Malaysia Airlines plane 'flies in the wrong direction' from NZ to Kuala Lumpur on Christmas Day

[Gloria]

Is it Malaysian or these Airbus planes? I saw a program a few days ago on Smithsonian about an Airbus years ago that had problem with direction...went WAY off course....something going on with the navigation system because the pilot had forgotten to do something...So, in that case it wasn't the plane's fault..but...
But it IS so weird...these planes seem to do some strange things.....

In this case, the pilot saw something that he didn't expect right at the start of the flight...something was different than the flight plan...

When they first came out, I was very skeptical about the computers...saw a site with countless problems with these planes...
And, even after years, there are still issues where the compute can prohibit a pilot from really taking control in an emergency...

Me, I'm a Boeing person, my dream ride was the 747...and at least, they know about the 737 tail thing...I sat next to a Boeing guy on a fight out to LA on a DC-10, a plane whose floor gave under my feet (and I'm not big)....he wasn't too keen on the DC-10, which took a nosedive landing into LAX that scared the you know what out of me....

****

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/malaysia-airlines-plane-flies-in-the-wrong-direction-from-new-zealand-to-kuala-lumpur-on-christmas-a6787201.html

An investigation has been launched after a Malaysian Airlines plane appeared to fly in the wrong direction after taking off from New Zealand on Christmas Day.

Flight MH132 usually takes a direct route heading north-west over Australia on its way from Auckland to Kuala Lumpur but radar data showed the aircraft heading south for almost an hour.

The New Zealand Herald reported that the pilot questioned the Airbus A330’s path just eight minutes into the flight, which took off at 2.23am local time.

snip

Airways, which manages air traffic control for New Zealand, said there were no safety concerns but that it would investigate why the normal flight path had been changed.

“We have an internal safety team who will investigate it,” a spokesperson told the Herald.

“The flight plan the airline filed with us was going to Kuala Lumpur but via a slightly different route than the pilot was expecting.”

snip

It came as the disappearance of MH370 continues to be investigated, with the search for wreckage in the Indian Ocean – the largest and most expensive hunt of its kind in history – due to end in June.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. The Airbus is a reliable, safe airplane.

They've been around for nearly 30 years now and have an excellent safety record. However, pilots have to be well-trained. If they are, and if they have entered data into the flight management system correctly, the plane will almost fly itself. But if they are poorly trained and don't understand how the airplane works, it can bite them in the butt. Since Malaysia Airlines has had a series of strange accidents I'm guessing they have some real problems in their pilot training programs.

[Human101948]

3. Senior Airbus official urges revamped pilot training...

MADRID—A senior Airbus Group NV safety official has urged revamping pilot training world-wide, in one of the most forceful industry warnings to date about the dangers of undue reliance on aircraft automation.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/airbus-official-urges-major-pilot-training-changes-1428853600

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. Doesn't surprise me.

I've been through an Airbus training program; at first you feel like a dog watching television. It can be very confusing until you understand how it works. Airbus' original philosophy was to make an airplane that was kind of foolproof (it won't stall, for example; it will recover itself if it gets too close to a stall), but you have to understand what the thing is doing and not get complacent. Air France 447 is a good example of that, I think.

[Snobblevitch]

2. Several years ago I was on a scheduled flight

that was going to be on an A-320. My departure gate was changed. They decided to put on on a DC-10. It was December and they apparently overbooked and had a DC-10 available. The only notable thing about my flight, other than we could spread out, is that about half-way through the flight I reqlized my in-flight reading material was a book with the title "Chosen to Live."

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Airlines_Flight_232

[treestar]

5. The article has a map

finally. Doesn't look like a great deal of harm was done - it was still a flight path, if not the expected one. I suppose the veering to the south might have added some time to the flight.

[davidn3600]

6. Too much automation in my opinion...

Airbus's are heavily controlled by computers now. So much so that you have to wonder if pilots are alert enough to recognize and react quick enough when something is wrong.

Sort of like how some people these days seem to rely so much on their GPS they'd drive their car into a lake if tells them to. No one knows how to tell where you are going without technology holding your hand.

[Gloria]

7. I was a trainee mechanic back in the mid-80's when "power modules" and "logic modules"

were first being introduced into Dodge/Chryslers.

It was crazy.

I think there are so many sensors to rely on that it is just hard to figure which one will fail and when.

There was a Mitsubishi in the shop that didn't stop...the guys in the white coats came...no clue.

We had a Chevy which had electronic stuff that took the place of the old distributor...it would stall at the most inconvenient time...again, no clue from the dealer.

We got rid of it fast.

My favorite word is "intermittent." If something happens that can't be solved right away...well, it's time to get rid of the thing....
Something is off in the electrical system, and you don't want to have it happen when you could have an accident.

Same thing with planes! Bad enough the older planes had wiring that was fraying, but with all the computerization, people on the ground messing around, inspections missing tiny cracks, waiting to get back to hubs to fix things, etc. etc. I am not all that confident about plane safety....so many electrical glitches added to the usual mechanical issues that come up...

I had friends who would fly American out of El Paso back East on those MD-80's...at least 2x, there was smoke in the cabin from faulty A/C systems. They were scared shit. Maintenance? What maintenance, esp. in the cut throat push for profits...

Scary...