Honestly, what the hell is going on with QF?? I am simply amazed...ricordo lo stesso tipo d' incidente su tre voli LH lo scorso anno. Terribile!!!!!!
Australia: 40 feriti in incidente aereo
- Autore Discussione carter72
- Data d'inizio
Sul sito di Repubblica un filmato dell'accaduto:
http://tv.repubblica.it/copertina/qantas-il-video-dei-passeggeri/24939?video
http://tv.repubblica.it/copertina/qantas-il-video-dei-passeggeri/24939?video
Ecco la dichiarazione ufficiale della ATSB australiana riguardo l'incidente.
Potrebbe non essere stato causato da una CAT.
________________________________________________
Qantas Airbus Incident Media Conference
08 October 2008
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau was advised yesterday afternoon of an occurrence involving an Airbus A330-300 aircraft while on a flight from Singapore to Perth, operating as Qantas Flight 72. The aircraft, which had 303 passengers and 10 crew on board, was in normal level flight at 37,000 ft about 110 nautical miles north of Carnarvon and 80 nautical miles from Learmonth near Exmouth in north-western Australia, when the pilots received electronic centralised aircraft monitoring messages in the cockpit relating to some irregularity with the aircraft's elevator control system. The aircraft is reported to have departed level flight and climbed approximately 300 ft, during which time the crew had initiated non-normal checklist/response actions. The aircraft is then reported to have abruptly pitched nose-down. During this sudden and significant nose-down pitch, a number of passengers, cabin crew and loose objects were thrown about the aircraft cabin, primarily in the rear of the aircraft, resulting in a range of injuries to some cabin crew and passengers.
The crew made a PAN PAN emergency broadcast to air traffic control, advising that they had experienced flight control computer problems and that some people had been injured, and they requested a clearance to divert to and track direct to Learmonth. A few minutes later the crew declared a MAYDAY and advised ATC of multiple injures including broken bones and lacerations. The aircraft landed at about 1530 local time, about 40 minutes after the start of the event.
The ATSB understand that there were 14 people with serious but not life threatening injuries, which included concussion and broken bones who were taken by air ambulance to Perth. In addition, up to 30 other people attended hospital with possible concussion, minor lacerations and fractures, with up to a further 30 or so people with minor bruises and stiff necks etc who did not need to attend hospital. However, these casualty figures are subject to further clarification and confirmation. All passengers have been now been transported to Perth. Given the nature of injuries, the occurrence is defined as an accident in accordance with the International Civil Aviation Organization definition.
The ATSB has initiated a safety investigation and two investigators from the ATSB's Perth office travelled to Learmonth yesterday evening and commenced initial on-site investigation activities, which included securing the aircraft's Flight Data and Cockpit Voice recorders. A further five ATSB investigators are due to arrive in Learmonth early this afternoon Western Australia time
An officer from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority with a type rating on the A330 has joined the ATSB team. In addition, the Bureau Enquetes-Accidents, or BEA of France, the French counterpart of the ATSB has assigned an accredited representative as the State of Design and Manufacture of the aircraft, to provide assistance to the ATSB investigation. An investigator who is a flight control specialist from the aircraft manufacturer Airbus, is currently travelling to Australia and will also assist the investigation team.
It is obviously very early in the investigation and too soon to draw any conclusions as to the specific cause of this accident. The ATSB investigation will explore all aspects of the operation of the aircraft, including through detailed examination of the Flight Data and Cockpit Voce recordings, aircraft systems and maintenance history, Air Traffic Control radar and audio recordings, and weather conditions. The ATSB will also be conducting a range of interviews with the pilots and cabin crew, and will also speak with passengers to examine the cabin safety aspects.
It is always difficult to predict how long an investigation such as this will take. While it is likely to take some number of months, the ATSB will release a Preliminary Factual report within about 30 days. Furthermore, should any critical safety issues emerge that require urgent attention, the ATSB will immediately bring such issues to the attention of the relevant authorities who are best placed to take prompt action to address those issues.
Without pre-empting any findings in relation to cabin safety issues and the wearing of seatbelts, this accident serves as a reminder to all people who travel by air of the importance of keeping seatbelts fastened at all times when seated in an aircraft.
