The Final Moments of AF 447
On 09/12/2011, in Safety is no accident, by jeff
A lot has been written about Air France 447 but nothing is more revealing than the sounds and discussion that were recorded on the aircraft’s recording equipment. Those bits and bytes reveal the incredible scene that prevailed in the cockpit during the last minutes of the flight. Here is a synopsis by Jeff Wise (reprinted with his permission) of those last minutes…
At 1h 36m, the flight enters the outer extremities of a tropical storm system. Unlike other planes’ crews flying through the region, AF447′s flight crew has not changed the route to avoid the worst of the storms. The outside temperature is much warmer than forecast, preventing the still fuel-heavy aircraft from flying higher to avoid the effects of the weather. Instead, it ploughs into a layer of clouds.
At 1h51m, the cockpit becomes illuminated by a strange electrical phenomenon. The co-pilot in the right-hand seat, an inexperienced 32-year-old named Pierre-Cédric Bonin, asks, “What’s that?” The captain, Marc Dubois, a veteran with more than 11,000 hours of flight time, tells him it is St. Elmo’s fire, a phenomenon often found with thunderstorms at these latitudes.
At approximately 2 am, the other co-pilot, David Robert, returns to the cockpit after a rest break. At 37, Robert is both older and more experienced than Bonin, with more than double his colleague’s total flight hours. The head pilot gets up and gives him the left-hand seat. Despite the gap in seniority and experience, the captain leaves Bonin in charge of the controls.
At 2:02 am, the captain leaves the flight deck to take a nap. Within 15 minutes, everyone aboard the plane will be dead.
02:03:44 (Bonin) La convergence inter tropicale… voilà, là on est dedans, entre ‘Salpu’ et ‘Tasil.’ Et puis, voilà, on est en plein dedans…
The inter-tropical convergence… look, we’re in it, between ‘Salpu’ and ‘Tasil.’ And then, look, we’re right in it…
The intertropical convergence, or ITC, is an area of consistently severe weather near the equator. As is often the case, it has spawned a string of very large thunderstorms, some of which stretch into the stratosphere. Unlike some of the other planes’s crews flying in the region this evening, the crew of AF447 has not studied the pattern of storms and requested a divergence around the area of most intense activity. (Salpu and Tasil are two air-traffic-position reporting points.)
02:05:55 (Robert) Oui, on va les appeler derrière… pour leur dire quand même parce que…
Yes, let’s call them in the back, to let them know…
Robert pushes the call button.
Click here to read the full article
My Fifth Mistake as an Air Traffic Controller
On 23/11/2011, in ATC world, by jim
Yes, here I am again. You’d think by now I would stop this self-flagellation, but this is not for me. I record these incidents so you may see the mistake and avoid the same or similar in your life. I noted in my last missile that pride was a key ingredient in most of my mistakes. So it was and is.
Altimetry, a simple system; Know the pressure of the atmosphere and you can accurately judge distance above the surface. But we humans have made it a bit more difficult than stated. We have different methods of measurement. Some measure in inches others measure in centimeters. Compounding this is the insistence of some to measure height above sea level and others above the ground level. In the parlance of the time QNH and QFE.
Because of these anomalies the controller at Rhein-Main in 1957 had to have available the QNH and QFE in both Inches of mercury and Millibars of mercury. This means four numbers. The field elevation at Frankfurt International Airport was 272 feet Mean Sea Level. Therefore a QNH reading of 29.92 inches becomes a QFE of 272 feet less, or 29.65 and the concomitant millibar numbers, 1012.3 and —–.
Each hour when the weather observer recorded the observation on a Dimiphone recording, the QNH and QFE would be given in both inches and millibars. Those numbers would then be written on a backlit Plexiglas placard and posted so everyone in the control room could see the placard.
For those who are interested, the QNH and QFE three letter groups are from the days of Morse code transmission of information. They are from the list of “Q” signals. QDM is the magnetic course to a station, QSY is, “Change your radio frequency to xxxx“. There is a long list of these abbreviations. Many were still used as shorthand phraseology in radiotelephony in the 50′s and 60′s, especially in the international aviation system.
