Air France Black Boxes’ Initial Data Show Nothing Wrong With Crashed Plane

Air France Flight 447 crash investigators said it’s premature to blame human error for the fatal 2009 accident after a first sweep of the Airbus SAS A330’s “black boxes” found no new technical issues with the jet.

Examination of voice and flight-data recorders is “just beginning,” France’s BEA accident investigation bureau said as Airbus told airlines an initial analysis had found no faults requiring changes by A330 operators. Carriers were told soon after the crash to switch speed sensors on the model.

Investigators said yesterday they had uploaded a complete set of data from the black boxes, recovered from the Atlantic and shipped to Paris this month after two years’ immersion at a depth of 3,900 meters (12,800 feet). The wreck was found weeks before the second anniversary of the June 1, 2009, crash, which killed all 228 people on the flight from Brazil to Paris.

“The gathering of the entire cockpit audio and flight parameter data makes it almost certain that this accident will be fully explained,” the BEA said today. Airbus said separately in a BEA-approved telex sent to airlines yesterday that it has “no immediate recommendation” for A330 operators and promised further updates when “authorized to share more information.”

Paris-based Air France didn’t immediately respond to calls seeking comment.

Pitot Tubes
Flight 447’s last automated transmissions, minutes before the crash, had suggested that faulty speed readings from devices known as pitot tubes could have caused the autopilot to shut down in bad weather, a situation pilots are trained to handle.

On June 4, 2009 Airbus instructed airlines to remind pilots how to respond to inconsistent speed readings using the Quick Reference Handbook and Flight Crew Operating Manual kept in the cockpit. Two months later it advised A330 and A340 operators to switch from Thales SA (HO) pitot tubes to Goodrich Corp. (GR) versions.

Investigators have said that failed sensors couldn’t by themselves have caused the crash and that an improper response to the readings or other unrelated elements would be required. The absence of information on the flight’s final minutes has so far hindered the development of plausible scenarios.

Air France and Airbus have said they disagree with manslaughter charges laid against them over the accident, the worst in the carrier’s history.

Air France Chief Executive Officer Pierre-Henri Gourgeon says there’s no evidence that the crash was caused by pitot tubes. Records in Europe and the U.S. document dozens of incidents where the probes failed and pilots retained control.

Premature
The BEA today dismissed as premature an anonymously sourced report in French newspaper Le Figaro indicating that early findings suggest the crash resulted from a mistake by the crew.

“To give way to sensationalism and publish non-validated information when the data analysis is just beginning shows a lack of respect for the deceased passengers and crew,” the agency said. It gave no information on the initial findings.

The crash investigators have pledged to release an interim report in July or August, with a final report due in early 2012.