Potrebbe non essere stato causato da una CAT.
________________________________________________
Qantas Airbus Incident Media Conference
08 October 2008
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau was advised yesterday afternoon of an occurrence involving an Airbus A330-300 aircraft while on a flight from Singapore to Perth, operating as Qantas Flight 72. The aircraft, which had 303 passengers and 10 crew on board, was in normal level flight at 37,000 ft about 110 nautical miles north of Carnarvon and 80 nautical miles from Learmonth near Exmouth in north-western Australia, when the pilots received electronic centralised aircraft monitoring messages in the cockpit relating to some irregularity with the aircraft's elevator control system. The aircraft is reported to have departed level flight and climbed approximately 300 ft, during which time the crew had initiated non-normal checklist/response actions. The aircraft is then reported to have abruptly pitched nose-down. During this sudden and significant nose-down pitch, a number of passengers, cabin crew and loose objects were thrown about the aircraft cabin, primarily in the rear of the aircraft, resulting in a range of injuries to some cabin crew and passengers.
The crew made a PAN PAN emergency broadcast to air traffic control, advising that they had experienced flight control computer problems and that some people had been injured, and they requested a clearance to divert to and track direct to Learmonth. A few minutes later the crew declared a MAYDAY and advised ATC of multiple injures including broken bones and lacerations. The aircraft landed at about 1530 local time, about 40 minutes after the start of the event.
The ATSB understand that there were 14 people with serious but not life threatening injuries, which included concussion and broken bones who were taken by air ambulance to Perth. In addition, up to 30 other people attended hospital with possible concussion, minor lacerations and fractures, with up to a further 30 or so people with minor bruises and stiff necks etc who did not need to attend hospital. However, these casualty figures are subject to further clarification and confirmation. All passengers have been now been transported to Perth. Given the nature of injuries, the occurrence is defined as an accident in accordance with the International Civil Aviation Organization definition.
The ATSB has initiated a safety investigation and two investigators from the ATSB's Perth office travelled to Learmonth yesterday evening and commenced initial on-site investigation activities, which included securing the aircraft's Flight Data and Cockpit Voice recorders. A further five ATSB investigators are due to arrive in Learmonth early this afternoon Western Australia time
An officer from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority with a type rating on the A330 has joined the ATSB team. In addition, the Bureau Enquetes-Accidents, or BEA of France, the French counterpart of the ATSB has assigned an accredited representative as the State of Design and Manufacture of the aircraft, to provide assistance to the ATSB investigation. An investigator who is a flight control specialist from the aircraft manufacturer Airbus, is currently travelling to Australia and will also assist the investigation team.
It is obviously very early in the investigation and too soon to draw any conclusions as to the specific cause of this accident. The ATSB investigation will explore all aspects of the operation of the aircraft, including through detailed examination of the Flight Data and Cockpit Voce recordings, aircraft systems and maintenance history, Air Traffic Control radar and audio recordings, and weather conditions. The ATSB will also be conducting a range of interviews with the pilots and cabin crew, and will also speak with passengers to examine the cabin safety aspects.
It is always difficult to predict how long an investigation such as this will take. While it is likely to take some number of months, the ATSB will release a Preliminary Factual report within about 30 days. Furthermore, should any critical safety issues emerge that require urgent attention, the ATSB will immediately bring such issues to the attention of the relevant authorities who are best placed to take prompt action to address those issues.
Without pre-empting any findings in relation to cabin safety issues and the wearing of seatbelts, this accident serves as a reminder to all people who travel by air of the importance of keeping seatbelts fastened at all times when seated in an aircraft.
Importanti aggiornamenti sull'incidente, provo a riassumere qui sotto quanto riportato dall'ATSB e da altre fonti autorevoli:
Mentre il volo era stabile a FL370 ci sono state 3 variazioni di quota significative (ed involontarie):
- la prima ha comportato una salita di 200ft con conseguente ritorno a FL 370
- la seconda, un minuto dopo, ha provocato una rapida discesa di 650ft in 20 secondi con angolo di beccheggio di 8,4°; anche in questo caso l'aereo è poi tornato da solo a FL370
- la terza, 70 secondi dopo, ha provocato una discesa di 400ft in 16 secondi, con angolo di beccheggio a 3,5°; anche qui l'aereo è poi tornato da solo a FL370
Mi vien da dire che è difficile pensare a una CAT, infatti anche nel report della ATSB dichiarano che stanno investigando su eventuali anomalie all'autopilota.
