air France crash
A combination of technical failure and human error led to the loss of an Air France flight over the Atlantic in June 2009 and 228 deaths, according to the final report into the crash.
The report by the French aviation authority highlights faults with the Airbus 330?s air-speed sensors which confused the pilots.
But it also points to inappropriate action by them.
The jet disappeared in a storm while flying to Paris from Rio de Janeiro.
‘Total loss of control’
The BEA aviation authority said that the disaster began with the malfunctioning of speed sensors known as Pitots during a period of heavy turbulence.
The captain was taking a rest break and the co-pilots were in control at the time. The captain returned to the flight deck but was unable to reverse the catastrophic course of events which saw the plane stall and plunge into the sea.
One of the mistakes of the crew was to point the nose of the aircraft upwards after it stalled, instead of down.
“The crew was in a state of almost total loss of control of the situation,” BEA chief investigator Alain Bouillard told journalists on Thursday at the release of the final report.
