in Follow-Up, Meddling

‘Pilots could have saved’ Air France plane

A new report on the Air France 447 crash confirms that the pilots did not take proper action to recover from a stall, pointing the nose up when instead they should’ve pointed it down. Even beginner pilots know how to recover from stalls.

Again, there’s still no clear idea why the pilots didn’t follow this simple procedure.

The pilots of an Air France plane that crashed into the Atlantic in 2009 ignored repeated stall warnings and failed to follow textbook procedures, French investigators have found.

The updated account confirmed an earlier finding which said the crew responded to stall warnings by pointing the nose up instead of down.

“It seems obvious the crew didn’t recognise the situation they were in, for whatever reason, and more training could have helped,” said Paul Hayes, safety director at UK consultancy Ascend Aviation.

An aerodynamic stall — not to be confused with stalled engines — is a dangerous condition that occurs when wings are unable to support the aircraft. The textbook way of responding is to point the nose downwards to capture air at a better angle.

via ‘Pilots could have saved’ Air France plane – Europe – Al Jazeera English.