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By Tom Fenton |
With so much going on here and elsewhere, I hesitate to revisit the subject of the May 31 Air France 447 catastrophe.
But pilots, former military and commercial, continue to e-mail me with their comments and speculation.
After reading those that arrived this week, I feel compelled to make you aware of what they are saying.
It may make you think twice before flying in any of the European-consortium produced Airbus series aircraft.
Granted the truth of what happened may not be known until the black box is recovered. But as the search continues, here’s what pilots are saying about what may have happened to the Airbus A330 over the Atlantic.
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This from a 7,000-hour commercial pilot now in the airliner salvage business at Opa Locka Airport in Florida:
I have scrapped just about every type of transport aircraft from A310, A320, B747, 727, 737, 707 – over a hundred of them.
Airbus products are the flimsiest and most poorly designed as far as airframe structure is concerned because of an almost obsession to utilize composite materials.
I have one A310 vertical fin on the premises. It was pathetic to see the composite structure shattered as it did – something a Boeing product will not do.
The vertical fin, along with the composite hinges on rudder and elevators, are the worst examples of structural use of composites I have ever seen.
I’m not surprised by the pictures of rescue crews recovering the complete vertical fin and rudder.
The Airbus line has a history of both multiple rudder losses and a vertical fin and rudder separation from the airframe – as was the case in New York with American Airlines (fatal crash).
One gets a really unique insight into structural issues in the dismantling process.
I was absolutely stunned, flabbergasted, when I realized that the majority of internal airframe structural supports on the A310, which appear to be aluminum, are actually rolled composite material with aluminum rod ends. They shattered.
Three years ago we had a storm come through, with gusts up to 60-70 knots, catching several A320s tied down on the line, out in the open.
The A320 elevators and rudder hinges whose actuators had been removed shattered and the rudder and elevators came off.
Upon closer inspection, I realized that not only were the rear spars composite but so were the hinges.
While Boeing also uses composite material in its airfoil structures, the actual attach fittings for the elevators, rudder, vertical and horizontal stabilizers are all of machined aluminum.
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Another pilot comments: I’m watching very carefully the orchestration of the inquiry by French officials and Airbus.
I smell a concerted effort to steer discussion away from structural issues and on to sensors, etc.
Air France is replacing all the air data sensors on the Airbus fleet. This creates a distraction and shifts the media’s focus away from the real problem.
It’s difficult to delve into the structural issue without wading into the Boeing vs. Airbus swamp, where any observation is instantly tainted by its origin.
Americans noting any Airbus structural issues will be attacked by the other side as partisan, biased, etc.
Comments or question? E-mail tomfenton@elpasoinc.com
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