With all that as preface, this is the incident as it happened:
Click here to read the full article
Viewfinder view 2 – Would you accept your car with wiring like this?
On 11/11/2011, in Viewfinder view, by steve
If you have a camera handy, it is always a good idea to look around you in the cabin. Plenty of stuff to record! Like this under-seat wiring on an Air France Airbus 330 en-route to Washington D.C. OK, all this is low current stuff so unlikely to start a fire but still… would you accept your car with wiring like this?
It is not easy to work with the airlines – Why the SJU should be careful
On 07/09/2011, in SESAR's Palace, by steve
Having airspace users on board in SESAR is an important development by anyone’s measure. Thinking that having individual airlines involved is the same as having the industry involved is a grave mistake that can cost dearly to all concerned.
The signs of trouble are already there. What do you think about there being a hard-won agreement from the airspace users at one or two pretty high level meetings and then the same users withdrawing their agreement just a few weeks later? The result is frustration on the part of the other partners (ANSPs in this case), confusion about where things were going and, worst of all, loss of credibility of the airlines.
It would be easy to wave this away by just saying that the airline people in the meeting were not up to speed with the subjects being discussed and so they agreed to something they did not fully understand. This would be a rather unfortunate situation and no excuse at all but the actual reality is even worse.
The problem is not new and it is called the industry voice, or rather, the lack of it.
Until about a decade ago, IATA had been recognized by its members as the industry voice on all technical aspects of air traffic management. One of the most important, and difficult, tasks of IATA’s experts had been to forge this common voice, bringing together the widely differing interests and business models of the member airlines so that to the outside world only consolidated, well defined requirements were communicated. This was vital because otherwise the ATM and avionics industries would have been totally confused and at a loss as to what they should develop to meet the airlines’ diverse requirements.
Click here to read the full article
AF447 – French investigators say it was pilot error
On 29/07/2011, in Safety is no accident, by steve
French accident investigators have concluded that the crash of AF447 was due to pilot error. Investigator Alain Bouillard said: “The pilots were in a situation they didn’t understand!”
Download the latest summary report here.
Get the 3rd Interim Report here.
Air France and Hungarian water-melons
On 13/07/2011, in Viewpoint, by steve
While Hungarians are being urged by their Minister of Agriculture to buy a few extra pieces of water-melons, thereby helping local growers, French politicians under the leadership of right-wing MP Bernard Carayon are proclaiming: “Air France is Airbus, not Boeing”. Excuse me?
Of course this incredible folly is a direct retaliation for the US Air Force’s decision to source their tanker aircraft from Boeing and not Airbus. At stake now is Air France-KLM’s fleet renewal involving the purchase or leasing of scores of long and medium range aircraft, a multi-billion euro investment decision.
I very much doubt that either Air France-KLM or Airbus is pleased by this ham-handed and totally uncalled-for political interference which, like all such interferences whether they concern water-melons or aircraft, ultimately will only hurt those it was supposed to help.
One can only hope that the French initiative will stop at being grand-standing and will not in any way influence the airline group’s purchasing decisions. Should this not be the case, the French MPs will have given an extra trump card into the hands of those who had opposed sourcing such a strategic asset as the US Air Force tanker fleet from a company under the thumb of a country known to have its own peculiar way of doing things.
In a post back in February this year, we commented: “I tend to agree with those who have said right from the start that a strategic asset like the tankers for the US Air Force should not come from anywhere else but the US. While from a commercial or even operational point of view an Airbus product may have its merits, having such a strategic asset being dependent on a foreign government (however friendly… ) is not a good idea.”
If (and I stress this is still a big if) Air France-KLM is “encouraged” by the French to buy Airbus rather than Boeing it would be easy to picture what might have happened if the US Air Force equipped with Airbus tankers and then found itself in a conflict somewhere in the world not to the taste of some French parliamentarians…
The French MPs should take the example of the Hungarians and if they feelt this urge to meddle, stay with water-melons.
