The crash of the Air France Airbus A300 into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Brazil is at once a tragedy, a farce, and a mystery. A tragedy because of the loss of life. A farce because of the initial, erroneous reports by the Brazilian military of wreckage found and the general incompetence of the investigation until the past day or so. I am relieved that both the US and French navies have been asked to get involved in the hunt for the plane's black boxes.
A mystery? Not just because of the missing black boxes, thereby leaving investigators groping around for the reason(s) the plane crashed. But also because, for the life of me, I cannot understand why anyone would use the Airbus's "fly-by-wire" technology. You sure won't catch me flying in a plane that uses it.
Fly-by-wire systems make the pilot rely on sensors and computers instead of his/her own "feel" to fly the plane. If the sensors and computers conk out or give conflicting readings, the pilot has no way to control the plane. S/he cannot "feel" the plane through the stick. It's not unlike the difference between a car with an automatic transmission and power steering, and a car with a stick shift. If the automatic transmission and/or the power steering goes out, most drivers would be totally at the mercy of gravity and inertia. But with a stick shift, even if the clutch dies, drivers can still control enough of the vehicle's operating systems to bring the car to a safe, controlled stop.
So far, the scanty corroborated evidence in the Air France crash suggests that the computers and sensors got "confused" due to the extreme weather conditions in which the plane was flying. The scenario currently entertained is that the plane's sensors were providing contradictory data, which froze the computers, which kept the pilot from being able to control the plane, which caused the crash. Yes, it's speculative at this point, but it does fit all the facts as we know them so far.
Now, I know a few pilots (heck, I'm related to one of them). None of them likes the fly-by-wire system, period. None of them ever wants to be responsible for other lives when being forced to fly while using it.
So for me, the deeper mystery of the crash is why the heck anyone is using the fly-by-wire system in the first place. As with nearly everything else in this business-driven world, however, I suspect it has to do with the making of money at all costs, including the loss of many, many lives.
At least we can feel somewhat confident that the plane crash wasn't a terrorist act, if for no other reason than that no terrorist group has tried to "take credit" for it.
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