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The air accidents occurred during the second week of March 2019 They teach us that we should not judge an airplane by its age. Photos by José Luis Figuedero and Jono Druion.
Regrettably, each plane crash has always generated a series of measures or learnings for the airline industry, which is the most regulated in the world, so that these events are never repeated again..
I was just thinking, after reading people's comments about the DC-3 plane accident in Villavicencio, Colombia from the Laser company, that an airplane is not necessarily unsafe just because it is old. I explain myself, Any aircraft can continue flying after 40 years and for much longer as long as the airworthiness directives mandated by the manufacturer's manuals are followed and the strictly respective and mandatory maintenance is complied with..
Is there a greater risk of flying on a plane larger than 40 years? We could say yes, but history has shown us that it is not a law and an accident can occur due to thousands of different factors independent of the age of the aircraft..
Today it is surprising to see airplanes 40 O 50 years still flying, but airplanes 15 year old, with cutting-edge technology Airbus or Boeing already retired and ready to be converted into beer cans, Why do the older ones continue to fly and the new ones no longer? For something as simple as the costs of carrying out general maintenance called a D Check., the newer and more modern the plane, the more expensive these tasks will be.
It also drew attention, while thinking about the DC-3 accident and considering writing an editorial about it, another sad aeronautical news arrived, a brand new, with just 4 months of service at Ethiopian Airlines, It crashed minutes after taking off and although it is too early to know the causes of the accident, this plane, the newest and most modern Boeing model Boeing 737 MAX 8 shows us that age, which is nothing more than a number, does not imply or guarantee the safety or otherwise of flying in a certain aircraft.
I will not go into possible causes of both accidents or if the Ethiopian Airlines accident is related to the Lion Air accident., That will be taken care of by the relevant authorities and investigators..
The important thing will always be the correct operation and maintenance that airlines and operators apply to their aircraft to be able to talk about safety or not., along with the training and capacity of the pilots, We must not forget that airplanes do not fly alone.
The years they have spent on a plane and their hours of flying do not make it unsafe, It can have months of flight as we see in the last two Boeing airplane accidents or several decades above., What is also important is its correct functioning and responsible operation., regardless, whether "it's old" or not.
To close, Let's hope that learning from these two cases, generate new parameters and actions that avoid repetition and, above all,, the sad one does not come true rule of three in Aviation.
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I think the Air France accident was more human failure than anything else.
I completely agree,The age of the aircraft plays a role as long as the measuring instruments have not been updated.. The most important thing is always correct functioning and responsible operation..
It is known if Airbus took any action with the experience of this accident. ??
Airbus has nothing to do with all this.
The design of the tube and its ability to freeze I believe are the responsibility of the manufacturer.. But the decisive failure was human.
Of course, It was human error caused by pitot failure.
Good Morning:
A query, in reference to the accident of the Air France Airbus that fell into the sea while covering the Rio de Janeiro route – Paris if I remember correctly in the year 2010, What was the cause of the accident? ??
There was speculation that it was a failure in the pitot tubes to measure air pressure, very important data for airplane computer calculations, it was like that ??
Greetings
JIMMY
It's right, that was the main factor of the accident.
What absurdity of news, anyone with 2 fingers straight sees that accidents due to design have decreased by 80 percent since aviation is aviation.
First, it's not news, second no one has indicated anything about the design, It is simply a comparison as to whether a new airplane, does not guarantee safety if it is not well operated or maintained. You just have to read well.
It all depends on the maintenance of the aircraft ,which is currently very expensive.
It doesn't just happen in aviation… I have a vw beetle 1965 and nothing fails, while cars with 5 years of use are already ready for disposal.
As you point out. Technology is expensive and soon becomes obsolete..
Strongly agree.
It's true, I also think, What if a plane has been in service for so long?, It is because it came out very good and therefore it is of excellent quality.. The important thing is proper maintenance.
Strongly agree.
Very good article.
We agree.
Thanks Harold.
Totally agree
Thanks for sharing William.