Ecco qui il comunicato della ATSB
_________________
Qantas Airbus Accident Media Conference
10 October 2008
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigation is progressing.
The aircraft's Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR), Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and Quick Access Recorder arrived in Canberra late on Wednesday evening. Downloading and preliminary analysis has revealed good data from both recorders. Data from the FDR has been provided to participants in the investigation which include Qantas, the French accident investigation authority - the Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses (BEA), Airbus and the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority. The aircraft's operating crew acted responsibly and promptly after the aircraft was shut down by isolating the CVR to preserve information for the purpose of the investigation.
While the full interpretation and analysis of the recorded data will take some time, preliminary review of the data indicates that the aircraft was cruising at 37,000 feet, when the aircraft initiated a climb of about 200 feet, before returning back to 37,000 feet. About 1 minute later, the aircraft pitched nose-down, to a maximum pitch angle of about 8.4 degrees, and descended about 650 feet in about 20 seconds, before returning to the cruising level. About 70 seconds after returning to 37,000 feet there was a further nose-down pitch, to a maximum pitch angle of about 3.5 degrees, and the aircraft descended about 400 feet in about 16 seconds, before returning once again to the cruising level.
I turn your attention to the screen where there is a very basic animation, using data from the Digital Flight Data Recorder, of the first pitch-down event.
Detailed review and analysis of DFDR data is ongoing to assist in identifying the reasons for the events. At this point, the event appears very complex. The aircraft contains very sophisticated and highly reliable systems whose interaction is very complex. As far as we can understand, there seems to be issues with some on-board components. Further examination of the auto-pilot system, data sources used by flight control computers and the flight control computers themselves, along with the interaction of the flight crew with the aircraft's systems is necessary to achieve a better understanding of the event.
Meanwhile, the on-site team in Learmonth is working hard and has assessed and documented significant damage to some overhead panels, consistent with injuries that were sustained by the aircraft occupants. Ceiling panels were removed and wiring looms were visually inspected and no defects were found. In addition, visual inspection of the aircraft has been conducted and no structural defects have been found. Inspection of the cargo area found all cargo was loaded in the correct position and no load shift was evident. All of the cargo load was properly secured.
With all necessary precautions taken and completed to ensure no loss of evidence, the aircraft was then powered up and data pertaining to specific computers and systems was downloaded. This was done in a careful and methodical manner to ensure no data was lost. This data is essential to the investigation and includes additional information not recorded on the Digital Flight Data Recorder. This download occurred on the aircraft involving representatives of the ATSB, Qantas and Airbus. This data is currently being analysed. More data is to be downloaded today and further assessment will be carried out on the aircraft's systems. It is likely that a number of components will be removed for further downloading/testing, some of which will need to be done at the manufacturers facilities in France or relevant country of manufacture.
Ongoing activities include a detailed review of the aircraft's maintenance history, including checking on compliance with relevant Airworthiness Directives, although initial indications are that the aircraft met the relevant airworthiness requirements. Work is also ongoing to progress interviews, which will include with injured passengers to understand what occurred in the aircraft cabin. The ATSB plans to distribute a survey to all passengers. There is no evidence at this stage to indicate that the use of portable electronic devices by passengers contributed to the event, however, it would be expected that questions relating to such usage would be included in the passenger survey.
The nature of the initiating event has not yet been determined. The investigation will be examining the broad range of factors that influence the operation of the aircraft. There was been close, frequent, communications between the ATSB, Qantas, Airbus and CASA. That close communication will continue as the investigation progresses to ensure that any necessary safety action can be instigated as soon as possible should critical safety factors be identified.
The ATSB will release a Preliminary Factual report within about 30 days, however, should any critical safety issues emerge that require urgent attention, the ATSB will immediately bring such issues to the attention of the relevant authorities who are best placed to take prompt action to address those issues and will publish such information more broadly ahead of the Preliminary report.
