Simulating AF447 in the simulator
 

As part of my airline's recurrent simulator training, we have been asked to simulate the Air France incident. In order to practice the 'Startle Effect' (and to avoid the pilots knowing what is going to happen next)it has been left to the discretion of the instructor on how to simulate this in the sim.

I have some ideas in mind ( Volcanic ash encounter and blocked pitos)however would appreciate any feedback from fellow TRI's.

It would entirely depend upon your type and simulator fit but it is fairly simple to do. I'm surprised there is no standard profile issued by your training department as the exercise can be interpreted and run differently depending on how you set it up.

We have an airspeed unreliable (asi failure for all three displays) which does the trick which if given in the climb makes for an interesting handling/non-normal management exercise. Volcanic ash is an interesting idea although it will of course give you the engine malfunctions which may or may not be desired. If you want to simulate af447 I'm guessing not.

Feel free to pm me

Hang on a minute.

What killed them all on the AF aircraft was a deep stall. They didn't know how to recover from it. I doubt very much the test crews would have been able to put the aircraft into such situation, (10,000 - 20,000 ft/min + ROD) during the flight test program. As far as I am concerned no one has and survived.

How can you program a sim with deep stall data, when the information is not available?

I am aware of the circumstances that led to the departure. However, if one is at an altitude with a good stall protection margin, power setting and attitude may have saved the day. They weren't because economics (min fuel) would have seen to that. Too high too soon?

If have a squall line to deal with I will take the option of descending 2,000' rather than try and climb out of it. Being "in the clear" is no guarantee of a smooth ride of course.