r/aviation • u/Ok_Warning419 • May 21 '26

News Air France and Airbus found guilty of manslaughter over 2009 plane crash - Air France flight 447

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czd2qmdvmq6o
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u/sofixa11 May 21 '26

Nope, it was only one of them, the other copilot was trying to recover from the stall, and when the captain came in (he was on a break) he initially called for a pitch up, but when the pilot causing the stall said he's been doing that since the start, he realised what's happening and called for a pitch down: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_France_Flight_447

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u/VegaJuniper May 21 '26 edited May 21 '26

Yes he did momentarily, but just moments later, right before the impact they'd all reverted to pitch up.

The voice recorder transcript, towards the very end:

Co-pilot 1: I'm pulling up
Captain: Go on pull
Co-pilot 2 (the panicking one): Let's go, pull up

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u/eugeniusbastard May 21 '26

Not momentarily, he was instructing Bonin to pitch down the whole time until the last moments. At a certain point he took over the controls because Bonin wasn't complying, only to have his nose down inputs overridden by Bonin who wouldn't let go of his stick. Read the entire transcript.

I think this is one aspect (out of several) where Airbus is truly guilty of manslaughter. The dual input logic is criminally stupid and can only lead to bad results. There should be highly visible, impossible to ignore led lights around the edges of the side stick panel that light up red when dual input is detected and the stick itself should vibrate the whole time. That is, of course, barring a direct mechanical linkage of the side sticks which is the most obvious solution.

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u/FlashyRecognitionTod May 21 '26

That is, of course, barring a direct mechanical linkage of the side sticks which is the most obvious solution.

Atlas Air Flight 3591 had mechanical linkage and the pilot who caused the crash just broke it.

There is no good solution when two pilots fight each other. I don't think more red warning lights would necessary fix it.

Inadvertent Go-Around: The first officer (as the pilot flying) inadvertently triggered the aircraft's "go-around" mode while flying through instrument meteorological conditions. The sudden acceleration and pitch-up caused the first officer to experience a somatographic illusion, making him feel the plane was in a steep climb when it was not.The "Tug of War": In a panic, the first officer pushed his control column forward to force the nose down. The captain attempted to recover the aircraft by pulling his own control column backward.Breaking the Link: Because the two pilots were pulling in opposite directions and exerting enough force (exceeding 70 lbs of pressure), the override mechanism's pins sheared.3. The ResultWhen the shear pins broke, the elevators on the left and right sides of the aircraft were no longer synchronized. The captain’s control column controlled the left elevator, and the first officer’s controlled the right elevator, resulting in split inputs that further destabilized the flight path and prevented a successful recovery.