The final minutes of Air France Flight 447
On 28/05/2011, in Safety is no accident, by steve
There are few things in aviation more nightmarish than an unsolved, major accident. When, on the night of 1 June 2009, an Air France Airbus A330-203 plunged into the Atlantic Ocean on its flight from Rio to Paris it was easy to feel that such a nightmare was about to unfold.
The plane went off the air with only a few cryptic ACARS messages being transmitted but not a word from the pilots. Although part of the wreckage was located relatively soon after the accident, there was no sign of the flight data recorder or the cockpit voice recorder.
The search for those vital sources of information was re-launched earlier this year and with success! Both recorders were found and both yielded their secrets to investigators in spite of having been submerged at a depth of around 3000 meters for such a long time.
Although full analysis of the data will take more time, on 27 May the French Accident Investigation Bureau (BEA) published an update to its earlier preliminary reports, based on the data recovered from the recorders.
The update describes in a factual manner the chain of events that led to the accident while also presenting newly established facts.
This is a thought provoking story of the last minutes in life of a very advanced aircraft and its masters who seem to have lost touch with each other…
Download the latest report here.
Earlier BEA reports are available on EUROCONTROL’s SKYbrary here and here.
At least the Red-Arrows survived…
On 14/07/2010, in Flashback, by steve
Concorde, QE2 and the Red Arrows in happier days...
I am pretty certain that few in the travel industry would have believed when this photo was made in April 1985 that the Queen Elisabeth 2 would actually stay in operation longer than Concorde would… Yet that is exactly what had happened.
Concorde’s future was sealed when F-BTSC crashed in Paris on 25 July 2000. Air France and British Airways tried to keep the magnificent bird alive after they re-launched service following modifications to the fuel tanks but the operation simply did not make economic sense any more. The last commercial BA flight on 24 October 2003 marked the end of 27 years of supersonic travel…
QE2 continued to plow the world’s oceans, retiring from Cunard service on 27 November 2008. She was destined to become a floating hotel, moored at Palm Jumeirah, Dubai.
The fate of Concorde, the fastest child of the species that killed the kin of QE2, was a bit like a child dying before the parent. A tragedy that hurts… as did Concorde’s disappearance from the skies.
Luckily, the Red Arrows survived and they continue to claim our place above the clouds.
Flying AIRE – the pilot’s view
On 30/04/2010, in Environment - Without hot air, by eric
AIRE (Atlantic Interoperability Initiative to Reduce Emissions) is a joint initiative between the European Commission and the FAA. It is the green component of the SESAR programme. In 2009, 1,152 flight trials in operational conditions were carried out on the European side.
Claude Godel was the Pilot in Command of the first complete green transatlantic flight, operated by Air France on 6 April from Paris-Charles de Gaulle to Miami.
Captain Godel and part of his crew on the green transatlantic flight
In a first reaction after this green flight, Captain Godel describes it from a pilot’s perspective, “The AIRE flight is the almost perfect flight for a pilot. On a normal flight you never know how you will be incorporated in the traffic but you are sure that you will fly level at non optimal altitudes, have to beg ATC for better speed, better lateral track. In one word, you spend your time in negotiating or accepting non optimal compromises. The AIRE flight needs more pre-flight preparation but, once off-block, the pilot can expect to fly the best track from end to end, at the best speed and the best altitude. Isn’t that the pilot’s dream?”
He further describes the principle of green flights as a virtuous circle as an optimised flight path leads to shorter flight time, less fuel burn and CO2 emissions which in return reduces costs and leaves fewer place for contingencies. The pilot can thus satisfy the aspirations of modern passengers and himself finds new pleasure and satisfaction in his job.
During the approximately nine hours flight, enhanced green procedures were used to improve the aircraft’s energy efficiency. These procedures, applied at each flight stage and coordinated among all project participants, reduce fuel consumption (and hence carbon dioxide emissions) throughout the flight, from taxiing at Paris-Charles de Gaulle to arrival on the parking stand in Miami. Air France estimates that applying these optimisations to all Air France long-haul flights to and from North America, would result in a cut of CO2 emissions by 135,000 metric tons per year, with fuel savings of 43,000 metric tons.
For more information on AIRE, click here.
