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FAA: Cabin design philosophy could cause Airbus A220 crashes
Airbus A220-300
Image: Airbus
Rafael Ramos
11/24/2022
Aviation authorities in the United States and Canada have reported a possible problem that could lead to an accident on the Airbus A220.
The buttons for activating the autopilot and the automatic power control system, the autothrotle, are very close, which may cause the inadvertent activation of the autopilot, when the pilot wants to activate the autothrotle during takeoff.
In addition, the autothrotle system automatically turns off if there is any sensor failure or “irregularities” on the track. In that case, your triggering back could end up being confused with the autopilot button, causing problems.
The airworthiness directive (AD) issued by the FAA, of the United States, is very similar to the one issued by Transport Canada, of Canada, on November 17th. The bodies claim that 38 such events have already been recorded, two of which are classified as “near catastrophic”.
One of the events was detailed by the FAA, but without providing the name of the airport or the airline. In this case, the autothrotle was automatically deactivated and, when trying to reactivate, the autopilot was inadvertently activated, causing the Airbus A220 to take off before the correct speed.
Taking off before V1 can be very dangerous, since the plane may not have enough energy for a safe climb, which can even cause a stall.
Although a change in the design of the cockpit is not possible, the American body wants the autothrotle not to be restarted during takeoff, continuing with the manual use of the thrust levers, while the Canadian body wants the pilots to be instructed about the problem. .
Airbus A220-100
Image: Airbus
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Rafael Ramos
Aviation enthusiast from an early age, he had his first contacts with the area developing that good old habit of spending dozens of hours in front of the screens of Micrsoft Flight Simulator and other simulators. With a solid background in various technological areas, including engineering and chemistry, Rafael has rejoined aviation as editor and author of articles and materials on our portal, providing invaluable help to the dynamics and expansion of the website and the aeronautical community, bringing us the news and updates so indispensable for us to remain current in our area of operation.
   
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