Air France 447 in Vanity Fair | FerrariChat

Air France 447 in Vanity Fair

Discussion in 'Aviation Chat' started by showme1946, Sep 19, 2014.

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  1. showme1946

    showme1946 Karting

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    George Rickerson
    #1 showme1946, Sep 19, 2014
    Last edited: Sep 19, 2014
    Last night I read William Langewiesche's article on the incident involving Air France 447, in which the pilots essentially flew a perfectly good airplane into the ocean. I would love to read any thoughts by airline professionals on this forum regarding this event and the current state of airline pilot competence.

    As a passenger and not a pilot, I must say the article gives me pause. It will not keep me from flying, but I am sure, as I board my next flight (especially my next international flight) I will pause to hope that I am lucky enough to have pilots who, if confronted with unexpected situations, will be able to respond effectively.
     
  2. FERRARI-TECH

    FERRARI-TECH Formula 3

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    #2 FERRARI-TECH, Sep 19, 2014


    I think the biggest thing with regards to this is the airline flying, the nationality and the culture of both.

    Lufthansa-BA-Virgin-American-Delta- Qantas-Continental-Singapore and maybe a select few others, I suspect have very few issues in that regards
     
  3. showme1946

    showme1946 Karting

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    #3 showme1946, Sep 19, 2014
    Good point, and this aspect of the issue is discussed in the article, which is, I should have noted, in the October 2014 issue of Vanity Fair.
     
  4. 2000YELLOW360

    2000YELLOW360 F1 World Champ

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    #4 2000YELLOW360, Sep 19, 2014
    One of the issues is the design of their plane. Sully does an interesting analysis of what he believes to be a defect in the airbus design. With joy sticks, that aren't connected you can't see what the pilot flying is doing. Wouldn't have happened with a Boeing.

    The other issue is the costs of training. We are getting very good computer game players here, not pilots. It's going to get worse, because the cost of getting a license, training and building hours restricts those that would become professional pilots. Foreign airlines hire and train. We don't and our pilots are better. Asiana's flight in SFO is a classic example of this.

    That's why I prefer to fly myself.

    Art
     
  5. donv

    donv Two Time F1 World Champ
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    #5 donv, Sep 19, 2014
    We've had discussions about this over the years. My personal opinion is that the Airbus design was at least partially at fault-- I don't think the airplane would have crashed if it had been a Boeing-- but even given that, the crew took what should have been a minor inconvenience and turned it into a major accident.
     
  6. FERRARI-TECH

    FERRARI-TECH Formula 3

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    #6 FERRARI-TECH, Sep 19, 2014

    Agreed, but I also don't think it would have crashed if it had been a BA or Lufthansa flight either.
     
  7. davebdave

    davebdave Formula 3
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    #7 davebdave, Sep 19, 2014
  8. donv

    donv Two Time F1 World Champ
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    #8 donv, Sep 19, 2014
    Perhaps, but I suspect they have their own "bottom 20%" as well. Although, in the end I do think AF does bear some blame.

     
  9. Tcar

    Tcar F1 Rookie

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    #9 Tcar, Sep 20, 2014
    More blame was ascribed to AF than to AB as I recall... in fact most of it.

    But the crew and the plane compounded the error IMO.
     

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