Air France Flight 447: Accident Analysis and Recommendations

This article provides a detailed analysis of the Air France Flight 447 accident, including the causes, findings, and recommendations for future safety measures. It discusses the role of sophisticated systems, mechanical issues, and human error in the accident. The article also explores the impact of the accident on civil aviation regulations and the necessary changes in the system operation. Aerospace Engineering students will find this study material helpful for understanding aircraft accidents and safety measures.

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The Air France Flight 447.
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Introduction
Air France Flight 447 was an international passenger flight which was scheduled from Rio de
Janeiro to Paris. The flight crashed on 1 June 2009.The plane was carrying 216 passengers with
three aircrew and nine cabin crew. Among the 216 passengers 126 were men and 82 were
women and 8 children. In addition there were three pilots with 12 crew members whereby 1 were
French and one from France. The discussion analyses how the accident occurred, the main part
of aircraft affected and reasons which made to failure. The conclusion shows the future
recommendation on how to avoid accidents.
Index
(Sophisticated, cabin crew, mechanical issues, metrological data, computer complex matrix, Pitot
tubes, human error, turbulence)
Description of the accident in detail.
Major points of accident and accident findings
Basically, no other flight had disappeared in history without the even a mayday call, a witness or
trace on the radar like the Air France Flight 447. The airplane on itself was considered amongst
the safest. The flight was equipped with well automated wire systems which were manipulated to
reduce the human error by allowing computers to control different components of the airplane.
Despite all these sophisticated aspects the flight disappeared rising an answer to be answered.
Sincerely speaking every plane just like cars they are built from thousands of parts which are
made by different manufacturers and before the flight took off there are those who are in charge
of inspecting any technical problem (David & Schraagen, 2018 p.78). Over the last five years,
several theories have been put aside to describe the cause of the accident.

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The report structure of accident investigation.
The report on the investigation of the accidents was based on identifying the mechanical
problems which could have been associated with the Flight 447. The goal of the investigation
was to enhance the safety of future flights. The investigation was carried out by different
participants especially those who were involved in the manufacture of the 447 flight. The
Brazilian air force aviation experts were involved and they were later joined by the USA aviation
experts. The investigation came up with the two-issue which were believed to be the source of
the accident. The report released by the experts include the possible conditions which resulted in
the loss of flight 447. The summary on the report revealed by the experts indicated that some
parts of the plane which recovered helped in designing appropriate procedure. Some of the issue
included in the report are;
The airliner could have struck on the surface of the sea which is normal to appropriate altitudes.
The remaining parts of the flight didn't indicate anything which was either related by explosions
and fires.
The report reveals that the airliner of the plane didn't break up in flight.
Le Figaro reported that the investigation had ruled out and there was a malfunction in the 4447
flight. This was reported as the major cause of crash according to the information revealed by the
data records of flight 447 (David & Schraagen, 2018 p.123). On May 18 the head of the
investigation argued that the malfunction of the 447 flight had been found from the data recorder
of the flight although minor malfunctions had not been ruled. Most of the reports about the flight
447 were full of contrivances.
Recommendations raised about the operation

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Two weeks after the accidents occurred the pieces of the airframe were scooped from the ocean
and collected in a warehouse in Toulouse. Some of the aviation experts started speculating
assumptions on how the accident occurred. Some indicated that the plane came apart in the air
with other experts suggesting that the plane landed on one end and it shattered. There were also
mysteries that occurred along the path also. Before the plane went down it changed to a big
cluster of rolling clouds although there was other three air flight which turned back to avoid the
weather (David & Schraagen,2018). The reason why the plane flew to the massive cloud give a
clear explanation of why the accident occurred. After the plane took off in Rio de Janeiro there
were no mechanical issues and all conditions were clear. Just two hours before the flight could
take off the pilot had indicated that there was a problem on one of the panels left aside to the
cockpit but this was rectified by the engineers.
As the flight started its journey to Tasil Point, the skies were clear and they seemed reassuringly
clear. In the cockpit of the 447 flight the pilots were chatting with the assistance in Brazil and the
frequencies of the radio could be detected. At around 1:36 the pilots tried to call Brazil line in
order to know the altitude and the flight plan. After a short while, the controllers tried to call to
ask when the pilot was anticipating to reach Tasil. After seven seconds there was no response
and the controllers called again but the flight 447 didn't respond.
How the accident changed the civil aviation regulations
Right after the accident occurred the Air France board spread a corrective measure so as to
prevent the occurrence of the same accident in the nation. David & Schraagen (2018) shows that
there was a need to replace the Pitot tubes whereby by the end of 2009 all planes in France were
to be fitted with pilot tubes that could not freeze when hit with ice crystals. The flight was
replaced with the AF 4445 after the accident.

