By Andrea Rothman
June 11 (Bloomberg) -- Air France received a delivery of new speed sensors for its Airbus SAS A330 planes just days before 228 people died in a crash that may have been triggered by unreliable readings on the aircraft’s velocity.
The sensors, known as Pitot tubes, are meant to replace older versions from Thales SA that Airbus recommended should be upgraded as long ago as September 2007. Chief Executive Officer Pierre Henri Gourgeon told a press briefing he’s “not convinced” that the probes were the cause of the crash.
Air France planned to swap the components only when there was an indication that they needed replacing, Gourgeon said today at the briefing in Paris, where the carrier is based. He said the sensors were ordered April 27 and had arrived on May 29 -- three days before the June 1 crash.
“It was decided two, three or four months earlier that when a speed sensor on an A330 or A340 was broken and needed replacing we would replace it with the new ones,” he said. “We had decided with Airbus that certain recent events seemed to show that the new ones could be a bit better.”
Gourgeon didn’t specify to which events he was referring. Air France pilots have reported mid-flight failures of one or two of an aircraft’s three Pitot tubes before, and all three showing differing data could trigger a chain of events that break down systems meant to make air travel safer.
Upgrade Pledge
Following last week’s crash, and under pressure from its pilots, Air France pledged to upgrade at least two sensors on each A330 and A340 aircraft before their next flight. The remaining probes will be replaced by the end of this month.
The carrier began changing the probes on smaller A320 planes in 2007 because “water ingress had been observed,” something that didn’t show up on A330s and A340s.
Investigators are examining whether ice damage to the airspeed sensors or their obstruction caused unreliable readings that may have contributed to the crash of the Airbus SAS A330- 200 as it traveled from Rio de Janeiro to Paris.
Accurate airspeed readings are crucial because flying too quickly can damage a plane’s airframe, while traveling too slowly produces a stall and loss of control.
Following the crash, Air France and Toulouse, France-based Airbus issued reminders to pilots of procedures to follow when measurements become unreliable. Airbus CEO Tom Enders said today that the investigation hasn’t yet yielded a definitive cause.
“What we know does not explain the crash,” he said in an interview in London.
Link Lacking
The French BEA, or Bureau d’Enquetes et d’Analyses, which is leading the inquiry, said that “no definite link” has so far been proven between the Pitot tubes and the cause of the accident.
“We don’t know,” a BEA official said by telephone. “It’s a fact there was something with the speed sensors, but we can not establish a link.”
European Transport Commissioner Antonio Tajani said today that he’d been in touch with the French authorities and that early indications suggest several factors may have been at play.
“It’s difficult to say that there is a single cause,” Tajani said at a press conference in Luxembourg. “In my view there were technical and meteorological causes, but it’s too early to say what caused the series of events.”
Brazilian Search
The search for victims and debris from the plane that plunged into the Atlantic Ocean last week now stretches from Brazil to the coast of Africa, as a French nuclear submarine began hunting for the flight recorders.
Brazil’s Air Force transported 16 bodies by helicopter from ships to the island of Fernando de Noronha and from there to the northeastern Brazilian city of Recife for identification, the military said. Twenty-five more bodies are due to arrive.
Brazilian military officials will meet June 17 to discuss how long the search for corpses should go on, Air Force Brigadier Ramon Cardoso said at a news conference. He said the operation will continue until at least June 19.
Gourgeon said today that autopsies should give more clues about that the crash and that he expects further information next week. He promised complete transparency in the probe, “even if it has negative implications for us.”
The CEO spent the first 10 minutes of today’s briefing speaking about the accident, before saying that he couldn’t comment further. The event had been scheduled before June 1.
To contact the reporter on this story: Andrea Rothman in Paris at aerothman@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: June 11, 2009 13:38 EDT