This article is reprinted with the kind permission of the author, Eric Platteau, Senior Communication & Public Affairs Specialist at the SESAR Joint Undertaking.
Interesting people, unusual flight plans…
On 26/03/2010, in Interesting people, by steve
Christophe Hamel – Always listen to the inner voice!
After many years in aviation, Christophe is also an entrepreneur in the wellness and lighting industries.
What were you dreaming of becoming when you were a kid?
I was thinking of becoming a pilot and at age 15 or so, of being the owner of a night club or a recording studio: I am passionate about sound and music. But my real passion has always been designing things, you know, creating something new, whether, a lamp design, new sound equipment, new way of managing major programs, new strategies in the CNS/ATM area, new technologies, making something new that was never seen before.
What moved you to become part of the aviation family?
My dad was a geologist and he had to travel far and wide, as people of his profession do. On one occasion, the plane he was on had to make an emergency landing in the Sahara and they waited 3 days to be rescued. From then on he was really terrified of flying but his interest in the development of aviation and in particular the creation of l’Aeropostale remained. He read everything he could find about Saint-Exupery, Mermoz, Gullaumet and of course he told us all about those great aviators and this left a deep impression in me. This connection to l’Aeropostale stayed with me also a little… I delivered their first 737-300 cargo aircraft!
When I got my electronic and computer engineering degree I went to work in industry but soon after specialized in aeronautical engineering sealing my fate… I finally got an FAA private pilot license in 2005.
What were the most significant sideways jumps in your professional life?
Click here to read the full article
Beyond the runway end safety area
On 18/02/2010, in SKYbrary News, by steve
News from EUROCONTROL’s aviation safety knowledge base SKYbrary
The consequences of many runway excursions, especially overruns, are made much more serious because the aircraft end up beyond the actual or nominal confines of the ICAO-defined Runway End Safety Area (RESA) and is catastrophically damaged because of major obstructions or terrain changes encountered soon after this protected area has been exceeded. Suddenly down-sloping terrain and low but substantial ground obstructions, which are of no concern to aircraft in flight, may take on considerable significance in determining the damage to an aircraft following a major overrun. The example of the Air France Airbus 340-300 which ended up in a ravine at Toronto in 2005 illustrates this well.
Read more about this subject in the SKYbrary here.
Read about Engineered Materials Arresting Systems (EMAS) here.
When reality meets your dreams
On 08/02/2010, in Flashback, by steve
Admit it, you too have had dreams of one day coming face to face with a famous actress, or one not so famous but with attributes that made you feel weak inside just thinking about them. Think Pamela Anderson in her early Bay Watch episodes… I most certainly had such dreams but I must also confess that I had dreams also about a different kind of beauty, dating back to the days when the sight of bouncing tits was more cause for giggle than excitement.
I was may be ten when a friend of mine surprised me with a book he found in his grandparents’ attic, entitled “Duel in the sky”. It was a wonderful collection of short stories about aviators in WWI plus a few descriptions of more recent events, among them the story of the historic flight of an Air France Lockheed Super Constellation which was carrying back to Europe the signed copies of the peace treaties terminating WWII. That Super Connie almost ended up in the Atlantic Ocean, treaties and all, due to multiple engine problems… The radio operator on the flight was an ex-pat Hungarian and most of the story was recounted as he saw it from behind his crackling boxes. In the end, they landed safely in Dakar… I do not know how many times I read that story but it must have been hundreds. On each re-read, the Connie crept closer and closer to my heart. We were from different times, never to meet or touch, but she was there all the time.
Then the years passed and, with burning face I have to admit, for a time girls occupied my attention more than airplanes did… Not that much more and only for a time, but still…
Eventually I also learned to accept that those dreams about running into Pamela Anderson on the airport commuter bus were just that, dreams. You do not run into the icons of your dreams in real life. And then it happened…
Click here to read the full article
Is the industry ready for this?
On 19/01/2010, in Environment - Without hot air, by steve
The northern hemisphere has just gone through its snowiest January days in 40 years and polar temperatures reached as far South as Orlando in Florida. Sure, this is not abnormal some may say… but what if we do not have to wait forty years for the next episode?
