Time for Airbus! A310 crash at sea

[Olivier22]

Whether it's dark or not, when you're 12000 meters away, you don't have the feeling of speed, that's clear. (to be frank, even in small planes approaching at 150m in height, we are unable to assess its speed visually (at least by looking ahead).

Second thing, the flight range is very small for a high flying plane (flying as high as possible allows high speed and low consumption, so this is what they are looking for).
The density of the air causes the stall speed to be high, and in addition there is the "high stall" caused by the shock wave on the upper surface when the flow. hit the speed of sound, i.e. when the plane approach the speed of sound (the air is accelerated at the upper surface). So an airliner is "stuck" between high and low stall speeds. The higher the plane flies, the margin is smaller ... I don't have any figures but the range is damn reduced for modern aircraft (it was wider for example for 747, with a lower practical ceiling, the technology of the time imposing greater safety margins).
The A330 is a modern aircraft.

In short, a loss of speed indication and the autopilot can send too much thrust, or not enough, and end up outside the flight envelope.
I do not know if this is what happened but it is a situation that a faulty speed info can quite cause.

As for this A310, it seems to me that the Saudi-Yemeni company was more or less in the crosshairs of European aircraft safety inspectors. Not blacklisted, but on track

[Other]

Hello

some discussions on forum pilot

Forum French private pilots

http://www.pilotes-prives.fr/viewsujet. ... &sk=t&sd=a

Forum wings quebecoise Canada

http://www.ailesquebecoises.com/viewsujet.php?t=6701

even in small planes approaching at 150m height, you are unable to assess your speed visually (at least by looking in front of you).

For pilots who fly on skis in the north it is common that the pitot tub is blocked by snow or ice, we manage to make the trip relatively well without speed indication, just when landing choose a longer lake, the speed is felt by the hardness of the controls (ailerons) in the end the plane becomes soft and sinks it is an indication that the speed of stall is approaching, a stroke of the engine to soften
The same thing for a night landing in a field
without lighting ..

For large aircraft we can not compare this to the small Piper, the controls are assisted, and it flies close to the maximum ceiling that is to say that the cruising speed and stall is very close, the room for maneuver is tight,

Andre

[Olivier22]

the speed is felt by the hardness of the controls (ailerons) in the end the plane becomes soft and sinks

even in small planes approaching at 150m in height we are unable to assess its speed visually

In large aircraft, no return of effort; speed => instruments + (hypothetical) visual sensation only

That said, it is even more the depression which indicates the loss of speed, more than the controls (for small deviations in speed). If we feel buffeting in the final we are in the same ...