Airbus A330 crash, Jun 1, 2009 (228 killed), Atlantic Ocean
Airbus A330 accident on June 1, 2009 near Atlantic Ocean, off Fernando de Noronha, Brazil with 228 fatalities. Cause: Temporary airspeed inconsistency...
- Date: June 1, 2009
- Aircraft: Airbus A330
- Location: Atlantic Ocean, off Fernando de Noronha, Brazil
- Fatalities: 228
- Phase of flight: En route
- Cause: Temporary airspeed inconsistency from pitot probe icing led to autopilot disconnection; crew inputs destabilized the flight, and the crew failed to recognize and recover from an aerodynamic stall (BEA final report, 2012).
Air France Flight 447, an Airbus A330-203 flying Rio de Janeiro to Paris, lost reliable airspeed indications after its pitot probes were obstructed by ice crystals. The autopilot disconnected, the crew made control inputs that destabilized the aircraft, and it stalled without the crew recognizing or recovering from it. The aircraft crashed into the Atlantic at night and all 228 people aboard were killed. The wreckage was found in 2011 and the BEA final report was published in July 2012.