As I noted in the media conference earlier this week, we cannot pre-empt the findings in relation to cabin safety issues and the wearing of seatbelts, but this accident does serve as a salient reminder to all people who travel by air of the importance of keeping seatbelts fastened at all times when seated in an aircraft.
Qui sotto, invece, alcune foto della cabina.... :astonished::astonished::astonished: da www.news.com.au
Mentre il volo era stabile a FL370 ci sono state 3 variazioni di quota significative (ed involontarie):
- la prima ha comportato una salita di 200ft con conseguente ritorno a FL 370
- la seconda, un minuto dopo, ha provocato una rapida discesa di 650ft in 20 secondi con angolo di beccheggio di 8,4°; anche in questo caso l'aereo è poi tornato da solo a FL370
- la terza, 70 secondi dopo, ha provocato una discesa di 400ft in 16 secondi, con angolo di beccheggio a 3,5°; anche qui l'aereo è poi tornato da solo a FL370
Mi vien da dire che è difficile pensare a una CAT, infatti anche nel report della ATSB dichiarano che stanno investigando su eventuali anomalie all'autopilota.
Ecco qui il comunicato della ATSB
_________________
Qantas Airbus Accident Media Conference
10 October 2008
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigation is progressing.
The aircraft's Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR), Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and Quick Access Recorder arrived in Canberra late on Wednesday evening. Downloading and preliminary analysis has revealed good data from both recorders. Data from the FDR has been provided to participants in the investigation which include Qantas, the French accident investigation authority - the Bureau d'Enquêtes et d'Analyses (BEA), Airbus and the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority. The aircraft's operating crew acted responsibly and promptly after the aircraft was shut down by isolating the CVR to preserve information for the purpose of the investigation.
While the full interpretation and analysis of the recorded data will take some time, preliminary review of the data indicates that the aircraft was cruising at 37,000 feet, when the aircraft initiated a climb of about 200 feet, before returning back to 37,000 feet. About 1 minute later, the aircraft pitched nose-down, to a maximum pitch angle of about 8.4 degrees, and descended about 650 feet in about 20 seconds, before returning to the cruising level. About 70 seconds after returning to 37,000 feet there was a further nose-down pitch, to a maximum pitch angle of about 3.5 degrees, and the aircraft descended about 400 feet in about 16 seconds, before returning once again to the cruising level.
I turn your attention to the screen where there is a very basic animation, using data from the Digital Flight Data Recorder, of the first pitch-down event.
Detailed review and analysis of DFDR data is ongoing to assist in identifying the reasons for the events. At this point, the event appears very complex. The aircraft contains very sophisticated and highly reliable systems whose interaction is very complex. As far as we can understand, there seems to be issues with some on-board components. Further examination of the auto-pilot system, data sources used by flight control computers and the flight control computers themselves, along with the interaction of the flight crew with the aircraft's systems is necessary to achieve a better understanding of the event.
Meanwhile, the on-site team in Learmonth is working hard and has assessed and documented significant damage to some overhead panels, consistent with injuries that were sustained by the aircraft occupants. Ceiling panels were removed and wiring looms were visually inspected and no defects were found. In addition, visual inspection of the aircraft has been conducted and no structural defects have been found. Inspection of the cargo area found all cargo was loaded in the correct position and no load shift was evident. All of the cargo load was properly secured.
With all necessary precautions taken and completed to ensure no loss of evidence, the aircraft was then powered up and data pertaining to specific computers and systems was downloaded. This was done in a careful and methodical manner to ensure no data was lost. This data is essential to the investigation and includes additional information not recorded on the Digital Flight Data Recorder. This download occurred on the aircraft involving representatives of the ATSB, Qantas and Airbus. This data is currently being analysed. More data is to be downloaded today and further assessment will be carried out on the aircraft's systems. It is likely that a number of components will be removed for further downloading/testing, some of which will need to be done at the manufacturers facilities in France or relevant country of manufacture.
Ongoing activities include a detailed review of the aircraft's maintenance history, including checking on compliance with relevant Airworthiness Directives, although initial indications are that the aircraft met the relevant airworthiness requirements. Work is also ongoing to progress interviews, which will include with injured passengers to understand what occurred in the aircraft cabin. The ATSB plans to distribute a survey to all passengers. There is no evidence at this stage to indicate that the use of portable electronic devices by passengers contributed to the event, however, it would be expected that questions relating to such usage would be included in the passenger survey.
