Wednesday, August 5, 2015

The A400M betrayed by software – AeroBuzz.fr

On May 9, 2015, early in the afternoon, information bursts: a Airbus AIRBUS European Manufacturer (100% subsidiary of EADS) holding 50% of the global market for airliners. Airbus has sold 11,500 aircraft since its creation in 1970. A400M A400M The A400M is a new military airlifter designed to meet the operational needs of the armed forces of the XXI century. just crashed near the Seville Airport. The head of the Spanish government, the first to speak, reported 8 to 10 victims. Very quickly pictures of the cockpit and smoking wreckage are broadcast on social networks. News agencies are taken speed.

We learn later in the day it was the first flight test of the 23rd series of A400M for Turkey. He had just come out of the final assembly line of Airbus factory in Seville. There were only six on board crew. All Airbus employees, all Spanish. Four were killed and two were seriously injured.

This is obviously a hard cost to the A400M program which already accumulated four years late, which exploded to 7 billion euros and its initial budget does not keep its promises. The plane flies in several armies, but it is far from militarily operational. Customers complain. In January 2015, Tom Enders, CEO of Airbus landed Domingo Urena Group, the director of the military aircraft sector, and replaced him with Fernando Alonso, head of Airbus flight test.

12 May, three days after the accident, Alonzo will be aboard the first A400M to fly again. It is also facing the media in Seville. In front of the cameras, it has a strong and unusual speech in such circumstances. He asked the journalists to leave the investigators work calmly. It will take less than a month to determine the causes. The A400M has lost three of its four engines following a failure of the power management software.



First I have many sentence for this crew victim of a fatal error which, like the crew of the Concorde SC, in July 2000, had no backup. Then I deplore the complexity of the automation to which both asked, with so much confidence, it is not even possible to return to Basic in case of failure. Three polluted software, improperly installed, lost three engines during initial climb. Four dead. And who will trust? Should also check the software version at the pre-flight? This beautiful plane is struggling to be born! I wish Fernando Alonzo achieve with consultants to tender conforms to the project. Reliable. The only chance for him to conquer a market that is still not in sight.

Michel Polacco, Radio France

The accident puts highlighted dramatically the extent of the difficulties faced by the military aircraft of Airbus industry.

Aerobuzz.fr

LikeTweet

No comments:

Post a Comment