AF 447
1 Jun 2009 · Human Error (Crew)AIR FRANCE FLIGHT 447
Airbus A330-203 · Air France · Image: Wikimedia Commons
Why it happened
Stall mismanagement after pitot tubes iced over
Pitot-static probes
Airspeed indication
Stall recovery
Fly-by-wire
Aircraft
Airbus A330-203
Air France
Route
Rio de Janeiro–Galeão (GIG), Brazil
→ Paris–Charles de Gaulle (CDG), France
People
228 on board
228 fatalities
Date
1 Jun 2009
Flight crew
Captain: Marc Dubois
Category
Human Error (Crew)
When decisions in the cockpit seal the outcome.
THE STORY
Iced pitot tubes blanked the airspeed data. The crew pulled up instead of pushing down — the A330 fell 38,000 feet, fully stalled, into the Atlantic.