Doomed Airliner Automated Messages
The automated systems onboard the doomed air france A330 (called ACARS which is short for Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System) sent out 24 automated signals just before the aircraft dissappeared.
This included 14 in the space of a minute, between 2:10 and 2:11 am UTC.
In October 2008 a Qantas flight from was forced into a sudden steep and uncommanded dive by a malfunctioning ADIRU, injuring over 100. The report from ATSB shows nearly identical error messages from the Qantas flight computer as were transmitted by 447
The messages sent by the A330 included the following:
- Autopilot disengeged at 2:10 UTC
- Fly-By-Wire control systems switched to alternate law flight control mode. This happens when multiple failures of redundant systems occur.
- Next was a series of messages indicating faults and subsequent warnings in the Air Data Inertial Reference Unit (ADIRU)
- The Integrated Standby Instrument System (a backup system providing basic flight instruments.)
- The master units of the primary and secondary flight control computers.
- The pilots were receiving inconsistant speed data suggesting both too fast and too slow.
- Loss of cabin pressure occured at 2:14 UTC
So essentially the plane lost system after system and after just 4 min cabin pressure, This does not suggest a bomb or terrorist attack, which would have been instantaneous but rather a glitch in the computer system, possibly causing a sudden dive like the October 08 Qantas flight in Australia QF72 , coupled with severe storms , extremely strong winds would be enough to bring the aircraft down.
It is ironic that the error messages so closely match the errors on the Qantas flight, If the same computer glitches have occured this would mean that the officials of Airbus knew about the problem and did nothing.
The plane that went down, Registration F-GZCP underwent a major overhaul/service in April 2009, not 2 months ago, long after the Qantas flight, If it was the same computer glitch, then why was the problem not fixed while the aircraft was in service? Surely Airbus knew about the problem, 100 odd people injured from a computer glitch on one of the worlds safest airlines would not have been taken lightly.
Here is a technical document of the ACARS messages from flight 447
Acars Messages Flight 447
