I am offended by the headline you used for this thread, almost as much as I am by the inaccuracy of the article you have quoted.
This story must be taken with a huge grain of salt. The investigator has given no explanation as to the shortcomings of the ECAM system, or as to how the ECAM system should be set up to give information about a fuel leak. Given that there are so many places where a fuel leak could occur on any aircraft, especially one the size of the A330, just exactly what would he have the manufacturer do, put a leak sensor every 2 metres along every fuel line? Do they do the same thing with the hydraulic systems? Of course not!
The A330 ECAM gives ample information regarding a fuel leak, if the pilot takes the time to interpret the given information. Proper fuel monitoring and correct use of the QRH procedures for fuel imbalance would have prevented this accident, IMHO. For many years, pilots of far less sophisticated aircraft have been responsible for monitoring their fuel enroute, not only to verify the figures computed in the flight plan, but to monitor for any unexplained loss of fuel from the system. This is something that seems to have been missed on that nearly tragic night last summer. Makes me shiver just to think about it!
Scud
[ 03 February 2002: Message edited by: Scud Runner ]
[ 03 February 2002: Message edited by: Scud Runner ]</p>