the crew or the maintenance crew. But you're at higher risk from dying in a car wreck than in a plane crash. Car wrecks occur all the time; however, the number of victims per incident is very low. But, in a plane crash, although it doesn't happen that often, the absolute number of victims (100+) seem to catch people's attention.

I've been on domestic Syrian flights on Yakolev-40's. I am not afraid of Airbusses.

I've been on the airport bus in CMB. Now that was a Scarebus!

That just sounds like Iberia isn't keeping the cabins in good condition. That shouldn't be taken as a reflection on the aircraft.

I'd be more concerned about accidentally rear-ending a Ford Pinto while driving. The odds of that are probably much higher than ever having anything happening on any commercial aircraft.

I'll raise you ;) with this PDF report on a 737 problem, where for no reason that can be discovered, autothrust just shuts itself off, uncommanded. Oh yeah, and the warning system that tells pilots it's just happened may be inadequate!

http://www.aaib.gov.uk/sites/aaib/pu...009_g_thof.cfm

But that just goes to show the level of monitoring which goes on worldwide on all aircraft to ensure what are rare events (given the number of hours the type has flown, versus the number of incidents), are fully investigated and corrective re-design put in if required. Because I bet very few of you were even aware of this incident (Small regional airport, charter airline, no casualties, probably didn't even make the press), but it's been the subject of a full investigation by AAIB. And that to me is why no one aircraft type is safer than another - because they are all closely monitored and investigated as soon as a possible problem may be detected.

I'm a scaredy-cat flyer in any aircraft. Boeing, Airbus, Focker or hot air balloon makes no difference to me. Each one has the capacity to fall to earth but I don't think it is healthy to create hysteria until all the facts are known. When you think about it, no airline designer, airline company or parts manufacturer wants catastrophic events attached to their name so I trust that when an accident happens, the parties involved will move heaven and earth to find out why and rectify the situation. I believe the catalyst for any accident is never one factor but a series of things. If pilots fly Airbuses then it's good enough for me because they are the best judge.

Diva
http://1stclassdiva.wordpress.com/

I've never felt scared of any particular aircraft. Although, I'd rather fly on a 737 or 319 over a Dash-8 any day of the week.

There are puppies living in the belly hold
 

I swear the first time when I flew on an Airbus 320 I could swear there were puppies that lived permanently in the belly hold. They started to bark as soon as we pushed back on the runway as if they were scared.

So if its scary for people then it must be scary for those poor dogs holding residence down there.

This is what I mean http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grd5eJjJcL4

accident rates per aircraft type - from Boeing
 

If you care to see a breakdown of major aircraft loss (data from 1954 - 2007), straight from Boeing - including many manufacturers....See chart on page 19 of the following PDF file.
http://www.boeing.com/news/techissues/pdf/statsum.pdf

Rates are high(above average) for the older Boeing Planes (737 (100,200), 747-pre 747-400), the Airbus 300/310, DC10/MD11

You've got to be kidding, aren't you?

I watched the video. That is the sound of the Hydraulic Power Transfer Unit on testing during engine startup or push back on all A320 aircraft. The sounds happen again when the plane prepares for arrival or when engines shutdown at arrival.

Airbus a/c are a bit scary to the extent that their operation is very complex relative to Boeing equipment.

How so?, is it because Airbus relies on fly-by wire technology similar to jet fighters and Boeing is "old-school" yoke controls, etc?

Newer Boeing aircraft will be fly-by-wire as well. The 777 is FBW, it just has a conventional yoke instead of sidestick. The 777 also has various flight envelope protections built in.

Boeing / Airbus both build their planes to such high standards that one is not significantly safer than the other. If a Boeing had crashed two weeks ago people would be wondering if Boeings were safe.

Also note that this is the first ever A330 commercial flight with fatalities. (There was one crash during testing too.) Other than these two crashes, there have been no other hull losses due to operation of the aircraft. (Two were destroyed by Tamils in Sri Lanka, and one was damaged beyond repair by an illegal acid shipment.) That's not exactly a bad record.

I think there are three basic factors about how safe a plane trip is.

1) Type of plane
2) Maintenance
3) Training of crew

In case of 1) all major aircraft manufactures build excellent and safe planes. A Boeing, Airbus, Embraer etc. is state of the art and thoroughly designed and tested.

Factor 2) and 3) are way more important. There is a reason why Europe has a black list of airlines which are not allowed to fly to Europe because of low maintenance standards and questionable crew training standards.