An Air France flight en-route from Brazil to France encountered so severe turbulence that they issued a Mayday call but subsequently they completed the flight without incident. As we all know, AF447 was less fortunate.
Over the past 18 month or so, there were several incidents where unexpected severe turbulence caused passenger injuries…
And now the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) says, as reported in Aviation Week, that “climate change could be contributing to more extreme weather conditions at high altitudes that have not previously been encountered by aircraft”.
Make no mistake, although the current investigation of the crash of AF447 talks a lot about the problems with pitot tubes prone to freezing, there is a much more sinister implication here. Pilots are trained to handle situations where pitot tube data is lost or is unreliable… You cannot however train pilots to fly an aircraft with a wing or stabilizer gone. This is the point… who says extreme weather can only come in the form of extreme cold and not also as extreme turbulence?
Click here to read the full article
Air France 447 – Second Interim Report published. Cause still unknown.
On 18/12/2009, in SKYbrary News, by steve
News from EUROCONTROL’s aviation safety knowledge base SKYbrary
The loss of AF447 over the Atlantic Ocean on 1 June 2009 is proving to be every bit the nightmare of accident investigators and safety experts alike. The French accident investigation bureau BEA has now published their second Interim Report which includes new findings and makes a number of safety recommendations but the cause of the accident remains undetermined.
Further investigation will be needed to figure out what exactly has happened on that fateful night. Accidents with their cause undetermined hang like a Damocles’ sword over the industry… We can try to initiate mitigating actions in a general sense but only focused action has a guarantee of hitting its target. It is exactly this target that is missing in cases with the cause undetermined and hence there is not much to focus on.
Luckily, not many accidents remain unsolved even if in some cases a repeat of the problem cannot be avoided before the cause is found. A famous case concerned the Boeing 737, two of which were lost to the same cause before the third one managed to land safely and the culprit (a part worth a few bucks but prone to freezing) was found.
Let’s hope AF447 will reveal its secrets soon…
You can read the AF447 Second Interim Report here.
In memoriam Northwest Airlines
On 25/10/2009, in Airline corner, by steve
A330s of NWA
A few years back my business required a lot of travel to and all over the United States. I was a Northwest WorldPerks member and it was of course only natural that I flew via Amsterdam and than on the NWA system in the US.
Northwest was the fourth largest airline in America and for some reason they did not enjoy a stellar reputation… They flew old planes and customer service was supposed to be below par. Some people called them NorthWorst. May be I was lucky but in all the hundreds of thousands of miles I flew with them, I never had a single reason to complain.
Click here to read the full article
Standing all together… separately?
On 16/09/2009, in SESAR's Palace, by steve
Reading the upbeat communication from the SESAR Joint Undertaking (SJU) announcing the arrival of the airspace users on board the project, it may be worthwhile to take a look at the composition of the new arrivals and start worrying… just a tad mind you but still. There are individual airlines, both big and small and associations ranging from giant IATA to IAOPA (much smaller but with significant influence) and a consortium coordinated by EBAA. Diversity is nice but who exactly will be the conductor of this orchestra?
In the past one of the strengths of the airspace users was in their ability to speak with a common voice. This common voice in Europe came from IATA (mainly on technical matters) and from AEA (on the political level). Achieving the common voice was not easy and sometimes downright impossible but at least while there was disagreement, no cacophony of diverse tunes was allowed to fill the auditorium.
Click here to read the full article
Is the training of air traffic controllers better?
On 20/08/2009, in Viewpoint, by steve
One of the surprising and possibly unexpected early recommendations coming out of the investigation of the recent Air France Airbus 330 crash is that training in certain basic piloting skills and the handling of unusual situations must be strengthened and improved. Excuse me? Have we already reached the stage where the pilots of a sophisticated aircraft like the 330 are left wondering what to do when the screens go blank or numbers no longer add up?
One accident, however tragic, is probably not enough to draw far reaching conclusions on this thorny issue. But it does pose a question in a different context: is the training of air traffic controllers any better and is it keeping up with developments in the cockpit?
Click here to read the full article