The nature of the initiating event has not yet been determined. The investigation will be examining the broad range of factors that influence the operation of the aircraft. There was been close, frequent, communications between the ATSB, Qantas, Airbus and CASA. That close communication will continue as the investigation progresses to ensure that any necessary safety action can be instigated as soon as possible should critical safety factors be identified.
The ATSB will release a Preliminary Factual report within about 30 days, however, should any critical safety issues emerge that require urgent attention, the ATSB will immediately bring such issues to the attention of the relevant authorities who are best placed to take prompt action to address those issues and will publish such information more broadly ahead of the Preliminary report.
As I noted in the media conference earlier this week, we cannot pre-empt the findings in relation to cabin safety issues and the wearing of seatbelts, but this accident does serve as a salient reminder to all people who travel by air of the importance of keeping seatbelts fastened at all times when seated in an aircraft.
Qui sotto, invece, alcune foto della cabina.... :astonished::astonished::astonished: da www.news.com.au
Però è anche vero che in caso di CAT generalmente l'assetto non varia mentre qui abbiamo un assetto picchiato di quasi 10°.
Nelle discussioni che ho visto su altri forum si tende a dare la colpa del ferimento dei pax non tanto alla discesa di 650ft in 20 secondi, quanto al repentino cambio di assetto con beccheggio a 8,5° sotto l'orizzonte.
danni simili agli interiors li ricordo solo all'md11 Air China (o China Airlines, non ricordo bene, eterno dilemma) che ebbe in crociera sul Pacifico l'inadverted deployment degli slats
Da Flight Global ecco un articolo che imputa in via preliminare la colpa dell'incidente a dati sbagliati forniti dal sistema inerziale (ADIRU, air data inertial reference unit) al Flight Control System
http://www.flightglobal.com/article...-data-led-qantas-a330-to-descend-sharply.html
__________________
Incorrect flight data led Qantas A330 to descend sharply: ATSB
By Leithen Francis
A Qantas Airways Airbus A330 that descended suddenly appears to have received faulty data from one of its units and this then played havoc with the aircraft's flight control system.
"At this stage of the investigation, the analysis of the available data indicates that the air data inertial reference unit (ADIRU) 1 abnormal behaviour is the likely origin of the event," the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) says in a statement today, referring to an incident that occurred on 7 October while the Qantas A330 was enroute from Singapore to Perth.
"The faulty ADIRU unit continued to feed erroneous and spike values, for various aircraft parameters, to the aircraft's flight control primary computers."
This "led to several consequences including: false stall and over-speed warnings, loss of altitude information on the captain's primary flight display and several centralised aircraft monitoring system warnings."
Because the ADIRU 1 generated very high, random and incorrect angles of attack it meant that "the flight control computers commanded a nose-down aircraft movement, which resulted in the aircraft pitching down to a maximum of 8.5 degrees."
It also "triggered a flight control primary computer pitch fault".
The ATSB says the crew responded in a timely fashion and helped prevent the aircraft's rapid descent from being even greater.
In its preliminary review released on 9 October the ATSB says the A330 descended about 650ft in about 20s, before returning to the cruising level of 37,000ft.
Then about 70s later the A330 descended about 400ft in about 16s before returning to the cruising level. In both instances the aircraft was pitched nose-down.
Of the 303 passengers and 10 crew on board 14 people were seriously injured, an additional group of up to 30 had serious enough injuries to receive medical treatment in hospital and up to a further 30 required first aid treatment, says the ATSB.
The Qantas pilots responded by making an emergency landing at Learmonth, a remote airport in northwest Western Australia and from there the passengers were put on other aircraft and flown to Perth.
In today's statement the ATSB says Airbus a few moments ago issued an operators information telex providing information about the incident along with recommendations to A330 and Airbus A340 operators that have aircraft fitted with the same type of ADIRU as on the Qantas aircraft.
The recommendations include "guidance and checklists for crew response in the event of an inertial reference system failure".
ATSB says it will issue a preliminary factual report within 30 days of the incident.
