Malfunctioning Airplane Sensors Raise Concerns of Widespread Safety Issues

Federal investigators have discovered at least a dozen recent instances where malfunctioning equipment on U.S. jetliners made it impossible for pilots to determine their speed, including a similar failure thought to have contributed to the June Air France crash that killed 228 people. The investigation has shed new light on the widespread nature of the issue, prompting an urgent call to replace air sensors and identify the underlying causes of the errors.

Key Takeaways:

• At least a dozen recent flights by U.S. jetliners experienced malfunctioning equipment that made it impossible for pilots to know their speed.
• The discovery suggests that the equipment problems are more widespread than previously thought, with a similar failure thought to have contributed to the Air France crash in June.
• The equipment failures involved Airbus A330s from Northwest Airlines, which were briefly noticed during an investigation into the Air France crash and two other recent in-flight malfunctions.
• The failures were all associated with sensors made by Thales Corp., a European electronics giant, which were used by Air France on the ill-fated flight and other airlines.
• Airbus and European regulators have told companies to replace at least two of the three sensors on each plane with models made by North Carolina-based Goodrich Corp.
• All planes involved in the Northwest incidents landed safely, but the malfunctioning sensors raise concerns about the reliability of critical flight systems.
• The discovery highlights the need for a comprehensive replacement of air sensors and an investigation into how the errors went undetected.

Statistics:

• 12: The number of recent U.S. jetliner flights where malfunctioning equipment made it impossible for pilots to determine their speed.
• 228: The number of people killed in the Air France crash in June, which is thought to have been contributed by a similar failure.
• 32: The number of Airbus A330s operated by the merged Delta Air Lines fleet, which reviewed archived flight data to discover the malfunctioning sensors.
• 3: The number of sensors on each plane that are being replaced with Goodrich Corp. models, as mandated by Airbus and European regulators.

Sources:

• The Associated Press
• U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (no specific reference, but mentioned as part of the investigation)
• Thales Corp.
• Airbus
• European regulators (no specific reference)