Airbus A320 crashes in French Alps

[moonbogg]

This is a tragedy. I always wondered what good a distress call can do for a jet that's in real trouble. They sent a distress call and then crashed into the cold, frigid mountains. No one is expected to have survived.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/24/europe/france-plane-crash/index.html

 

[Genx87]

A distress call is so they can send out help for anybody that does survive. Or pick up the bodies\wreckage.

 

[moonbogg]

There was some rapid changes in altitude and speed before the crash. This sounds kind of familiar from another recent major crash last year, or rather that plane that vanished in the ocean.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

There was some rapid changes in altitude and speed before the crash. This sounds kind of familiar from another recent major crash last year, or rather that plane that vanished in the ocean.

Planes that are in the process of crashing tend to have major changes in altitude and speed.

 

[Londo_Jowo]

I suspect it's another case of an Airbus plane that experienced a frozen air speed sensor.

 

[Jaskalas]

Maintenance or inspection the day before...

I'm calling out a potential terrorist saboteur on the work detail.

 

[brycejones]

Planes that are in the process of crashing tend to have major changes in altitude and speed.

Typically followed by a catastrophic ground/aircraft interaction.

 

[dainthomas]

I suspect it's another case of an Airbus plane that experienced a frozen air speed sensor.

But in this case it was during the day with no inclement weather (that I've heard). Even if it was the sensor you'd think the pilots could visually see what's going on around them.

 

[Meghan54]

They sent a distress call and then crashed into the cold, frigid mountains. No one is expected to have survived.

Actually, what's being reported is the plane never sent any distress call. The distress call was put out by the air traffic controllers in France when they saw the plane descending rapidly.

Also, it's being reported that it took 8 minutes to descend, which is being said indicates someone was trying to control the jet. They say the plane would have fallen much faster if it was just out of control and falling.

 

[CZroe]

Maintenance or inspection the day before...

I'm calling out a potential terrorist saboteur on the work detail.

...or on the plane. It crashed during the tiny portion of the flight that crossed France, which was the target of other recent terrorist attacks. It also happened during the cruise phase when most accidental crashes are at takeoff or landing. They made it a point to say that there were many Turks on board, though I wouldn't jump to that conclusion (haven't heard of many Turkish terrorists and nationality alone can't be a basis for suspicion).

 

[z1ggy]

I hate how CNN turns this into a emotion/fear fueled story.

PLANE OBLITERATED

NO WRECKGE FOUND LARGER THAN SIZE OF SMALL CAR

BODIES STREWN FOR HUNDREDS OF METERS


Is that really needed? I think we all know what happens when many tons of metal, which hold fragile humans inside it, looks like after it hits an immovable object moving at high speed.

 

[Genx87]

CNN is terrible. Have they enlarged the title font to 72 yet?

 

[alzan]

There was some rapid changes in altitude and speed before the crash. This sounds kind of familiar from another recent major crash last year, or rather that plane that vanished in the ocean.

An Airbus A320 pilot was on CNN this morning reporting that going from 38,000 to 5,000 ft in 8 minutes (4,000 ft./minute) is what you would expect; a sudden depressurization at 38,000 would send the plane down at 6,000 feet per minute.

 

[MomentsofSanity]

I hate how CNN turns this into a emotion/fear fueled story.

PLANE OBLITERATED

NO WRECKGE FOUND LARGER THAN SIZE OF SMALL CAR

BODIES STREWN FOR HUNDREDS OF METERS


Is that really needed? I think we all know what happens when many tons of metal, which hold fragile humans inside it, looks like after it hits an immovable object moving at high speed.

Thank you! I had them on last night briefly with my 13 year old daughter watching. They switched to the UVA story and managed to work the word rape in 9 times in about 45 seconds before I found the remote to change the channel. Yeah, it's a valid word but come on!

 

[z1ggy]

Thank you! I had them on last night briefly with my 13 year old daughter watching. They switched to the UVA story and managed to work the word rape in 9 times in about 45 seconds before I found the remote to change the channel. Yeah, it's a valid word but come on!

It's because stories aren't "news" any more unless it's sensational. If they don't make you feel angry/sad or afraid, then it won't captivate you, which in turn leads to less people viewing, and less profits.

 

[Hugo Drax]

I suspect it's another case of an Airbus plane that experienced a frozen air speed sensor.

I think release 3.05b of the avionics software package will fix a bug regarding sudden unexpected automatic ascent/descent triggered by bug AB794432v

Workaround manual switchover to direct law.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

It's because stories aren't "news" any more unless it's sensational. If they don't make you feel angry/sad or afraid, then it won't captivate you, which in turn leads to less people viewing, and less profits.

A friend of mine works for a major local news station here in LA. She told me whenever there is an accident on the freeway, the first question they ask is "Is there a fire?".

 

[runzwithsizorz]

An Airbus A320 pilot was on CNN this morning reporting that going from 38,000 to 5,000 ft in 8 minutes (4,000 ft./minute) is what you would expect; a sudden depressurization at 38,000 would send the plane down at 6,000 feet per minute.