ADIRUs provide data with regards to the aircraft's air speed, altitude, position and altitude.
http://www.flightglobal.com/article...-data-led-qantas-a330-to-descend-sharply.html
__________________
Incorrect flight data led Qantas A330 to descend sharply: ATSB
By Leithen Francis
A Qantas Airways Airbus A330 that descended suddenly appears to have received faulty data from one of its units and this then played havoc with the aircraft's flight control system.
"At this stage of the investigation, the analysis of the available data indicates that the air data inertial reference unit (ADIRU) 1 abnormal behaviour is the likely origin of the event," the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) says in a statement today, referring to an incident that occurred on 7 October while the Qantas A330 was enroute from Singapore to Perth.
"The faulty ADIRU unit continued to feed erroneous and spike values, for various aircraft parameters, to the aircraft's flight control primary computers."
This "led to several consequences including: false stall and over-speed warnings, loss of altitude information on the captain's primary flight display and several centralised aircraft monitoring system warnings."
Because the ADIRU 1 generated very high, random and incorrect angles of attack it meant that "the flight control computers commanded a nose-down aircraft movement, which resulted in the aircraft pitching down to a maximum of 8.5 degrees."
It also "triggered a flight control primary computer pitch fault".
The ATSB says the crew responded in a timely fashion and helped prevent the aircraft's rapid descent from being even greater.
In its preliminary review released on 9 October the ATSB says the A330 descended about 650ft in about 20s, before returning to the cruising level of 37,000ft.
Then about 70s later the A330 descended about 400ft in about 16s before returning to the cruising level. In both instances the aircraft was pitched nose-down.
Of the 303 passengers and 10 crew on board 14 people were seriously injured, an additional group of up to 30 had serious enough injuries to receive medical treatment in hospital and up to a further 30 required first aid treatment, says the ATSB.
The Qantas pilots responded by making an emergency landing at Learmonth, a remote airport in northwest Western Australia and from there the passengers were put on other aircraft and flown to Perth.
In today's statement the ATSB says Airbus a few moments ago issued an operators information telex providing information about the incident along with recommendations to A330 and Airbus A340 operators that have aircraft fitted with the same type of ADIRU as on the Qantas aircraft.
The recommendations include "guidance and checklists for crew response in the event of an inertial reference system failure".
ATSB says it will issue a preliminary factual report within 30 days of the incident.
ADIRUs provide data with regards to the aircraft's air speed, altitude, position and altitude.
Ultima modifica da un moderatore:
Airbus alters suggested IRU procedure following Qantas incident
Wednesday October 15, 2008
Airbus issued an Operators Information Telex to all operators of its aircraft in the wake of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau's investigation into the Qantas A330-300 incident on Oct. 7.
The instruction advises crews to shut down the entire Air Data Inertial Reference Unit No. 1 in case of partial failure, which would isolate both IR and ADR to prevent the ADR from continuing to provide erroneous data. The A330 has three ADIRUs.
ATSB found that "the aircraft was flying at FL370 with autopilot and autothrust system engaged when an inertial reference system fault occurred within the ADIRU 1, which resulted in the autopilot automatically disconnecting." However, with the autopilot off, the flight control computers still command control surfaces to protect the aircraft from unsafe conditions such as a stall.
ATSB said, "The faulty ADIRU continued to feed erroneous and spike values for various aircraft parameters to the aircraft's flight control primary computers, which led to several consequences including: False stall and overspeed warnings, loss of attitude information on the captain's primary flight display and several electronic centralized aircraft monitoring system warnings."
According to the Bureau, "About two minutes after the initial fault, ADIRU 1 generated very high, random and incorrect values for the aircraft's angle of attack and which led to the flight control computers commanding a nose-down aircraft movement, which resulted in the aircraft pitching down to a maximum of about 8.5 degrees and the triggering of a flight control primary computer pitch fault. The ADIRU 1 continued to generate random spikes and a second nose-down aircraft movement was encountered later on, but with less significant values in terms of aircraft's trajectory."
ATSB is continuing its investigation and arrangements are being made for the units to be sent to Northrop Grumman Litton in the US for further study.