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How the system should have worked in a normal situation.
Details of the structure of the system
The computer system in aircraft involves the collection of systems that completely automates the
plane. The complex computer directs the plane on how to fly by indicating the altitude and
engine thrust. Through this, the system is able to control the force moved by plane in the air.
After the computer system started misbehaving it indicated that the Pitot tubes were not in good
condition. Pitot tubes are the devices which help in measuring the total pressure and the static
pressure which determines the speed or velocity of the plane. The duct of the tube points outside
the duct to measure the airflow. The tube also has manometer which is connected to transmit
velocity related information to the computer matrix.
Evaluation of system operation
Generally, the Pitot tubes are fitted in an appropriate manner to ensure that there are minimal
turbulence and interferences in the aircraft. All the Pitot tubes are designed by use of appropriate
calibration standards so as to ensure efficiency.
Reasons which led to failure.
A component which led to the failure
It's clear that there was inconsistency in the computer system in flight 447. The computer failure
was identified as the major source of the crash.
Effect of failed component
After the flight had crossed the equatorial ITCZ the computer system started sending 24 fault
messages indicating that there was speed inconsistency in the plane. When the computer system

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fails to respond positively, the Pitot tubes starts misbehaving. Pitot tubes are the speed sensors
and temperature sensors in the plane which are underneath the cockpit of the aircraft.
Evaluation of the effect of the failed component on the performance of aircraft
The analysis indicated that the weather conditions were the main aspect which affected the Pitot
tubes of the aircraft. After the accident occurred some aviation engineers started investigating the
real problem of flight 447. It was observed that the pilot tubes were blocked with the ice crystals
(David & Schraagen, 2018 p.190). This led to the decline of automatic controls of the plane. The
autopilot and the auto-thrust went off immediately and that's why the plane could not signal to
Brazilian controllers. This surprised the pilots but they could not understand that the real
problem was the airspeed which was not correct at all. Blockage of pilot tubes by the ice crystals
was a common phenomenon but the pilots were not aware of this. The plane started climbing
until an altitude of 38,000 feet. At this point, the controllers and the pilots were unable to
understand the situation the plane was. The pilots failed to put the nose down and recover the
plane thus causing the plane to remain stalled until it was impacted with water.
Conclusion and recommendation.
In order to ensure improvement in the system operation, the aircraft engineers need to work
thoroughly on the computer complex matrix. In order to ensure 100% efficiency on velocity
pressure reading the Pitot tubes should point parallel to the airstream. If the tubes are correctly
placed there will be maximum velocity readings. Therefore, the Pitot tubes should be inserted at
least 9 diameters beneath and away from elbows or any obstruction that can create turbulence.
Therefore, to ensure accurate readings the measurement patterns should be identified and
followed. Also, most of the times you find that air velocity in the plane not laminar or equal to

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the area of the duct inserted in the Pitot tubes thus unable to determine the average velocity thus
need to design a clear pattern when designing the parts (Wise,Rio & Fedouach,2011 p.89).
In order to reduce accidents, there are a lot of factors to consider. Most of the times aircraft
accidents tend to occur due to human error. For example, flight 447 incurred some errors when it
was in the air. The records indicate that the computer had sent more than 24 messages on fault
action in the system but the pilot he could not notice. Also, the control team failed to assist after
the 24 fault messages were recorded. This can be described as human error and pilot need to be
precise and keen when handling the computer system to reduce future accidents. Also, the
metrological data should give clear direction on the climatic/weather conditions before the flight
and even through the flight. The 447 flight was faced by weather conditions whereby the ice
crystals clogged the Pitot tubes thus interfering with the normal functions. This was described as
unanticipated system components breakdown in the sense that almost all aircraft are constructed
with Pitot tubes beneath the cockpit (Wise, Rio & Fedouach, 2011 p.145). Therefore, in
summary, the weather conditions and human error should be handled in the future to prevent
further accidents.

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References
David, L.Z. and Schraagen, J.M., 2018. Analysing communication dynamics at the transaction
level: the case of Air France Flight 447. Cognition, Technology & Work, 20(4), pp.637-649.
Wise, J., Rio, A. and Fedouach, M., 2011. What really happened aboard Air France
447. Popular Mechanics, 6, pp.35-36.