[quote KSMountain]1) The avionics warned “stall stall stall” something like 75 times. Yet the word never came up in the cockpit conversation. Language issue? Sensory overload?[/quote]Could also be because they discounted the stall warning because the pitot tube initially froze over (which could cause the warning to occur erroneously), and then did not keep an eye on the airspeed indicator (which uses the pitot tube) to know if it ‘thawed’. NOTE: Added this after adding my ref to the A330 flight manual. It turns out the A330 also has a GPS based speed indicator (pg230).
[quote KSMountain]3) I’m not sure there’s an angle of attack indicator in that aircraft. Others on this board may know. [/quote]There generally is not. It takes a special pitot tube to get that information directly. It can be derived using GPS track info and orientation though. The military training pods are able to get that info either directly or using the GPS data and orientation (ACMI pod = the missile like thing they put on F14’s in Top Gun). The A330 has the AoA data (I suspect derived info) but does not present the AoA data to pilot.
[quote KSMountain]5) When envisioning this accident, keep in mind this was at night over the middle of the ocean, in a storm. Probably no visual references whatsover. No horizon.[/quote]That is why I mentioned IFR. The IFR tests involve flying, landing and takeoff with a hood over you so that you can’t see out the window, only using the instruments. Commercial jetliner pilots are supposed to have completed it. (IFR = Instrument Flight Rules).
One of the physical warnings of a stall is that the ailerons loose effectiveness, leading towards a tendency of the plane to want to roll. Note the end of the 4th bullet up from the bottom: “The airplane was rolling side to side at up to 40 degrees.“. Last bullet indicates that they crashed with a ground speed of 107knots. That is very near the lower end of the A330’s flying envelope. If the junior pilot had not pulled back on the stick when they noticed they were 2000 feet from the ground, they might have flown out of it. The engines were already completely spun up (the TOGA setting is literally ‘floored’). Minimum takeoff distance for an A330 is 2590meters/7500feet, but that is with an initial speed of 0. They already had 107knots. Takeoff/landing speeds are normally around 145/160knots. It would have been close and colorful though.. From what I remember, min takeoff distance also includes a safety factor for a mid takeoff engine failure, so it includes distance from ‘decision point'(145knts takeoff) to stopping the Aircraft on the runway. Minimum stopping distance is about 1080m/3240feet from touchdown to stop.