In an extraordinary twist, the A330 incident occurred just north of where a Malaysia Airlines 777-200ER suffered a similar upset on Aug. 1, 2005. In that incident, the 777 with 177 passengers and crew aboard was 240 km. northwest of Perth climbing through 38,000 ft. when it pitched up to 41,000 ft. and airspeed decreased from 270 to 185 kt., activating the stall warning and stick-shaker. The crew battled the autopilot and autothrottles for some minutes before the captain disconnected the autopilot and returned the aircraft manually to Perth.
A fault was found in the software that allowed inputs from a known faulty accelerometer to be processed by ADIRUs and used by the primary flight computer, autopilot and other aircraft systems. The incident resulted in an FAA AD (2005-18-51).
by Geoffrey Thomas
Wednesday October 15, 2008
Airbus issued an Operators Information Telex to all operators of its aircraft in the wake of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau's investigation into the Qantas A330-300 incident on Oct. 7.
The instruction advises crews to shut down the entire Air Data Inertial Reference Unit No. 1 in case of partial failure, which would isolate both IR and ADR to prevent the ADR from continuing to provide erroneous data. The A330 has three ADIRUs.
ATSB found that "the aircraft was flying at FL370 with autopilot and autothrust system engaged when an inertial reference system fault occurred within the ADIRU 1, which resulted in the autopilot automatically disconnecting." However, with the autopilot off, the flight control computers still command control surfaces to protect the aircraft from unsafe conditions such as a stall.
ATSB said, "The faulty ADIRU continued to feed erroneous and spike values for various aircraft parameters to the aircraft's flight control primary computers, which led to several consequences including: False stall and overspeed warnings, loss of attitude information on the captain's primary flight display and several electronic centralized aircraft monitoring system warnings."
According to the Bureau, "About two minutes after the initial fault, ADIRU 1 generated very high, random and incorrect values for the aircraft's angle of attack and which led to the flight control computers commanding a nose-down aircraft movement, which resulted in the aircraft pitching down to a maximum of about 8.5 degrees and the triggering of a flight control primary computer pitch fault. The ADIRU 1 continued to generate random spikes and a second nose-down aircraft movement was encountered later on, but with less significant values in terms of aircraft's trajectory."
ATSB is continuing its investigation and arrangements are being made for the units to be sent to Northrop Grumman Litton in the US for further study.
In an extraordinary twist, the A330 incident occurred just north of where a Malaysia Airlines 777-200ER suffered a similar upset on Aug. 1, 2005. In that incident, the 777 with 177 passengers and crew aboard was 240 km. northwest of Perth climbing through 38,000 ft. when it pitched up to 41,000 ft. and airspeed decreased from 270 to 185 kt., activating the stall warning and stick-shaker. The crew battled the autopilot and autothrottles for some minutes before the captain disconnected the autopilot and returned the aircraft manually to Perth.
A fault was found in the software that allowed inputs from a known faulty accelerometer to be processed by ADIRUs and used by the primary flight computer, autopilot and other aircraft systems. The incident resulted in an FAA AD (2005-18-51).
by Geoffrey Thomas
Qantas da la colpa al computer per l'incidente in volo
October 14, 2008
An error in the automatic pilot system caused an Airbus jet to drop altitude last week, injuring scores of passengers on a Qantas flight from Singapore to Perth, Australia's air safety agency said on Tuesday.
The incident was a "unique event", but was serious enough to prompt Airbus to issue emergency guidelines to airlines worldwide operating the Airbus A330-300 in the event of a similar emergency, Australian Transport Safety Bureau director Julian Walsh told reporters in Canberra.
"Incorrect values led to the flight control computers commanding a nose down aircraft movement and the aircraft pitching down," Walsh said.
The aircraft, with 303 passengers and 10 crew, was cruising at 37,000 feet (11,200m) from Singapore to Perth when it suddenly gained altitude, then plummeted more than 1,000 feet in little over a minute.
The glitch occurred in an air data inertial reference unit, which feeds information to the aircraft's main computer and had never been encountered during any previous A330-300 flights, Walsh said.
The flight sensor led the computer to incorrectly determine the jet was climbing when actually in level flight, he said.
Many on board were flung around the cabin or crashed against rooftop luggage compartments before the pilots regained control and made an emergency landing, passengers said.
