Originally Posted by
Graybeard
The MD-80, fus 909, improperly flown by an FAA pilot, was repaired, used again in flight test, then sold to an airline.
If that damage had happened on the line, it would have been written off.
The 757 pitot static accidents would have had exactly the same outcome with any other airplane, and not the fault of the 757. All the Birgenair Capt had to do was reach forward, and rotate the AIR DATA switch from NORM to ALT. These were not accidents during flight test.
As I understood it, prior to Birgenair that option was not easily available. The AIR DATA switch was retrofitted afterwards.
No doubt the A330 design team learned from their flight test accident, but comparing it to AF447, I'm not sure what they learned.
The only way that's relevant is if you assume AF447 to be a mode confusion accident, which isn't supported by any of the evidence we have so far. Losing Nick Warner and the other test pilots was a tragedy, but as SLF I'd far prefer such things to be found in testing than on the line.
While I'm on the subject, Boeing lost a 707 on a test flight with a Braniff crew (with a Boeing test pilot at the controls). This is not a Boeing/Douglas/Airbus competition, we want all the aircraft to be safe, and no amount of transatlantic sniping is going to help that.