Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
As you know, an Air France Airbus A-330 is missing over the Atlantic from South America to Paris France. As of this writing, there has been no visible signs of wreckage. It is presumed that Weather was a factor. According to the weather map that I saw, there was a severe weather frontal system extending from Brazil to the West Coast of Africa, which was on a Southwest to a Northeast line. This was the exact flight path of this Aircraft. It appeared to be Weather Front. It appeared that it contained Severe Thunderstorms and Severe Turbulence, which could have contributed to the Disaster. I flew the Airbus A-310, which was a smaller version of the Airbus A-330. On November 12, 2001 there was an Aviation Disaster of an Airbus A-310 departing New York's JFK Airport. The crash was attributed to Wake Turbulence attributed by a Boeing B747 that had just departed. In essence, the Airbus A-310's rudder separated from the Aircraft causing the Disaster. The flight was American Airlines Flight 587.
In the final analysis, the rudder disintegrated due to a composite material within the Rudder Structure. There is an in-depth explanation at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Airlines_Fllight_587 which goes into the details. I do not know of the construction of this Airbus A-330, however, if these two aircraft are similar, it could mean that the rudder assembly could have disintegrated also due the severe turbulence generated by the Severe Thunderstorms Aloft. I do not think that a Lightning Strike would have caused the disaster, we all(Airline Pilots) have been hit by Lightning. Electrical Power on-board an Aircraft is supplied by Engine Driven Generators (2) Auxiliary Power Unit, Battery (30Minutes) and a RAT (Ram Air Turbine). I do not think that this Disaster was caused by the lack of Electrical Power.
In conclusion, other than terrorism, the only other plausible explanation, at this point in time, is the destruction of the Aircraft due to Severe Turbulence. As I stated earlier, I flew the Airbus A-310 and also the Boeing B767 ER (Extended Range) and as the saying goes "Boeing Builds Them Better." CIAO For Now.
Captain Nicholas Gravino Jr.
In the final analysis, the rudder disintegrated due to a composite material within the Rudder Structure. There is an in-depth explanation at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Airlines_Fllight_587 which goes into the details. I do not know of the construction of this Airbus A-330, however, if these two aircraft are similar, it could mean that the rudder assembly could have disintegrated also due the severe turbulence generated by the Severe Thunderstorms Aloft. I do not think that a Lightning Strike would have caused the disaster, we all(Airline Pilots) have been hit by Lightning. Electrical Power on-board an Aircraft is supplied by Engine Driven Generators (2) Auxiliary Power Unit, Battery (30Minutes) and a RAT (Ram Air Turbine). I do not think that this Disaster was caused by the lack of Electrical Power.
In conclusion, other than terrorism, the only other plausible explanation, at this point in time, is the destruction of the Aircraft due to Severe Turbulence. As I stated earlier, I flew the Airbus A-310 and also the Boeing B767 ER (Extended Range) and as the saying goes "Boeing Builds Them Better." CIAO For Now.
Captain Nicholas Gravino Jr.
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