PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - AF 447 Thread No. 12
View Single Post
Old 1st Aug 2017, 14:25
  #1570 (permalink)  
Concours77
 
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Lakeside
Posts: 534
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Deep Stall. Nomenclature. Critical to a technical approach, without doubt.

1. How did it get there?
2. What made it (functionally) not recoverable?
3. What issues in the AC design made it (inadvertently) fatal?

Three poorly designed, inadequate pitot systems, due to be replaced by a line that did not take seriously the vulnerability of the aircraft in conditions that were frankly typical of the airspace. Threat of a pilot strike finally got them to take action....

Full thrust, bleeding energy, loss of lift at the outer wing, Chronic NU command. Direct Law in Roll, the betrayal of the STALLWARN system, turbulence, cockpit disarray (visitor). Delayed recognition of the loss of speeds display and Normal Law by pilot crew. (Fifteen seconds). One can make the argument that the loss of speeds and Normal Law, caused by Thales Pitots, was the direct and sole cause of the ultimate impact with the ocean.... "Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda...."

Then the piece de resistance, a full up HS.
Stall entry unnoticed, and a mental lock on issues other than those that would cause a recovery.

The word "cascade" comes to mind. This is not a simplistic and isolated wreck.
Concours77 is offline