More bad news for Airbus: Yemeni plane crashes with 154 aboard

[texas*princess]

CNN Story

(CNN) -- A Yemeni jetliner with more than 150 people aboard has crashed in the Indian Ocean off the island nation of Comoros, aviation officials in Yemen said Tuesday.

The jet was en route to Moroni, the capital of Comoros, from Yemen's capital Sanaa when it crashed about an hour before reaching its destination, officials from the national airline Yemenia said. There was no immediate news of the fate of those on board.

[Kevin]

Lots of Airbus planes having problems lately...

[moe.ron]

Man . . . I'm flyig Airbus this weekend.

[UofISigKap]

Originally Posted by OTW

Who besides United flies Airbus domestically?

::raises hand:: Me, on USAir next Thursday.

[texas*princess]

Originally Posted by OTW

Who besides United flies Airbus domestically?

I think American Airlines occasionally has an airbus in the mix. I know I've been on at least 1 in the last 4 yrs. but they mainly fly Boeing & MD-80s

I think that's so miraculous that they've found the toddler survivor.

[PM_Mama00]

There was a crash in Detroit back in the 80s where a little girl toddler was the sole survivor. It's really amazing when you think about it.

[PeppyGPhiB]

Originally Posted by OTW

I don't know why I did it, but I had to look up the type of aircraft we're flying to MI on Thursday.

3 flights, all Boeing 757s and 767s. Same thing on the way back.

Who besides United flies Airbus domestically?

Continental and Jet Blue. Maybe American and Northwest/Delta, but not sure. You can look it up on their Web sites.

All flight schedules/itineraries should state the plane for your flight, btw.

Honestly, maintanance plays the biggest role when it comes to planes. The A330 has issues; I don't know much about the A310. Some engineers are speculating that now that the Airbus planes are starting to get old, we're going to see more and more of them crashing due to what they classify as bad engineering/assembly. But that's just what I read on the Web, what I hear from a couple pilots I know, and what I hear from various people I know who work at Boeing.

Airbus, btw, is known in the aerospace field for basically taking Boeing's old designs and tweaking them to make them their own. The A380 super jumbo jet was actually a Boeing design from decades ago that Boeing passed over.

Some advice, based on conversations I've had with the folks mentioned above: look for airlines that have streamlined fleets. It is much easier to maintain a fleet full of only a few models of aircraft than a fleet of 10 different craft. The maintanance crews will be more knowledgable about every plane they touch if they only have to learn about (and work on) a few rather than a dozen.

ETA: Yes, American, Northwest, US Air fly Airbus, along with some Boeing planes too. US Air has a ton of Airbus planes...its Boeing planes are old models. It appears I was wrong about Delta, though...I only see Boeing planes on its Web site.

All-Boeing fleets: Southwest, Alaska Airlines (my favorite), and it appears Delta as well...of course, since they're merging with Northwest that will change.

[sdeason1]

okay so the question is was it plane failure or pilot error?
from what i understand is that airbus uses a stick ala the old days, sopwith camels, while boeing uses a yoke for steering more like a car steering wheel.

any flyers out here?

[PeppyGPhiB]

Originally Posted by sdeason1

okay so the question is was it plane failure or pilot error?
from what i understand is that airbus uses a stick ala the old days, sopwith camels, while boeing uses a yoke for steering more like a car steering wheel.

any flyers out here?

From what I'm told: Of course both use autopilot, but Airbuses rely waaaaay too much on autopilot and the flight computer, and in fact will not allow a pilot to override it in many cases; Boeing takes a different philosophy and allows pilot judgment to override flight computer or fly the plane without the computer. I've been told that if the flight computer goes out on an Airbus, the plane is toast as the pilot can't fly the plane without it. It's called "Fly by wire," though I don't know what that means exactly.

[Psi U MC Vito]

Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB

It's called "Fly by wire," though I don't know what that means exactly.

Essentially it means that there is no physical connection between the cockpit and the control surfaces. Old fashion systems have cables that run to the control surfaces from the cockpit. In Fly By Wire, you pull on the stick and it goes into a computer. The computer decides what you want to do and manipulates the proper control surfaces. I know alot of pilots hate it. They feel that it takes the pilot out of the decision loop.

[sdeason1]

Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB

From what I'm told: Of course both use autopilot, but Airbuses rely waaaaay too much on autopilot and the flight computer, and in fact will not allow a pilot to override it in many cases; Boeing takes a different philosophy and allows pilot judgment to override flight computer or fly the plane without the computer. I've been told that if the flight computer goes out on an Airbus, the plane is toast as the pilot can't fly the plane without it. It's called "Fly by wire," though I don't know what that means exactly.

fly by wire is hands on. but you have a great point. with the size of the aircraft today techo is super important as compared to the old stick and rudder peddels. so basically it ain't going to happen and crash is the only option. if the auto pilot goes out, they can still fly the aircraft. if the hydralics are lost, then there is a major situation and crash. glide paths on planes this size anymore are like stones. i some times wonder if we have not gone to far to build bigger which is not always better. one of the best planes is the boeing 737. one of the best was the lockheed-L1011 that i flew to europe/california and was told this by a pilot so there must be some truth there.

[epchick]

Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB

All-Boeing fleets: Southwest, Alaska Airlines (my favorite), and it appears Delta as well...of course, since they're merging with Northwest that will change.

I swear I almost woke up screaming b/c I thought my flight was gonna be on an Airbus.....I guess all the hype has gotten to me (which isn't hard is i'm still scared of flying). I had to wake up early and check to see whether my flight on Southwest was on an Airbus. I am breathing a sigh of relief now...lol.

[DolphinChicaDDD]

Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB

Continental... .

Nope. They are all Boeing, aside from the CO Express, who is Bombardier and Embraer. I am CO's bitch. Living near a hub, I've never flown anything but them domestically. Internationally, well, thats another Boeing story.
This thread kinds reminds me of what The Boy (who used to work for an airline) and a friend's Boy (who is a airline mechanic) like to say, "If it ain't Boeing, I ain't goin!"

[PeppyGPhiB]

Originally Posted by DolphinChicaDDD

Nope. They are all Boeing, aside from the CO Express, who is Bombardier and Embraer. I am CO's bitch. Living near a hub, I've never flown anything but them domestically. Internationally, well, thats another Boeing story.
This thread kinds reminds me of what The Boy (who used to work for an airline) and a friend's Boy (who is a airline mechanic) like to say, "If it ain't Boeing, I ain't goin!"

Sorry, my bad, I was thinking that the Continental flight I took recently was on an Airbus, but I was getting it mixed up with JetBlue. Folks in Seattle are the same way about Alaska Airlines - we fly it whenever we can since they're Seattle-based.

Anyway, yes, "If it isn't Boeing, I'm not going!" is an ooooooooold phrase that I hear all the time in this town.

[starang21]

a 5 year old was rescued

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31638822...ica/?GT1=43001