Airbus A320 crash in France this morning

[super-bee_ski]

Yup
Again, cheap labor, inexperienced labor, less stringent inspections all to lower costs and eliminate America's airline industry

 

[Moparsmitty]

Makes you wonder how many disasters it would take before the cost of insuring these jets becomes too expensive for the airlines that are flying them. I doubt that the major industry insurers are going to come right out and refuse to cover Airbus planes, but you can bet that they are closely scrutinizing the losses that they have had to cover lately. Here's an interesting article about the airline insurance industry. http://www.ibtimes.com/airline-insurers-face-mounting-losses-following-spate-crashes-1640440

 

[super-bee_ski]

Good article Moparsmitty!

 

[Photon440]

Makes you wonder how many disasters it would take before the cost of insuring these jets becomes too expensive for the airlines that are flying them. I doubt that the major industry insurers are going to come right out and refuse to cover Airbus planes, but you can bet that they are closely scrutinizing the losses that they have had to cover lately. Here's an interesting article about the airline insurance industry. http://www.ibtimes.com/airline-insurers-face-mounting-losses-following-spate-crashes-1640440

I hadn't realized that the costs had climbed so high already.

But the four incidents mentioned in the second paragraph (MH370, MH17, TPE:6702 and Ah5017) involved Boeing, McDonnell Douglas and ATR airframes, not Airbus.

 

[Bruzilla]

I've got close to 2,500 flight hours on propeller-driven aircraft that were as old as I was when I flew on them, had analog and cable controls, and were maintained by 18-year olds. Airbus's and their fly-by-wire systems don't worry me much.

What concerns me in this case is the name of the pilot. I descent like that with no distress call? I'm thinking the fly boy's name is something Arabic.

 

[HT413]

Looks like lots of people won't be down for breakfast.

 

[Moparsmitty]

One thing that I know for sure, there's no substitute for good piloting. Ask anybody that was flying with "Sully" Sullenberger.

 

[Bruzilla]

Just heard on Greta's show that the NYT is reporting one of the pilots left the cockpit and was unable to get back in. On the voice recorder he is heard knocking softly on the door to let the other pilot know he's there and open the door, and when he gets no response he starts banging more loudly until he is pounding on the door right before impact.

If this is true, it sounds like another Muhammed was at the controls.

 

[HT413]

Interesting how we don't know the names of the pilot and co-pilot yet. Could be the door locked behind him and the one left to the controls had his hands full trying to prevent a crash, or maybe had a heart attack.

 

[patrick66]

Boeing 737 = 158 major accidents (hull-loss)
Airbus A320 = 23 major accidents (hull-loss) [including all variants; A318, 319, 320, 321]

The initial 737-100 made its first flight in April 1967, so your number is for a nearly 50-year period, making three and change per year average lost. It has been in service over 20 years longer than the A320. Total production is 8,385 as of January 2015. All variants [-300, -400, -500, and NextGen -600, -700, -800, and -900ER models]

The first member of the A320 family was launched in March 1984, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was first delivered in March 1988. Total production so far is 6,452 as of 28 February 2015.

As a percentage of airframes built, the 737 has lost 0.019% of aircraft. The A320 has lost 0.004% of the total aircraft built True, but when you consider the fact that the 737 has been in production for 20 years longer than the A320 series, the safety of both aircraft is pretty similar.

With that said, I'd fly in a Boeing jet ANY DAY over an Airbus.

 

[Bruzilla]

Interesting how we don't know the names of the pilot and co-pilot yet. Could be the door locked behind him and the one left to the controls had his hands full trying to prevent a crash, or maybe had a heart attack.

Not likely. Airbus birds, like most commercial planes these days, follow a preloaded flight plan from takeoff to landing. The pilots are only there for emergencies or last-second deviations for the most part. This plane apparently made a controlled descent off of the flight path. A disabled pilot wouldn't have been able to do that. The plane would have followed on it's flight path even if the pilot was sitting dead in the seat, and no pilot is going to descend to an altitude that low while in mountainous terrain.

 

[monaco66coupe]

If that Pilot was determined to be ISIS, there will be hell to pay. But who in charge has the guts to collect?

 

[verdelaw]

Boeing 737 = 158 major accidents (hull-loss)
Airbus A320 = 23 major accidents (hull-loss) [including all variants; a318, 319, 320, 321]

Interesting numbers... when you don't consider that the Boeing 737 is (arguably) the most popular and extensively used airliner worldwide ever made. While 73.2% of all statistics are made up on the spot.... let's see some numbers of aircraft in use worldwide to put your accident numbers in perspective.

Boeing seems to make their jets for the pilots while Airbus seems to make their jets for the pencil-pushers who buy them. At least the older jets IMO

 

[Photon440]

The initial 737-100 made its first flight in April 1967, so your number is for a nearly 50-year period, making three and change per year average lost. It has been in service over 20 years longer than the A320. Total production is 8,385 as of January 2015. All variants [-300, -400, -500, and NextGen -600, -700, -800, and -900ER models]

The first member of the A320 family was launched in March 1984, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was first delivered in March 1988. Total production so far is 6,452 as of 28 February 2015.

As a percentage of airframes built, the 737 has lost 0.019% of aircraft. The A320 has lost 0.004% of the total aircraft built True, but when you consider the fact that the 737 has been in production for 20 years longer than the A320 series, the safety of both aircraft is pretty similar.

With that said, I'd fly in a Boeing jet ANY DAY over an Airbus.

The numbers are true. However, Boeing only delivered about 1500 for the first twenty years. Most of them ( 6,359 ) have been since 1988, same as the competition.

 

[snakeoil24]

A friend of mine who is a retired Eastern Airlines, TWA and South West Pilot would say! "If it ain't Boeing I ain't going". Look back at the strange crashes involving this plane electrical storms, Static electricity from flying over 30,000 feet. These new planes depend too heavily on technology. All use fly by wire, basically a joy stick that talks to a computer. The days of hydraulics and cable back up are over even at Boeing. The redundancy in Airbus is more technology, this is crazy. Who says technology is the answer? In reality two different systems based on different engineering make more sense. Mechanical and Servo Electric Motors should be used.

 

[fwi]

It was 18 minutes from the time the aircraft began its unauthorized descent to impact into the side of a mountain.
I just read the french news and they do not want to say the crew's names, only that one of the black boxes indicated there were "voices" and "sounds" from the C.V.R.
The french media is just like the one we have here.........they will do everything possible to cover up any criminal acts committed by the any mohamed types.....
I say this was an intentional act.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Now they're reporting that the pilot was locked out of the cabin. Could the T word be far behind?



http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/26/world/europe/germanwings-airbus-crash.html?_r=0

 

[1962polara]

Heard nothing about the 1st officer at all? Actually they haven't released any of the flight crews names....very strange

Over here they are speculating might be a suicide by a pilot?? How do you plan on that? (Money,relationship,stress ect..)hope not....

 

[Mr Gorsky]

I've worked on these aircraft since the '80's.

If the NYT article is to be believed, there is a zero percent chance that this is anything but a deliberate act by a pilot. It's not an unfortunately timed heart attack or stroke, it's not mechanical failure or decompression...it's a flight crew suicide with multiple counts of murder.

The locked out pilot can get back into the cockpit if the door is locked and the pilot flying is unconscious. There is a timer that will unlock the door UNLESS ITS OVERRIDDEN BY THE PILOT IN COMMAND.

 

[kiwigtx]

Now they're reporting that the pilot was locked out of the cabin. Could the T word be far behind?

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Taco, Tiramisu, Toothache, Tortellini, Tie me Kangaroo down sport??? :icon_scratch: