Faulty speed sensors caused crash?

AP image

After reports that faulty airspeed sensors may have contributed to the crash of Air France Flight 477, there are reports that the airline has pledged to replace two of every three airspeed sensors on its fleet of A330 and A340 aircraft.

According to reports Air France made this commitment to pilot representatives of the airline after speculation that damage caused by ice or possible obstruction of these sensors had been responsible for unreliable airspeed readings onboard the jet.

Incorrect airspeed readings could have caused the jet to either stall and plunge to the sea or exceed its designed maximum speed causing the jet to breakup midair.

Earlier, a Brazilian search team had recovered a large tail section of the Air France jet that crashed a week ago over the Atlantic. The Brazilian military released photos of divers securing the tail fin, which was painted with Air France colours.

Officials did not comment on what it was. But a video posted on the Air Force website apparently of the same object was titled "vertical stabilizer found", also known as the plane's tail.

Meanwhile, at least 24 bodies of Air France flight 447 have been recovered from the Atlantic. That may help give friends and family of victims some form of closure.

The French accident bureau revealed that the 24 automatic messages received show an inconsistency in the speeds recorded by different sensors of the aircraft. It's not clear if the humidity and freezing temperatures may have led to speed sensors failing and if that in turn may have resulted in the plane flying at an incorrect speed leading to the crash.

Meanwhile, family members and friends of the victims of Air France Flight 447 attended a memorial service outside Paris on Monday (June 8) to say good-bye to their loved ones. Under rainy skies they found comfort among the mourners who attended the service at the Notre Dame Cathedral outside of Paris.

The service was held after searchers at the site of the crash found bodies from the wreckage and retrieved a large amount of debris from the plane that plunged into the Atlantic Ocean in the worst air disaster since 2001. Relatives and friends were finding it especially difficult to grieve under the circumstances because the bodies aren't there so the families are finding it hard to grieve.

What really happened to Air France?

More inferences seem to suggest what really happened to Air France. Nine days after an Air France jetliner crashed into the Atlantic on a flight between Rio De Janeiro and Paris there are indicators that faulty airspeed indicators may have caused the accident in which more than 200 people lost their lives.

Air France A330-200

Faulty air-speed sensors?

"As an international team recovers more bodies and more wreckage from Air France flight 447 there are now indicators that the needle of suspicion points to faulty air speed sensors on the Airbus A-330 jet."

Pitot tubes may have been obstructed

"According to reports the pitot tubes on the jet may have been covered in ice or obstructed resulting in faulty air speed readings being sent to the cockpit of the jet. Air France has now promised pilots that they will replace these sensors on its fleet of Airbus A330 and A340 jets within days."

Jet may have been too fast or too slow

"Aviation experts believe inaccurate airspeed readings on this display in the cockpit of the jet may have resulted in the jet flying either too fast or too slow."

Did the jet stall or overspeed?

"As a result the jet which was flying through bad weather could have stalled and plummeted to the sea or gone too fast and broken up midair because of extreme stresses.

Tail breaks off fuselage

"This piece of wreckage, the tail appears to have been shorn clean off the fuselage leading many to believe the jet may have gone through a catastrophic structural failure in its final moments."

Tags: plane crash, plane debris