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Airbuses suffer cockpit power failure, await fixes
As United Flight 731 climbed out of Newark with 107 people aboard, the pilot and first officer were startled to find screens that display crucial navigational information were blank or unreadable and radios were dead. They had no way to communicate with air traffic controllers or detect other planes around them in the New York City area's crowded airspace. (www.9news.com) Más...Sort type: [Top] [Newest]
Good Stick and rudder skills and a clear day was exactly what got them down. Years ago I remember losing everything on a 752, and the backup power failed to transfer, so we were totally in the dark as well, BUT,it was clear, daylight and we were only about 5 miles or so out on final when it went so it really wasn't a problem. In that airspace up there, I would think there might be a severe pucker factor in one, if not both seats.lol
I hate to point this out, but in the airplane I fly, with technology that is millions of dollars less expensive, an electric failure would not take out the Attitude Indicator, airspeed, altimeter, VSI etc. Sure, I'd lose the radio and VOR's, which ranges from a pain in the butt to really bad, depending on weather, etc, but at least I could keep the thing straight and level if I couldn't see out, and with the compass I could even fly a heading. So glass cockpits are great, but if you are going to spend $20 million on an airplane, installing a backup non-electric (i.e. traditional) attitude indicator and other assorted "important stuff" doesn't seem to me like such a great added expense. And then it's probably not a terrible idea to carry a handheld radio, but I know that those aren't great at a distance.
They have "traditional" gauges in their cockpits just like you do.
I haven't see the inside of a Bus, but all, Boeing included, rely on backup power transfer rather than duplicate guages. Apparently this has been corrected on the later production Buses. These, I think, are the earlier versions. hardly any dulicate guages as they want pilots to get used to and relying on the glass. It was way back there but I can remember going from a 707 to a 757. Dark to daylight. And yeah, false sense of security to a degree, and there is a lot of armchair here.
http://www.freewebs.com/shamrock075/a320%202.jpg
Just to the left of the middle MFDs are your "traditional" gauges.
Just to the left of the middle MFDs are your "traditional" gauges.
And you are correct in that respect, but just look at that picture and you can see how in the minority they are. Most of the younger pilots would be trying to cope with bringing their panel back rather than looking at the, as they are basically ignored if all the other is working.
Preacher are you a pilot!? Because any pilot knows that if you lose your electronics you automatically revert back to the basics. Use what's available and FLY THE PLANE. The only real issue I can see with this is no radio contact but then again that goes back to the good old training days and learning about the "light gun" and how to interpret the color light signals given by the tower. SO, in using your skills acquired through flight school and your eye balls there's no real threat here. If this were @ night during high intensity trAffic and low vis then it's a little different story.
Yes I am, retired off a big iron 135 job but still current. I was fortunate not to lose my panel in the 757 but once in 30 years and as I said, that was a fluke. I think going from steam on the 707 to all glass on a 757 was a culture shock. I know it was for me, and despite training, you got a lot of younger guys that have never flown with anything but glass and their steam guages are just there taking up space. Same thing with the light gun; most have never had to use it or may wonder if it's still in use,lol. That said, in this particular instance, it was definitely high intensity traffic. Even with a few basics to keep it straigt and level, with no transponder or radio, it could not have been fun.
And I did try to reply earlier but the FA page took a dump
Too many damn people checking their flight status, lol! I got the opportunity to tour one of the new FAA atc towers @ one of the airports in Indiana I flew into and while in it the tower operator let me shoot gun signals to a plane that was doing pattern work. I don't know if you still fly Preacher but if you do the next time you fly into a towered airport that's not busy, and by not busy I mean DEAD, ask them to shoot light gun signals to you. It's something different and kind of neat to see and do.
I still get up enough to stay current. Last time I was up at KFSM I went up to their tower to see some old friends. They still have the gun hanging but said that while it was still on their daily checklist for an operable check, that they hadn't used it for anything other than practice in a long time. It's kinda like them guages, fast becoming a dinasoar and a lot of the young guns out there wouldn't know what it was if it hit 'em in the face.lol. As Roland says below, they'd prolly make a laser report.
Prolly upset the locals and someone will call the cops about vandals with lasers.