FAULTY ALTIMETER CAUSED AIRLINER CRASH

The Turkish airliner that crashed at Schiphol last week had a faulty altimeter. That's the conclusion of the preliminary findings of the investigation team that has been working to establish the cause of the accident. The altimeter wrongly indicated that the Boeing was already almost on the ground. Because the airplane was flying on automatic pilot, the thrust was reduced according to the faulty reading. The pilots realised the problem, but had insufficient time to correct it.

The investigators have been examining the aircraft and the black boxes for the past week. Nine people lost their lives and approximately 80 were injured. 28 of the passengers remain in hospital. Pieter van Vollenhoven, head of the investigation board, told journalists that the preliminary findings reveal serious shortcomings in safety protocol, of which the board wants to warn the manufacturer, Boeing, and all airlines. For that reason, the preliminary findings have been published while further investigations continue:

"The voice recordings and black boxes in the possession of the Dutch Safety Board indicate that irregularities occurred during the plane's descent. At a height of 1,950 feet, around 700 metres, the left altimeter suddenly showed a change in altitude, which it transmitted to the automatic pilot, that had been engaged for the landing." read more (radionetherlands.nl)

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March 5, 2009