Safety
Airbus AD Revisited
The chain of events that led to the June 2009 loss of an Air France A330 over the south Atlantic began when ice blocked the pitot tubes on that aircraft.


The release of EASA emergency Airworthiness Directive 2014-0266-E on December 28 and a subsequent FAA Emergency AD were the the result of Nov. 5, 2014, in-flight incident aboard an Airbus A321, according to the French BEA. The aircraft was climbing on autopilot to FL310 about 15 minutes after takeoff from a European airport when the aircraft suddenly pitched nose down into a descent that reached 4,000 feet per minute. The flight crew was able to halt the descent at FL270 and continue safely to their destination at that altitude without injuries to any of the 109 passengers or crewmembers.