Managing Severe Turbulence
Severe turbulence encounters may cause injuries to passengers and cabin crew. If turbulence is unavoidable, using best practices, applying recommended techniques and following procedures will help to reduce the risk of injuries.This article is about turbulence encounters, their risks and tips for how to avoid them. It provides references and links to the relevant publications. […]
Takeoff Surveillance and Monitoring Functions
Airbus has continuously improved takeoff safety since the “TO CONFIG TEST” pushbutton was first introduced on A300 and A310 aircraft, and with the development of the Takeoff Surveillance (TOS1 & TOS2) and Takeoff Monitoring (TOM) functions.The TOS2 package that was initially developed for the A350 is now available for A320 family and A330 aircraft. This […]
Takeoff Surveillance & Monitoring Functions
Airbus has continuously improved takeoff safety since the “TO CONFIG TEST” pushbutton was first introduced on A300 and A310 aircraft, and with the development of the Takeoff Surveillance (TOS1 & TOS2) and Takeoff Monitoring (TOM) functions.The TOS2 package that was initially developed for the A350 is now available for A320 family and A330 aircraft. This […]
GNSS Interference
Signals from the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) are one of the main inputs used for aircraft positioning or time reference for Communication, Navigation and Surveillance functions on-board most of the Airbus aircraft.Operators report an increasing number of events related to the loss of GNSS signals due to Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) during operations in […]
The Adverse Effects of Unrealistic Simulator Scenarios
The use of unrealistic failure scenarios during simulator training can lead to negative training. This article describes the « TOTAL PITOT BLOCKED » failure that is available in simulators. It explains why simultaneous and permanent dual “TOTAL PITOT BLOCKED” in climb or descent phase leads to negative training.
Management of Overspeed Events in Cruise
Modern aircraft operate at high altitude and close to their high speed limits. As a consequence, temporary overspeed events can occur in cruise in changing wind conditions.Analysis of in-service data shows the need to remind the appropriate techniques to manage such temporary overspeed and avoid potential significant trajectory deviation.This article therefore recalls the aircraft capabilities […]
Overspeed Event with Crew Take-over and OEB49 Application
While flying at FL380, an A340 aircraft encountered a strong and abrupt tailwind decrease that triggered significant MMO overshoot and overspeed warning.The crew disconnected the AP, took over and inappropriately applied OEB49 (ADR2 & ADR3 set to OFF).This article describes this event and presents two main aspects from its analysis: the management of an overspeed […]
Preventing Fan Cowl Door Loss
Fan cowl door loss events are still reported to Airbus. In all cases, the fan cowl doors were not latched closed and secured following a maintenance task. This article provides an update on the design and procedure improvements introduced on the Airbus fleet to prevent fan cowl door loss events.
Correct Escape Slides Maintenance for Successful Slides Deployment
It is of the outmost importance to make sure that escape slides’ maintenance is properly done so that they can deploy correctly when they are the most needed. This article recalls the importance of reporting scheduled and unscheduled slide deployment results to Airbus. It highlights the most common causes of unsuccessful slide deployments and provide recommendations […]
Hard Landing, a Case Study for Crews and Maintenance Personnel
In this article, Airbus would like to take you through a case study and use it to learn some lessons and share our safety first culture. The article is split into three distinct parts:The first will describe the eventThe second, targeted at flight crews, will discuss and develop the stabilization criteria and present a prevention […]