Co-pilot error caused AA 587 crash

Jay Beckman wrote:

"Sylvia Else" wrote in message
u...


nobody wrote:


Pete wrote:


I thought that was one of the main advantages of fly-by-wire systems,
to eliminate truly stupid actions of pilots. Sounds like Airbus shares
a lot of blame for the crash.


The A300-600 is not fly by wire. It is a 1970s plane updated to some
extent
in the 1980s.

And I have been told that because rudders are so rarely used in flight
that
Airbus didn't actually make it "smart" with software to restrict movement
depending on airplane's speed etc on its FBW planes.

The first FBW passenger airliner, the A320, has some residual non FBW
capability to allow the aircraft to be flown (though not landed, I think)
with the FBW system inoperative, the idea being that the problem might be
fixable in the air. I have a feeling (don't quote me) that the rudder is
part of that residual ability.

This design philosophy may or may not have been continued.

Sylvia.



Is that due to the crash at the Paris Airshow several years back?

Not being able to land in that configuration? No - simply that it would
be so difficult (or maybe just physically impossible) to pull off a
successful landing that in practice no one would achieve it.


IIRC, the pilot commanded a flight attitude in the landing config that the
software wouldn't allow and that led to the aircraft settling into the
trees.

I think that pilot was just asking the aircraft to do something that was
beyond its capabilities. I seem to remember he claimed that the engines
didn't spin up when commanded, but that was disputed. I never read the
report, though.

Sylvia.