Safety, Our Shared Destination
As professionals, working in an industry with annual growth rates between 5 & 6%, we must ask ourselves the question ‘what could be the impact on Safety of a doubling of air traffic?’. Without industry-wide action to lower the accident rate, by 2030 we will be experiencing accidents more frequently.This article looks at an Airbus […]
Lessons Learned About the Teach-in Function
Emergency lights must illuminate when required for aircraft evacuations. If maintenance is not performed correctly, this can compromise the availability of the emergency lights.
Engine Thrust Management – Thrust Setting at Takeoff
The FCOM Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) provide specific guidance to flight crews for thrust application at takeoff.This article explains why 2-step thrust application is required at takeoff and why some extra steps should be taken in tailwind or significant crosswind conditions. It also provides recommendations to ensure optimum lateral control of the aircraft during takeoff […]
Preventing Violent Door Opening due to Residual Cabin Pressure
Thousands of aircraft doors are opened daily, usually without incident. However, several events are reported to Airbus each year where residual cabin pressure caused a door to open violently, leading to serious injuries or aircraft damage. This article describes the available residual cabin pressure warnings, with their limitations. It recalls the recommendations for flight crew, cabin […]
Preventing Inadvertent Slide Deployments
The number of people injured when emergency escape slides are inadvertently deployed is low. Nevertheless, such events pose a threat to the safety of people in or around aircraft. They are also a cause of aircraft damage, and departure delays. This article looks at how Inadvertent Slide Deployments (ISDs) can be avoided, and presents a new […]
Using Aircraft as a Sensor on Contaminated Runways
In any analysis of aviation accidents, Runway Excursions (RE) are usually identified as the top cause of aircraft hull losses. Many of these accidents occur on runways where braking performance is degraded by runway surface contaminants.Airbus and its subsidiary NAVBLUE have developed a new technology to use the aircraft itself as a sensor to measure […]
Thrust Reverser Deployment In-flight
Thrust reverser partial deployment in-flight events have been reported to Airbus which have had both a maintenance and an operational contribution. This article describes a typical event, and provides a reminder of the recommended actions for the flight crew when an alert related to the thrust reversers is triggered at the gate or during taxi-out. […]
High Load Event Reporting
All aircraft are designed, tested and certified to avoid the possibility of exceeding its structural strength. Operational thresholds or limits define the envelope for the load conditions in normal operations, and there are design margins to cope with abnormal or excessive loads on the aircraft if they are experienced in-flight or on the ground. The […]
Protecting Aircraft and Passengers from Cargo Fires
Cargo compartment linings are designed to provide an air-tight space, and are essential in protecting the aircraft and its occupants from fire and smoke.This article looks at how these composite components have come to play such an important role in Safety, and what can be done to make sure they stay in good condition.
A Recall on the Correct Use of the MEL
The dispatch under a Minimum Equipment List (MEL) item allows to dispatch an aircraft in a safe and airworthy condition when certain system functions or equipment are temporarily unavailable or inoperative, enabling the aircraft to continue earning revenue without compromising the safety of the flight.But, what are the MEL principles and are there good practices […]