After the recent disaster with the Air France flight from Brazil.......

[Earlybird]

...would you fly longhaul on an Airbus 330? Supposedly, outdated equipment on that style aircraft was a major cause of the technical problems that contributed to the crash.

I've soon got to make a choice between flying on an Airbus 330 and a Boeing 767 for a transatlantic flight....and the Airbus flys at much more convenient times.

What would you do?

Yes, because hundreds of those planes fly every day without mishap. It was a freak combination of factors that is highly unlikely to ever happen again. And, because they are aware of it, pilots will be super cautious of any odd data. Also don't forget that they don't actually know for sure because the black box hasn't been recovered. It's mainly supposition. It could just as easily have been pilot error, a bomb, someone opening the cabin doors...... The odds of a repeat crash must be infintessimally small.

My dad is an airline pilot and has never had to do any kind of emergency procedure in 25 years. He flew Boeing 747 200's, then 747 400's. Do you remember the accident when the front window of the cockpit blew out and the captain was sucked out? It happened because of a faulty sized screw used when the plane was built. Dad was flying those planes at the time and all the planes were new so all had these dodgy screws but it was just a bizarre combination of other factors that caused that particular one to break.

So I personally would go for the more convenient flight times, regardless of the aeroplane.

I'm not usually phased by this stuff - HOWEVER, there have been other (thankfully non-deadly) issues with the Airbus 330 and - 3 in the last month (including the tragic one) too much for my liking.

I'd take the Boeing. Ther ehave been 2 problems with Qantas A330s recently, one of them fell 5k like a stone apparantly!

This article explains the 2 other (very minor) issues and that it was all the other factors that caused the Air France crash.

If you're a nervous flyer then perhaps going on the other flight might be better for your nerves [smile but if you're generally pretty confident about flying I don't think it matters.

Quantas flight problems explained.

It only lost 650ft which isn't much - severe turbulence can do that to any aircraft so always make sure you've got your seat belt on .

ermm without sounding funny we don't know what caused the fatal crash yet.....(unless I've missed some piece of news?)

I wouldn't travel on any mode of transport that increasingly seems to be showing a large number of faults and errors (and I'm NOT a cautious person - I was eating beef during the height of the mad cow scare )

I'm a pretty confident flyer generally, but feel a bit phased by this for some reason. Perhaps it is because we simply don't know if airlines have taken the advisory from Airbus seriously (and replaced the parts in question), of if advice has been ignored/not considered a priority.

I think they suspect a speed sensor was at fault on the Air France airbus, there have been complaints about them from flight crews in the past. Apparently Air France have removed all that type of speed sensor from all their aircraft now. I would take the more convenient flight. The Airbus had a pretty immaculate safety record until this incident.

and that's the Qantas incident from last year - there was another one just a week or so ago

Earlybird

In answer to your initial question yes I would go on such a plane. I think weather was just one of many factors in the Air France plane crash; it was flying through a vast area of thunderstorms at the time. I sincerely hope the black boxes are recovered as it will give more answers to the relatives of the deceased.

BTW my brother has just returned from Brazil today on an Airbus 330.

I would go on the airbus, agree with Olihan about it.
If you are going to be nervous the whole flight though, you should choose the boeing flight. It's horrible being nervous in the air.

FAQ I know, I found that one and it was purely down to turbulence according to all the reports I could find. That's why I linked to last year's as it seemed to be more to do with the sensor issue they're suspecting in the AF crash.

Earlybird, have you made a decision?

I don't know what (if anything) to make of the fact that another Airbus has now crashed killing all on board. Bad luck, pilot error, bad weather, coincidence or some problem specific to Airbus.......?

It seems to be more of an issue with the airline's maintenance with this one. BBC news is saying France banned that specific plane from landing there in 2007 because of its concerns over its safety.

Who are you flying with?

Disturbing article from July 1 Times saying Airbus may be asked to ground all long range planes.

www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6612165.ece

sh!t... we are flying to australia in a few weeks with the long 14 hr flight on airbus 330...

I am terrified of flying already but starting to have nightmares already...

We're flying to Atlanta on an airbus 330 next month. I'm frightened of flying at the best of times but I keep telling myself that I've more chance of something bad happening during our long drive to the airport.