Rebooting Your Airbus (After All The Screens Go Dark)

[Voegelin]

AV Web
By Russ Niles
April 24, 2006

. . . pilots of Airbus A320-series airliners are getting new guidance on what to do if the screens on their electronically biased aircraft go blank . . .Britain's Air Accidents Investigation Branch released a report on an incident aboard a British Airways A319 . . .The incident brought to light five similar instances on Airbuses. In the October incident, the plane was over southern England when the crew heard an audible "clunk." Five of six screens went out, the intercom and radio failed, the autopilot and autothrottles disengaged and most of the cockpit lights went out . . .

http://www.avweb.com/newswire/12_17a/briefs/192079-1.html

 

[Gramaic]

Hope the problem gets fixed fast, before it leads to something worse.

 

[chalice_thunder]

Our Seattle Motto:

"If it's not Boeing, I'm not going!"

 

[JPPT1974]

Our Seattle Motto:

"If it's not Boeing, I'm not going!"

Why not Boeing?

 

[euphoria]

To think I've ridden in a couple of Airbusses.

I thought the wings were going to come off because a lot of rivets were loose. They are ill maintained.

Boeing it is for me too, from now on.

 

[SteelEdge]

To think I've ridden in a couple of Airbusses.

I thought the wings were going to come off because a lot of rivets were loose. They are ill maintained.

Boeing it is for me too, from now on.

The phrase regarding "loose screws" comes to mind.

Seriously, it is the airlines that maintain aircraft, regardless of make or model.

 

[Voegelin]

International Herald Tribune (April 25, 2006):

Airbus has been quietly pitching (a) standing-room-only option to Asian carriers, though none has agreed to it. yet. Passengers in the standing section would be propped against a padded backboard, held in place with a harness . . .

Makes it more exciting when the cockpit computer crashes.

Next up: Subway straps on on the ailerons, children only seating in the wheel wells and, to add still more seats, lavatories replaced by bedpans.

 

[Black_Ivy]

While the Boeings on which I've flown were nicer than the Airbuses, I've never had any trouble trusting an Airbus. I thought they generally were safe planes to fly on...

 

[Voegelin]

Tupelovs are the ones to watch out for. Airbus and Boeing are fine.

Booked a flight once in Eastern Europe and the travel agent said, "Oh!...Look!...you to fly Tupelov! Hahahaha!. . . . "

 

[Ave Maria]

While the Boeings on which I've flown were nicer than the Airbuses, I've never had any trouble trusting an Airbus. I thought they generally were safe planes to fly on...

They have to be generally safe or they wouldn't fly. Or at least I'd think so.

 

[chalice_thunder]

Why not Boeing?

Perhaps you misunderstood.

WE build Boeing planes.

We have pride in the work we do.

We build the best planes in the world.

Our motto says that, if it's not built here, it's inferior.

 

[wiggsfly]

I still remember when the first A320's were rolled out. There was a crash during an airshow when the pilot was exuting a low pass and the autopilot decided it was landing. The autopilot won the argument and all about died.


In one of the Caravans my company flies we have a multi-function display unit by avidyne that is litterally a pentium 166 computer running on Windows NT 4. IT crashes a couple of times a week in the air and we get the "blue screen of death" and have to reboot.

 

[theeyesoftammyfaye]

my favourite airplane to fly by far is the MD-80 series. i've always had a comfortable, safe, and quiet trip on every MD-80 i've flown.

widebodies still freak me out sometimes - rolling down the runway on a 747 you have to wonder how the thing can even get off the ground.

 

[Quantos]

Guess that brings a new def to the term Computer Crash.

 

[Voegelin]

OP April 25th: . . . pilots of Airbus A320-series airliners are getting new guidance on what to do if the screens on their electronically biased aircraft go blank . . .

Tue May 2, 2006 11:45 PM EDT:

MOSCOW (Reuters) - An Armenian airliner carrying 113 people crashed into the sea in heavy rain off Russia's southern coast on Wednesday, and rescue workers were retrieving bodies at the site, officials and local media said. . . the plane was an Airbus 320 . . ."The plane was in an ideal technical condition, the crew was well qualified," Andrei Aghajanov, deputy commercial director of the airline, told Reuters . . .continued

 

[Macano]

I thought this pic was appropriate

 

[xMinionX]

Cockpit audio: "Aw, crap."