Airbus 330-200

[nancy anne]

Here's a question for those with insider knowledge of the airlines. We are scheduled to fly over the Atlantic to London on an A330-200. On the news Air France is scrambling to retrofit their planes with new speed sensors. Anyone know what NWA is doing with their planes? We're leaving on the 18th. I do realize that flying is one of the safest modes of traveling but my husband is getting skittish.

 

Nancy

[jetwet1]

DL is in the process of replacing the sensors on it's fleet, they may be done by the time you fly, but I doubt it.

 

Something to remember, the 332 has flown millions of miles, this is the first one that has been lost.

[6rugrats]

I would find something new to worry about. Driving to the airport is statistically more dangerous than taking your flight.

[FlyerTalker]

Just sit aboard, enjoy the AVOD on the 330 and get some sleep. I do NOT worry when getting aboard a 330, and neither should you.

 

Quick thought problem: How many airline pilots would get aboard and fly an aircraft across the ocean that they felt wasn't safe?

[new salt]

Could not agree more, great aeroplane and first rate airline, (albeit some AF captains think that God is their second cousin, not their creator!) Joke alert::D awaiting incoming.

[nancy anne]

Could not agree more, great aeroplane and first rate airline, (albeit some AF captains think that God is their second cousin, not their creator!) Joke alert::D awaiting incoming.

 

Tres Bien!:D

[Globaliser]

Driving to the airport is statistically more dangerous than taking your flight.

I agree. If you're worried about safety during your trip, definitely do NOT drive to the airport.

[kenish]

FYI, there is no direct or circumstantial evidence that speed sensors (actually called a pitot tube) are the cause of the accident. It will take many months to know for sure, if they ever do. It's a purely precautionary measure (a wise move, but quite possibly one that will have been unnecessary or a red herring in hindsight). The other reason it's being done is to create a public perception that government regulators and airlines are "on it".

 

An aside....every plane has a pitot tube, and sophisticated aircraft have 2-4 for redundancy. Pitot contamination is taught to everyone starting with student pilots in Cessnas. Every pilot has awareness of this, and the symptoms and procedures if pitot blockage happens.

 

Regardless of cause, weather patterns unique to equatorial regions seem to be a contributor. These weather patterns do not exist over the North Atlantic.

 

Training is another preventive measure. You can bet Airbus drivers are being alerted and are getting extra training based on what little is known about the accident so far.

 

Think of it like a bus that went off the road and only a few pieces have been recovered. One of many causes could be a tire blowout. So what the airlines are doing is like the bus company putting new tires on all their buses and retraining all their drivers on how to handle a bus with a blowout. It may turn out to not be a blown out tire at all, or just a single defective tire. That's no reason to worry about buses or tires...in fact just the opposite!

[scottbee]

Here's a question for those with insider knowledge of the airlines. We are scheduled to fly over the Atlantic to London on an A330-200. On the news Air France is scrambling to retrofit their planes with new speed sensors. Anyone know what NWA is doing with their planes? We're leaving on the 18th. I do realize that flying is one of the safest modes of traveling but my husband is getting skittish.

 

The AF447 accident is the 1st passenger loss of life on an A330.

 

Of the nearly 500 A330s built, there have been 5 hull loss incidents

 

• crash during testing (before the aircraft was certified). Test Pilot/crew killed
  
• damaged beyond repair by corrosive chemicals
  
• blown up on the ground in Sri Lanka's civil war (2 aircraft)
  
• Air France 447
  

http://aviation-safety.net/database/dblist.php?Type=023

 

Compared with virtually any other aircraft, its an excellent record

[Taxguy77]

I agree. If you're worried about safety during your trip, definitely do NOT drive to the airport.

 

I don't walk well. I'll take my boat and skip the drive AND the flight.:cool:

[mudscraper]

When I saw the film of the recovery of the nearly intact rudder/stabilizer of the AF jet it reminded me of the AA New York crash.

 

I found some interesting reading today from an aircraft salvager named George Larson of OpaLocka Fl. Google his name and city and look for Air France smoking gun.

Correction: It is George Larson interview of the aircraft salvager.

 

Rich

[ohioNCLcruiser]

I wouldn't think twice to fly on a A330..

 

I wouldn't think twice to fly on a Air France A330..

[FlyerTalker]

I wouldn't think twice to fly on a A330..

 

I wouldn't think twice to fly on a Air France A330..

I have tickets to fly on both AF and NW 330s in the near future. Not once have I considered changing those flights to a different aircraft. Yes, it is possible for there to be a horrific design flaw in an aircraft - however, I truly do not believe that to be the case with the 330 (or its cousin, the 340).

[keltic]

We don´t know have indications that the crash had been due to the sensors but a combination or events, which could happen in any other airline, models and planes. In fact many other similar accidents have also occured to other models including Boeing aircraft. It´s like the wheels in our car. There could be a flaw on a certain Goodyear model but our could be fitting Michilin or any other. Planes mount different equipment from different manufacturers. The same sensor may be fitted in other manufacturers planes.

