drizzlys
24.04.06, 19:39
Cures aside, pilots of Airbus A320-series airliners are getting new guidance
on what to do if the screens on their electronically biased aircraft go
blank. "Checklists will be streamlined so re-booting of power is quicker," an
Airbus spokesman told the London Daily Mirror after Britain's Air Accidents
Investigation Branch released a report on an incident aboard a British
Airways A319 last October. The plane was carrying 76 passengers to Budapest
from London when most of the electronic displays went blank. The crew was
able to bring everything back online in 90 seconds and the passengers were
blissfully unaware of the glitch.
The incident brought to light five similar instances on Airbuses. In the
October incident, the plane was over southern England when the crew heard an
audible "clunk." Five of six screens went out, the intercom and radio failed,
the autopilot and autothrottles disengaged and most of the cockpit lights
went out. The captain took over the controls and flew night VFR (fortunately
it was a clear night) while he and the first officer sorted out the power
failure. The flying pilot's task was further complicated by the fact that the
backup analog instruments aren't lit. The AAIB has issued a series of safety
recommendations but its final report isn't finished yet.
