After the Air France flight 447, an Airbus 330, crashed in the Atlantic killing 228 passengers, the manufacturer has issued precautionary guidelines to all airlines owning Airbus 330 aircraft.
In India, Jet Airways, Air India, and Kingfisher have 19 Airbus 330s. All the airline officials, however, say there’s no reason to worry.
On May 31, the Air France flight to Paris from Rio De Janiero crashed in the Atlantic because its faulty airspeed sensors gave false readings.
But officials from airlines in India owning the Airbus 330 aircraft say there is nothing to fear as they have checked the AirSpeed sensors according to the manufacturer’s direction. “We have checked the sensors of our two Airbus 330s. There is no problem with them,” the Air India spokesperson said.
Even Jet Airways, which has 12 Airbus 330s, have their aircraft periodically checked. “Two of our aircraft have been given on lease. In January 2008, Airbus had called for an inspection of the AirSpeed indication system of the Airbus 330 fleet. All inspections in accordance with airbus requirement were completed by April 2009,” the Jet Airways spokesperson said. “We are in continuous communication with Airbus. If and when any new development/requirement arises it will be complied with.”
The spokesperson for Kingfisher, which has five Airbus 330s, said the aircraft were equipped with the latest speed sensors.
“All the aircraft in the fleet of Kingfisher Airlines are fitted with the latest version of the sensors. There are no mandated updates pending,” he said. “We are in touch with Airbus. We follow all precautionary guidelines issued by the aircraft manufacturer.”
Safety features Weather radars are fitted in all Airbus and Boeing aircraft. It gauges the intensity of rain or storm. It enables the pilot to plan his route with the help of the air traffic controlling officer.
Windshear is fitted on top of the aircraft. A monitor inside the flight detects direction of wind, heat and velocity at varying heights. It helps the pilot determine his route.
Lightening discharge system is fitted on top of the aircraft. It dissipates the lightening in 20 different paths through which the electricity is conducted and finally passed out through the tail of the aircraft.
When taking off from an airport, the aviation wing of the meteorological department sends a route forecast map that helps the pilot determine and set the route of the flight. The air traffic control officer informs the pilot about the weather conditions — visibility, wetness of the runway, wind force — before the aircraft takes off or lands
