Originally Posted by
SASless
Nubian,
Question.....if the 350 is known to have a hydraulic system that can be overcome by feedback forces and thus allow a loss of Pilot control of the aircraft.....why has that not been addressed and modifications made so that the flight control system can function under all flight conditions the aircraft can be expected to encounter?
From past discussions here at Rotorheads, it was noted one particular manufacturer seemed to design aircraft that had that flaw.
From discussions about LTE....again we see one maker that seemed to overlook that problem in their aircraft until it became a
PR problem that affected marketing.
What role should the certification authorities play in this?
I guess that is really two questions...one re the manufacturer and the second being the certification authorities.
SAS,
Well, although the type has a reputation, it is worth to mention that it does not happen without exceeding limitations in order to experience it, but to do so is fairly easy.
To answer your first question: The manufacturer has addressed the problem with information on the subject. Airbus (back then Europcopter) published this:
https://www.airbushelicopters.com/we...-03-REV0-A.pdf
In order to give proper training required to recover from servo-transperancy you need to exceed the limitations in some way, so it is a bit of a Catch 22.
Now, what do you do when pilots exceeding the limitations and get into trouble? Redesigning the helicopter?
As to your second question, I don't agree that the manufacturers necessarily is overlooking the problems as what I already has said about exceeding limits. As for the certifying authority could look at it in a way that the limit for getting into this phenomenon is too low and come up with some type of sanction, if they deem it to be a significant problem. It has certainly caused a few deaths, but if that is due to lack of training is the question I guess.