Not quite true, pressurized or not the plane doesn't care. If there was a depressurization, the PILOT not the plane would want to come down fast. The loss of all thrust at THAT altitude would indeed be around 4,000 ft./minute, or much more, (thin air). Flight path indicates the pilot had surface controls,(or auto-pilot still on), just no Hudson river. Bangs, or popping noises heard from witnesses could mean the attempts to restart engines. The biggest question here is, why no radio????? it is the first rule! Sounds as though a terrorist got control for the cockpit, but didn't have a clue how to fly it.

 

[Subyman]

I hate how CNN turns this into a emotion/fear fueled story.

PLANE OBLITERATED

NO WRECKGE FOUND LARGER THAN SIZE OF SMALL CAR

BODIES STREWN FOR HUNDREDS OF METERS


Is that really needed? I think we all know what happens when many tons of metal, which hold fragile humans inside it, looks like after it hits an immovable object moving at high speed.

The media is completely shameless. Fox News was already doing that shit this morning. You can tell they have a formula for air plane crashes. Not a few hour after the crash and they have experts lined up, 3d models of the flight path, pilots on the show to speculate, yadda yadda. It was like shepard smith was getting off talking about the black box and what "could" be stored on it. So dumb.

There was palpable excitement coming from the Fox Newsroom, really creepy.

 

[boomerang]

The biggest question here is, why no radio????? it is the first rule!

No, it's not. Educate yourself.

 

[flexy]

No, it's not. Educate yourself.

I am sure the first priority would be to get the plane under control, HOWEVER I too find it highly odd that during 8 mins of rapid descent in an emergency they didn't send distress over the radio. I am obviously not a pilot, but there IS something off.

This crash really shocked me for various reasons. First, this is a route which is basically flown ALL THE TIME day every day, we took a flight from Germany to Spain when me moved, basically same route. It's awesome, you fly over the alps and then over the Mediterranean Sea...spectacular, all I can say.

Some budget carriers like Ryan Air etc. fly you down there for under €30, so it's really a route where you'd never suspect anything dangerous to happen.

The other thing is that Lufthansa is really a super-safe airline. Ok it's Germanwings..but still basically Lufthansa.
Really want to know what happened there. Planes don't "just crash" out of 38,000 ft.

The statement of some "official" who immediately ruled out problems with the plane I can only find ridiculous!
Right now we don't know ANYTHING. But then, what else should it be than a problem with the plane, SOMETHING obviously failed to work as intended.

The other scenario would be something terrorist related (which is NOT far-fetched at all as opposed to what media claim)...in fact I find the latter rather likely....

 

[RampantAndroid]

But in this case it was during the day with no inclement weather (that I've heard). Even if it was the sensor you'd think the pilots could visually see what's going on around them.

When you're at all far up - even 10k feet up in my experience skydiving, things don't really move THAT much. Not enough to see the speed you're going. Plus, people will often listen to the warnings given in the cockpit rather than look.

I am sure the first priority would be to get the plane under control, HOWEVER I too find it highly odd that during 8 mins of rapid descent in an emergency they didn't send distress over the radio. I am obviously not a pilot, but there IS something off.

Go look up United 232 (there's a good documentary with the now-passed away Denny Fitch.) Pilot, Co-pilot and training instructor (Fitch) spent most of their time just trying to control a DC-10 that had no hydraulics left. Only way they communicated with ATC was because back then they still had a flight engineer.

 

[Fern]

I am sure the first priority would be to get the plane under control, HOWEVER I too find it highly odd that during 8 mins of rapid descent in an emergency they didn't send distress over the radio. I am obviously not a pilot, but there IS something off.
-snip-

Yeah, seems so. I kept hearing pilots on the news today saying "Aviate, Navigate, Communicate" in that order.

They didn't send a distress signal, they didn't try to turn away form the mountains etc. Yeah, weird.

Fern

 

[MongGrel]

This one does seem pretty odd actually.

Those planes are very reliable, was a branch of Lufthansa more or less I believe with inspections in order, and had a very veteran pilot flying it.

 

[z1ggy]

Yeah, seems so. I kept hearing pilots on the news today saying "Aviate, Navigate, Communicate" in that order.

They didn't send a distress signal, they didn't try to turn away form the mountains etc. Yeah, weird.

Fern

I think this is one of the cases where once black box information is analyzed, we will have a good idea of what happened.

I remember the one crash that happened about a decade about on an airbus from Brazil to EU and the pilots never made a distress call. It was that frozen sensor that was talked about earlier in the comments here... They didn't even know they were going down. They knew something was "wrong" but because it at night and a few various factors, they ignored what the computers were telling them.

In this case though, I do find it very strange they made a fairly "slow" decent down, ie... they didn't seem to have a catastrophic failure that resulted in a total loss of control. It was day time, so they could obviously tell they were losing altitude, even if instrumentation was off. If they lost an engine, it would seem weird that they wouldn't call that in. I thought these planes were designed to be able to fly with just one, albeit at a much lower speed and altitude? Maybe I'm wrong.