 

The aircraft has a fantastic safety figures, and there´s no reason for concern. There are not unsafe aircraft but a set of unfortunate circunstance which combined together led to a disaster. All planes have week points, and particular defects, which are normally controlled by efficiente maintenance, and skilled crews.

 

So I would fly A330 tomorrow, as on any other aircraft in the world.

[Goldryder]

No accident would stop me flying on a particular type of aircraft or with any airline.

 

Accidents happen for a variety of reasons and as tragic as they are for those who are involved, they shouldn't put anyone off flying. I can understand hesitancy but in all honesty, much of that is caused by the media running off with half-cocked stories and very few facts, lots of speculation and should be taken with a huge pinch of salt.

 

Last year I flew with Air France to Hong Kong, we landed in the middle of a very violent thunderstorm with several inches of standing water on the runway. I never felt in any danger as I knew that if it was not safe, the pilot would have diverted either of his own volition or by instruction from the ground.

 

I know it is very easy to say but there really is nothing to be afraid of, get on the plane, enjoy the flight experience and your holiday and above all, relax.

[skf]

The one thing I worry about is that I might get hit by a meteorite between the front door & the limo.

[FlyerTalker]

The one thing I worry about is that I might get hit by a meteorite between the front door & the limo.

Or, for the fans of "Dead Like Me", a toilet seat from a Russian space station......

 

So I would fly A330 tomorrow, as on any other aircraft in the world.

Braver than I....there are probably a few Ilyushins in the middle of Africa that would never have me as a passenger. But that's a function of something other than the design of the aircraft....:D

 

Bring on the A330...and seat 1B.

[keltic]

Well, no. Not in any aircraft......of course many of them are phased out...I include the old soviet glories, not because of the planes themselves, but the operators.

 

I share your views about the seat, but 1A.........give a good window seat, in first ;-)

[Hawaiian_A330]

Here's a question for those with insider knowledge of the airlines. We are scheduled to fly over the Atlantic to London on an A330-200. On the news Air France is scrambling to retrofit their planes with new speed sensors. Anyone know what NWA is doing with their planes? We're leaving on the 18th. I do realize that flying is one of the safest modes of traveling but my husband is getting skittish.

 

Nancy

 

Don't allow yourselves to get worked up by all the speculation from the media. The truth will be told when we recover the FDRs and analyze exactly what happened. Until then, realize that the A332 is a very well designed and capable aircraft that will fly you and your husband safely and comfortably to your destination :)

 

I wouldn't think twice to fly on a A330..

 

I wouldn't think twice to fly on a Air France A330..

 

 

So I would fly A330 tomorrow, as on any other aircraft in the world.

 

Absolutely agree 100%

[Globaliser]

When I saw the film of the recovery of the nearly intact rudder/stabilizer of the AF jet it reminded me of the AA New York crash.

There will always be plenty of these pictures. In any catastrophic airframe failure, fins will often break off at the fin-fuselage join - it's where it will naturally come apart. And modern fins float.

I found some interesting reading today from an aircraft salvager named George Larson of OpaLocka Fl. Google his name and city and look for Air France smoking gun.

Correction: It is George Larson interview of the aircraft salvager.

It's about as interesting as an airliners.net "Airbus v Boeing" debate. :rolleyes:

[keltic]

In fact I remembered having seen a similar fin detatchment, on the B737-800 Kenyan Airways crash some time ago. Too similar to this one, and nothing explained yet. Got into a storm breaken in pieces, not warmings, and not official report yet.

[mmr923]

How about after the aircraft crash today? Two A330s in a month? That seems like to much a troubling statistic to me. I'm supposed to get on one in August to fly to Rome (Delta). :(

[smeyer418]

How about after the aircraft crash today? Two A330s in a month? That seems like to much a troubling statistic to me. I'm supposed to get on one in August to fly to Rome (Delta). :(

the second was a flight by an off brand airline. That reportably had maintenance issues. I wouldn't be scared off yet by you are right to be concerned.

[jetwet1]

How about after the aircraft crash today? Two A330s in a month? That seems like to much a troubling statistic to me. I'm supposed to get on one in August to fly to Rome (Delta). :(

 

 

the second was a flight by an off brand airline. That reportably had maintenance issues. I wouldn't be scared off yet by you are right to be concerned.

 

No 330 crashes today, sorry, a Yemenia 313 crashed today, but that's nothing like a 330.

 

Also, I think we will find that the pilot was at fault for this one, to early to say, but reading the facts it does seem that way to me.

 

Herein is the problem though, the general public hears about an Airbus 3xx crashing and suddenly it's the same model as last month. The media does not help, the BBC at first reported it as an 320.

 

Ok off my soap box now

[scottbee]

How about after the aircraft crash today? Two A330s in a month? That seems like to much a troubling statistic to me. I'm supposed to get on one in August to fly to Rome (Delta). :(

 

As I posted above, the AF disaster was the 1st A330 in passenger service to crash, and still is.

 

it was a 20 year old, A310-300 that crashed, not an A330. It was also operated by a 2nd world airline, and France had actually banned that aircraft operating in France due to maintenance irregularities. The only thing in common between the A310 series and the A330 series, is that the tube is the same size in diameter (but then again, the 707,727 and 737 are all the same too...)