FAA Proposes Airspeed-Sensor Fixes - WSJ.com
US aviation regulators are proposing mandatory fixes to potentially defective airspeed sensors on more than 1,000 regional jets, less than two weeks after investigators determined malfunctions of similar devices played a big role in the crash of an Air France jetliner over the Atlantic Ocean in 2009.
Released Wednesday, the Federal Aviation Administration's proposed directive wants U.S. airlines to replace a problematic part associated with several incidents of "airspeed mismatch" between captain and co-pilot instruments on a wide range of Bombardier regional jet models. The external sensors, called pitot tubes, can malfunction because they may "become partially or completely blocked by water" during or after flying through heavy rain, according to the agency.
The result may be erroneous airspeed and altitude indications, though an FAA spokesman didn't immediately know the number of such incidents on Bombardier jetliners.
The move follows a similar safety fix ordered by Canadian regulators last fall. It also piggybacks on a voluntary service bulletin in March -- as well as an earlier version the year before – both of which were issued by the aerospace unit of Canada's Bombardier Inc....