Extended essay?

[low n' slow]

Hey all! I'm just about to get going on my extended essay. I thought I'd write about automization in the cockpit and how the devellopment affects flight safety.
Naturally, I'm looking for specific incidents where the Airbus computers have made an incorrect decision. Does anyone know where I can get hold of the report from the A320 airshow-crash in france. I believe the computer made the decision to land while the pilots just wanted to do a fly-by. These inputs made the computer confused and the A320 flew past the runway and crashed in the woods. You know the one I mean, they've shown it on TV several times.
I would be grateful for any incident reports where the incident was caused by system failures that the pilot was unable to correct. I would also be very grateful if someone with flight experience from anyone Airbus type A/C would like to give a statement with both negative and positive comments on the A/C and its systems.
Thanks/lns

[NorthernSky]

low&slow,

First, I wish you the best of luck in all your endeavours.

Now, please explain what this 'extended essay' is for: job application, university qualification, or whatever?

Furthermore, and I am hoping not to get shot down in flames, may I add that any essay will benefit from accurate spelling, correct punctuation, and good grammar?

Finally, I am sorry to say that you are miles off with regard to the A320 accident, and I fear that, bearing in mind the style of your post, you need to do a lot of background study before commenting on such a complex topic in the hope of being taken seriously.....

If you choose to pursue this, just put 'A320 accident' into any good search engine and it will take you where you wish to go.....

As regards 'making an incorrect decision', computers will always make a 'correct' decision based upon the data input and the software running. Computers don't make mistakes, programmers and operators do... Most commonly, pilots don't understand what the computers will do, and are thus surprised or unprepared when something happens. This is a fundamental step towards an accident .

(OK, purists, fuzzy logic may be eating away at this, but let's keep this thread on a reasonable footing).

Oditod fur topogryphicle orra.

[ 25 July 2001: Message edited by: NorthernSky ]

[Code Blue]

Furthermore, and I am hoping not to get shot down in flames, may I add that any essay will benefit from accurate spelling, correct punctuation, and good grammar?

Perhaps lns may achieve accurate spelling, correct punctuation, and good grammar in the language in which his essay will be submitted? I know his English is better than my Swedish.

Sorry I couldn't resist.

:rolleyes:

rgds
CB

edited 'cos I too would like to know what this 'extended essay' might be about.

[ 25 July 2001: Message edited by: Code Blue ]

[Cornish Jack]

Can I recommend that, whatever else you research, you buy, beg, borrow or, if necessary, steal the 'Automation Dependency' segment of a series of lectures given by Capt Warren Vanderberg at the American Airlines Academy. In fact, all five segments of the video are very good value but that particular one provides the best discussion document on the subject that I have seen. It isn't, necessarily, the complete answer in all circumstances but it does provide a very provocative examination of the problems.

[low n' slow]

Thanks!
Yes! I know, my English is awful. However, as CB kindly implied, it won't be written in English, it will be written in Swedish: Och jag försäkrar er att min svenska är avsevärt bättre än min Engelska (and I assure you that my Swedish is better than my English).
The essay is for the last year of the swedish gymnasium, which corresponds to the A-levels. So it's nothing too fancy.
Still, I'm interested in the A320 chrash in france!
cheers/lns

[Dave Incognito]

You could also have a look at the 1995 American Airlines 757 crash in Columbia. There were some interesting findings that related to how the crew dealt with the aircraft's FMS.

Like NorthernSky said, the key issue is not the automated systems getting things wrong, but how the crew utilise/rely upon automated systems.

Some key issues are complacency, lack of systems knowledge (important in the Air France A320 crash), crew arousal, hand flying skills, etc etc.

Hope this helps.

[NorthernSky]

low n' slow,

förlåt!

Best of luck with the essay.

[low n' slow]

Thanks all!
D.I , I'll have a look into that report, seems like it suits this paper perfectly!
I've tried to narrow down the subject as much as possible to enable me to investigate a bit deeper. The questions I'll answer are as follows, starting with main question:
How will flight safety be affected by todays aviation technology devellopment?
Decision and Flying loop, the pilots roll?
Autopilot and surveilance, how does it work?
I'll try to answer these by presenting a couple of accident reports, mainly caused by either pilot high workload and/or misunderstanding A/C systems.
In the discussion part I thought I'd work around a paper written by a german professor claiming that todays devellopment is leading towards radio controlled A/C! Any comments on this?
And by the way N.S. Det gör inget!

[Bally Heck]

Hmmm.

Northernsky. "computers will always make a 'correct' decision based upon the data input and the software running. Computers don't make mistakes"

Never heard about the original Intel Pentium then?

low n' slow

"In the discussion part I thought I'd work around a paper written by a german professor claiming that todays devellopment is leading towards radio controlled A/C! "

I've seen a lot of radio controlled aircraft crash. The problem with computers is that at the moment anyway, they do lots of things well ..... but .... they can only deal with things they know about and are programmed to recognise. If it has to deal with something the programmers haven't forseen, forget it.

Could a computer have dealt with Sioux City. Nope. It could now but only because it has happened and they have worked on that scenario. The next Sioux City, whatever it is will have the computer scratching it's head until final impact.