original thread seems to have disapeared (its in TECHLOG now so go there for deatils I guess)
BBC News - Air France crash 'due to pilot and technical failure'
Technical failure and human error led to the loss of an Air France flight over the Atlantic in June 2009 and the deaths of 228 people, according to the final report into the crash.
The report by France's aviation authority, the BEA, says the crew did not react correctly after the Airbus A330 had technical failures.
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Thursday's findings are in line with a preliminary report released last year by the BEA. That report said the pilots did not follow the proper procedures after the aircraft's speed sensors - called Pitot tubes - failed during a storm two hours after take-off. The plane stalled and lost altitude, the report said, and the captain did not retake control of the plane after taking a rest.
One of the mistakes of the crew, according to investigators, was to point the nose of the aircraft upwards, after it stalled, instead of down.
Investigators have found fault with both Airbus and Air France, sparking a row between the two firms over their accountability for the crash.
Both companies are under investigation by French magistrates for alleged manslaughter.
A separate judicial report will be released next week. This is also expected to echo Thursday's report by the BEA, the French news agency AFP says.
etc etc