The aircraft landed at a remote military and mining airstrip at Learmonth, near the port of Exmouth, around 1,100 kms (700 miles) north of Perth, last Tuesday after pilots issued a "mayday" alert.
Fourteen passengers were airlifted to hospital in Perth with injuries including concussion, lacerations and broken bones. Another 60 were treated for minor bruises and did not need hospital treatment.
The ATSB last week said the jet, which was inspected by an Airbus investigator, had no structural defects causing it to drop at a sharp 8.1 degree angle, with early indications pointing to an "irregularity" in its elevator control system.
There are 247 long-haul A330-300s used by airlines around the world out of total orders for 383 of the wide body aircraft, according to Airbus. They can hold a maximum of 335 passengers.
Qantas, the world's 10th largest airline by market value, has been hit by a number of incidents recently and promised to refund passengers on the Perth flight.
In one, Australian air safety investigators blamed an oxygen bottle for a mid-air explosion that blew a minivan-size hole in the side of Qantas jumbo jet.
The Qantas 747-400 suffered a sudden loss of cabin pressure during a flight from Hong Kong to Melbourne on July 25, forcing the aircraft to make an emergency descent before diverting to the Philippines, where it landed safely in Manila.
The pilot landed the plane manually, with help from air traffic controllers in Manila, where all 346 passengers and 19 crew disembarked safely.
(Reuters)
October 14, 2008
An error in the automatic pilot system caused an Airbus jet to drop altitude last week, injuring scores of passengers on a Qantas flight from Singapore to Perth, Australia's air safety agency said on Tuesday.
The incident was a "unique event", but was serious enough to prompt Airbus to issue emergency guidelines to airlines worldwide operating the Airbus A330-300 in the event of a similar emergency, Australian Transport Safety Bureau director Julian Walsh told reporters in Canberra.
"Incorrect values led to the flight control computers commanding a nose down aircraft movement and the aircraft pitching down," Walsh said.
The aircraft, with 303 passengers and 10 crew, was cruising at 37,000 feet (11,200m) from Singapore to Perth when it suddenly gained altitude, then plummeted more than 1,000 feet in little over a minute.
The glitch occurred in an air data inertial reference unit, which feeds information to the aircraft's main computer and had never been encountered during any previous A330-300 flights, Walsh said.
The flight sensor led the computer to incorrectly determine the jet was climbing when actually in level flight, he said.
Many on board were flung around the cabin or crashed against rooftop luggage compartments before the pilots regained control and made an emergency landing, passengers said.
The aircraft landed at a remote military and mining airstrip at Learmonth, near the port of Exmouth, around 1,100 kms (700 miles) north of Perth, last Tuesday after pilots issued a "mayday" alert.
Fourteen passengers were airlifted to hospital in Perth with injuries including concussion, lacerations and broken bones. Another 60 were treated for minor bruises and did not need hospital treatment.
The ATSB last week said the jet, which was inspected by an Airbus investigator, had no structural defects causing it to drop at a sharp 8.1 degree angle, with early indications pointing to an "irregularity" in its elevator control system.
There are 247 long-haul A330-300s used by airlines around the world out of total orders for 383 of the wide body aircraft, according to Airbus. They can hold a maximum of 335 passengers.
Qantas, the world's 10th largest airline by market value, has been hit by a number of incidents recently and promised to refund passengers on the Perth flight.
In one, Australian air safety investigators blamed an oxygen bottle for a mid-air explosion that blew a minivan-size hole in the side of Qantas jumbo jet.
The Qantas 747-400 suffered a sudden loss of cabin pressure during a flight from Hong Kong to Melbourne on July 25, forcing the aircraft to make an emergency descent before diverting to the Philippines, where it landed safely in Manila.
The pilot landed the plane manually, with help from air traffic controllers in Manila, where all 346 passengers and 19 crew disembarked safely.
(Reuters)
Il famoso MTVVSF!! (Mò Te Vojo Vedè Senza FMS!)Macchè! Anche loro hanno un gran bel sindacato!
Francamente l'articolo mi pare un po' vago per consentire di attribuire responsabilità a qualcuno. Tra l'altro 1000 ft/min non è certo un rateo da far rompere le ossa.