Word: plane
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...crash was a painfully timed psychological setback for Europe's costly venture in commercial-jet building. The A320 is a daring new breed of plane, the world's first commercial airliner in which the pilots "fly by wire" -- controlling the engines and wing surfaces (rudder, flaps, ailerons) via computers and electronic commands rather than hydraulic or cable linkages. The fallen jet was only the sixth A320 to come off the assembly line at the Airbus Industrie consortium's plant in Toulouse. But the questions arising from the accident apply to the entire aircraft industry, for the planes of the future...
...A320's rapid commercial success is hastening that trend. Orders streamed in while the plane was still on the drawing boards, and 21 customers have signed to buy 319 of the high-tech jets at roughly $35 million apiece and have taken out options for an additional 203, making it the fastest-selling airliner in aviation history. Airbus, funded by the governments of France, Britain, West Germany and Spain, desperately needs those sales because its market share and profitability have been eroded by the U.S. dollar's decline. None of the A320's buyers canceled orders last week...
French government officials rushed to absolve the plane, even though the precise cause of the crash will require a month-long study. In a news conference, Transport Minister Louis Mermaz declared that "there is no reason to question the proper functioning of the plane or its use." He did not fix the blame on pilot error, but other officials alleged that Pilot Michel Asseline, 44, had been flying much too low, at only about 30 ft., far below the minimum safe level of 100 ft. This was less than totally comforting for Airbus and Air France, however, because the veteran...
...French airline pilots' union came to Asseline's defense, saying it believed his version of events and insisting that no conclusions should be drawn until the investigation is finished. Asseline and his co-pilot reportedly told investigators that the airplane's instruments showed that the plane was at 100 ft. just before it went over the runway. According to a rescue worker, moments after Asseline emerged from the wreckage, dazed but unharmed, he said, "I wanted to boost the power, but the aircraft did not respond...
...computers of advanced aircraft like the A320 are also programmed to prevent pilot error by limiting the plane's response to dangerous commands. But some pilots believe such safeguards could be a handicap in emergency situations that require sudden maneuvers, like those necessary to avoid a collision. Says John Mazor, a spokesman for the Air Line Pilots Association: "A computer can only react to the possibilities that have been programmed into it." Some experts speculate that because the Airbus jet's wheels were down as it swooped over the air show, the computers might have been tricked into thinking...