3 ms·
That's a very simplistic interpretation. The article is really worth a read. The whole accident is a prime example for a very minor problem (loosing air speed
by thomasz 9y ago
That's a very simplistic interpretation. The article is really worth a read.
The whole accident is a prime example for a very minor problem (loosing air speed indicators) spinning completely out of control, with the crew being making every possible mistake all the way down, all three people in the cockpit completely ignoring 47 stall warnings.
- scott_karana 9y agoAgreed, I was just paraphrasing from old memory. Only intended to get people interested in further reading. :)
- lisper 9y agoLosing airspeed indicators can be a minor problem, but not in a jet at altitude at night, which was the case for AF477. You can fly a small plane without an ASI, particular in visual conditions, because the margin for error is large and you have other visual and auditory cues to tell you whether you're in the ballpark. But Jets at altitude fly in a very narrow envelope between stalling and over-stressing the airframe (look up "coffin corner"), and in instrument conditions you have no way to tell whether you're in the zone or not. Furthermore, without reliable airpseed, the autopilot stops working properly. AF477 was not just a case of the crew being stupid or bad UI. It really was a very serious situation aerodynamically.